Author Topic: Need a sound card! Help out experts! (Read 318 times)

Mak333 · « **on:** August 12, 2004, 08:39:25 AM »

Alright guys. For now i've got onboard sound some 16 bit channel junky. Don't get me wrong, the PC isnt junky at all, but I never put a sound card in the package. I've got 3 bays open for vid cards, sound, what not.

I was looking at the soundblaster sound cards to improve my audio experience hehe.

To save money but bump me up to the EAX audio stuff and more options for audio, I thought the Audigy LS would be a good choice. It is only 49.99 at BestBuy.

But I was also looking at the Audigy 2 ZS for better quality, performance, and overall features. - Priced at 99.99 at BestBuy

Here are the two links, please give me some responses on which would be a better buy.

Audigy LS: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?id=1059048992776&skuId=5846908&type=product

Audigy 2 ZS: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?id=1059048992720&skuId=5846891&type=product

Thanks again! and a quick answer would be appreciated!

Edbert · « **Reply #1 on:** August 12, 2004, 09:01:07 AM »

If you want to save some money I'd say the SB LIve series are great cards. Most will say they suck but I am no audiophile, and the SB Live will sound AWESOME compared to what you have now. I've never said they were as good as the Audigy, but my old ears can hardly tell the difference, although my wallet CAN.

Grits · « **Reply #2 on:** August 12, 2004, 11:19:00 AM »

I have an SB Live and it works great performance wise and sounds good too. I gained quite a bit if frame rate switching from the AC97 onboard sound too. Audigy may sound better than the live, but for me the extra price doesnt justify it.

schizer · « **Reply #3 on:** August 12, 2004, 11:50:05 AM »

SB live still sucks up more CPU cycles than a Santa Cruz card

Grits · « **Reply #4 on:** August 12, 2004, 12:43:33 PM »

That may be, but it is a ****load better than my onboard was, and it only cost $39.

ChasR · « **Reply #5 on:** August 12, 2004, 12:44:14 PM »

SB live uses too many CPU cycles.
Newegg is cheaper than Best Buys on just about everything including my recommendation Audigy 2 ZS

Skuzzy · « **Reply #6 on:** August 12, 2004, 12:49:45 PM »

The SBLive! is a bit of a CPU hog as no hardware buffers are exposed to DirectX.
The Audigy 2 line of cards is a whole nuther ballgame though. Very low CPU utilization in DirectX. About the best there is now.
Santa Cruz cards used to be good cards, but they have since switched to using off the shelf parts and are pretty generic these days which has caused higher CPU utilization.

Edbert · « **Reply #7 on:** August 12, 2004, 02:00:22 PM »

I know that AC97 on-board sound sucks up CPU, but what about the newer on-board sound cards like the one in the A8V that I am about to order (Realtek ALC850)?

Skuzzy · « **Reply #8 on:** August 12, 2004, 02:05:15 PM »

That is the old Avance sound chip. Not good.

Edbert · « **Reply #9 on:** August 12, 2004, 02:09:26 PM »

Oh well, figured as much. The dang MB also has on-board 802.11g for crying out loud. If it didn't benchmark as well and I was not such a long time fan of Asus I'd look at another board. At least I am used to disabling the on-board "features" with the BIOS.

Mak333 · « **Reply #10 on:** August 12, 2004, 06:48:25 PM »

Thanks for the help everyone! I think I have made my decision.

Charon · « **Reply #11 on:** August 12, 2004, 07:05:30 PM »

Quote

The Audigy 2 line of cards is a whole nuther ballgame though. Very low CPU utilization in DirectX. About the best there is now.

What about for Open GL Skuzzy? I want to crank up 5.1 in Doom 3.

Charon

Edbert · « **Reply #12 on:** August 12, 2004, 08:33:38 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by Charon
What about for Open GL Skuzzy? I want to crank up 5.1 in Doom 3.

Does OpenGL even handle sounds at all? I thought it was strictly video.

Skuzzy · « **Reply #13 on:** August 13, 2004, 07:09:47 AM »

OpenGL has no sound support, it is strictly for video. All games use DirectSound or DirectMusic (a part of DirectX), so yes it would benefit.

Charon · « **Reply #14 on:** August 13, 2004, 09:27:50 AM »

Cool, thanks for the info.

Charon