Minor Soundcard Upgrade...?

Jinx · 03-06-2007, 05:06 AM

To be honest, I've got no issues with the 16-bit integrated sound on my motherboard. But I've heard people say the 24-bit cards sound better, and everyone says RealTek integrated audio sucks. Also, it supposedly takes a little work off the processor?

Note that I only use stereo speakers, I don't have much interest in surround sound. This is for music and gaming. Should 16-bit be enough? That's CD quality, right?

Was considering something basic like this:
SoundBlaster Audigy SE PCI

It's only $30, so it's not much money if it will be any improvement at all.

Also, do they take much juice? I have a 480 watt Antec psu powering a 3.47ghz P4, 2.5gb ram, 2 hard drives, 4 optical drives, IDE card, and a 6800GT. Am I pushing it? Everything's been just fine so far.

I figure I can move the USB back-panel above the video card, ditch the external sata panel I don't use, and put it right about the IDE controller...

PsYcNeT · 03-06-2007, 05:57 AM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16829102006 - $70

Really good sound and what I think is pretty damn good price. 96khz/24-bit with EAX 5.0 and Advanced HD decoding. Makes even a pair of headphones sound awesome.

Circuitous · 03-06-2007, 05:58 AM

That looks like shit! Glowing blue shit, which is awesome, but shit nonetheless.

Jinx · 03-06-2007, 06:09 AM

*ignores circ*

PsYcNeT: I don't have $70... is the EAX 5.0 encoding worthwhile? To be honest, I usually turn EAX off, I find it annoying or distracting in most games. Same with HDR and some of these new special visual effects, those make me motion sick.

PsYcNeT · 03-06-2007, 06:11 AM

Well EAX can be reverb-craziness, but the Advanced HD really does seem to do wonders in games that support it, (Prey, BF2/2142 etc.) though I am using a 2.1 digital speaker set (coaxial SPDIF cable) with the XtremeMusic version of the card.

I would say it's worth it just so you don't have to buy a sound card for 4-5 years

Jinx · 03-06-2007, 06:18 AM

well I don't *have* to buy one at all. I'm just wondering if a basic $30 card like that is going to be an improvement over the integrated. I don't care about any of the fancy crap, just whether it will sound better for music and games in general.

PsYcNeT · 03-06-2007, 06:20 AM

a 48khz/16-bit 30$ card will not likely sound better than your integrated, but a 96khz/24-bit 70$ card would. The bit clarity difference is very noticible.

Circuitous · 03-06-2007, 06:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jinx

*ignores circ*

0145.11> JinxthePooka: lol you see the pic in my soundcard thread? of my mess of a pc's interior?
0145.18> Circtf: Not yet.
0145.50> JinxthePooka: doesn't even show the top with the psu & optical drives. it's a rat's nest.

YOU SAID IT FIRST.

Jinx · 03-06-2007, 07:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Circtf

0145.11> JinxthePooka: lol you see the pic in my soundcard thread? of my mess of a pc's interior?
0145.18> Circtf: Not yet.
0145.50> JinxthePooka: doesn't even show the top with the psu & optical drives. it's a rat's nest.

YOU SAID IT FIRST.

I wasn't showing it off because it was pretty you ho

Jinx · 03-06-2007, 07:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PsYcNeT

a 48khz/16-bit 30$ card will not likely sound better than your integrated, but a 96khz/24-bit 70$ card would. The bit clarity difference is very noticible.

The Sound Blaster® Audigy® SE is an excellent value upgrade to 7.1 surround sound on the PC. Featuring high quality audio specifications including 24-bit/96kHz recording and playback with 100dB signal to noise ratio and digital output, it's the ideal partner for surround music and movie playback. For realistic gaming, EAX® ADVANCED HD 3.0 support delivers acoustic effects and detailed 7.1 3D surround sound in gaming.

That's the $30 card...

PsYcNeT · 03-06-2007, 08:01 AM

WEll then buy it smart guy!

kam · 03-06-2007, 08:17 AM

Depends how good your speakers/headphones are imo

I bought Audio Technica AD700 headphones (crazy good) and even with Realtek AC97 onboard crap there was a massive difference than if I used my previous Beyerdynamic DT231pro set with an X-Fi soundcard.

Personally I'd wait and see if the majority of upcoming games will use OpenAL or not. But you said you don't care about EAX so... Fuck?

**mervaka** · 03-06-2007, 10:29 AM

also, it mostly sounds as good as the source audio you're playing. since most game sounds and music are only shipped at 44.1KHz 16bit. go for the right manufacturer, not the uber cool sample rates. the quality difference is mostly in the quality of the A/Ds they use, and the quality of the sample clock (look up jitter and quantisation noise)

88.2k and 96k are just using 2x oversampling, which in my books doesn't attribute to much. 24bit audio however sounds tres cool when you get a good source.

kam is rather correct too. most PC speakers are just pure shit.

Lost · 03-06-2007, 02:15 PM

My creative 5.1 sounds fine on games to me.

allisvoid · 03-06-2007, 02:43 PM

sound card is one thing and speakers are another. if you are running Logitech® Z-5450 Digital 5.1 Speaker System with on board audio... it may sound bad ass but even more bad asser with a good sound card. i was running an older logitech 5.1 pretty much equivalent to that link above on a 30$ Hercules Fortissimo 3 7.1 and it sounded great... but i was running it optical out. for 30$ i think that sound card is worth it... if you pair some DECENT (not your 3$ value deal at your local computer electronics shop) speakers/headphones with it. and then again to some, audio doesn't mean much but with how cheap sound cards are now-a-days why not get a decent one? go for the 30$ one and get off that on board junk... brand name usually have better software as well, more control.

Jinx · 03-06-2007, 03:30 PM

that's sort of what I'm thinking, allisvoid. for $30 why not?

I'm still looking for a new job so I haven't got much to spend; this just seemed like a nice cheap upgrade, and tbh it's about the only thing left that I haven't done on this pc that I would like to. Also give me an excuse to get in there and do some housekeeping.

I like my speakers, they are an older Antec 2.1 set that was around $100 at the time. I also have it piped out to my full stereo (set up with my tv, for tv-out and music), which is nice quality though it doesn't support SPDIF.

Mooga · 03-06-2007, 03:50 PM

I got this: Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 4 - sound card

It's $54 but it's a great card and it's still modern and supported (to my knowledge). It's not dirt cheap, but it's a good card and cheap enough.

I picked it up right from their warehouse with a discount due to the fact that they had the item advertised wrong before.

GambiT · 03-06-2007, 03:54 PM

i bought that same card for my comp...and YES it does sound better than the integrated...i say get it...its really nice for 30 bucks....

for another 30 dollars you can get these cheap speakers that sound really good with that card...

http://directron.com/gmax2100.html

Jinx · 03-06-2007, 04:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GambiT

i bought that same card for my comp...and YES it does sound better than the integrated...i say get it...its really nice for 30 bucks....

Thanks Gambit, that's what I wanted to know! I have speakers that are comparable or better than those, so I should be in good shape.

Thanks much, I'll repost once I have it installed... *runs off to MicroCenter*

[edit] Oh yeah, my friend told me the 24-bit/96kHz is DVD quality audio. So if you watch DVDs on your pc, this also would be worth it. I know even on my plain stereo setup, the 6-channel digital tracks (full dvd quality) sound way better than the 2-channel pcm (cd quality) tracks on dvds.

PsYcNeT · 03-06-2007, 04:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jinx

[edit] Oh yeah, my friend told me the 24-bit/96kHz is DVD quality audio. So if you watch DVDs on your pc, this also would be worth it. I know even on my plain stereo setup, the 6-channel digital tracks (full dvd quality) sound way better than the 2-channel pcm (cd quality) tracks on dvds.

Lies. DVDs tend to clock in at 48/16, which is why alot of older (read: 5 years or more) receivers only do 48/16

03-06-2007, 05:06 AM	#1
Jinx disgruntled mapper Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Ohio Posts Rated Helpful 0 Times	Minor Soundcard Upgrade...? To be honest, I've got no issues with the 16-bit integrated sound on my motherboard. But I've heard people say the 24-bit cards sound better, and everyone says RealTek integrated audio sucks. Also, it supposedly takes a little work off the processor? Note that I only use stereo speakers, I don't have much interest in surround sound. This is for music and gaming. Should 16-bit be enough? That's CD quality, right? Was considering something basic like this: SoundBlaster Audigy SE PCI It's only $30, so it's not much money if it will be any improvement at all. Also, do they take much juice? I have a 480 watt Antec psu powering a 3.47ghz P4, 2.5gb ram, 2 hard drives, 4 optical drives, IDE card, and a 6800GT. Am I pushing it? Everything's been just fine so far. I figure I can move the USB back-panel above the video card, ditch the external sata panel I don't use, and put it right about the IDE controller... Last edited by Jinx; 03-06-2007 at 05:36 AM.

03-06-2007, 10:29 AM	#13
mervaka A Very Sound Guy! Fortress Forever Staff Join Date: May 2005 Location: UK Posts Rated Helpful 15 Times	also, it mostly sounds as good as the source audio you're playing. since most game sounds and music are only shipped at 44.1KHz 16bit. go for the right manufacturer, not the uber cool sample rates. the quality difference is mostly in the quality of the A/Ds they use, and the quality of the sample clock (look up jitter and quantisation noise) 88.2k and 96k are just using 2x oversampling, which in my books doesn't attribute to much. 24bit audio however sounds tres cool when you get a good source. kam is rather correct too. most PC speakers are just pure shit. __________________ Support FF:

03-06-2007, 02:15 PM	#14
Lost Fear teh crowbar. Retired FF Staff Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Oklahoma Gametype: CTF ftw, yeh Posts Rated Helpful 6 Times	My creative 5.1 sounds fine on games to me. __________________ Do what you want cuz a pirate is free! You are a pirate!

03-06-2007, 03:50 PM	#17
Mooga Colorless FTW D&A Member Beta Tester Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: A Small Box Affiliations: SRCDS.com Posts Rated Helpful 1 Times	I got this: Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 4 - sound card It's $54 but it's a great card and it's still modern and supported (to my knowledge). It's not dirt cheap, but it's a good card and cheap enough. I picked it up right from their warehouse with a discount due to the fact that they had the item advertised wrong before. __________________ ~ Mooga ...w00t? SRCDS.com \| Twitter

03-06-2007, 05:57 AM	#2
PsYcNeT Black Chancellor Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Calgary, Alberta eh? Posts Rated Helpful 0 Times	http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16829102006 - $70 Really good sound and what I think is pretty damn good price. 96khz/24-bit with EAX 5.0 and Advanced HD decoding. Makes even a pair of headphones sound awesome.

03-06-2007, 05:58 AM	#3
Circuitous Useless Retired FF Staff Join Date: Jun 2005 Class/Position: D Soldier, O Scout Gametype: AvD Posts Rated Helpful 9 Times	That looks like shit! Glowing blue shit, which is awesome, but shit nonetheless.

03-06-2007, 06:09 AM	#4
Jinx disgruntled mapper Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Ohio Posts Rated Helpful 0 Times	ignores circ PsYcNeT: I don't have $70... is the EAX 5.0 encoding worthwhile? To be honest, I usually turn EAX off, I find it annoying or distracting in most games. Same with HDR and some of these new special visual effects, those make me motion sick.

03-06-2007, 06:11 AM	#5
PsYcNeT Black Chancellor Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Calgary, Alberta eh? Posts Rated Helpful 0 Times	Well EAX can be reverb-craziness, but the Advanced HD really does seem to do wonders in games that support it, (Prey, BF2/2142 etc.) though I am using a 2.1 digital speaker set (coaxial SPDIF cable) with the XtremeMusic version of the card. I would say it's worth it just so you don't have to buy a sound card for 4-5 years

03-06-2007, 06:18 AM	#6
Jinx disgruntled mapper Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Ohio Posts Rated Helpful 0 Times	well I don't have to buy one at all. I'm just wondering if a basic $30 card like that is going to be an improvement over the integrated. I don't care about any of the fancy crap, just whether it will sound better for music and games in general.

03-06-2007, 06:20 AM	#7
PsYcNeT Black Chancellor Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Calgary, Alberta eh? Posts Rated Helpful 0 Times	a 48khz/16-bit 30$ card will not likely sound better than your integrated, but a 96khz/24-bit 70$ card would. The bit clarity difference is very noticible.

03-06-2007, 08:01 AM	#11
PsYcNeT Black Chancellor Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Calgary, Alberta eh? Posts Rated Helpful 0 Times	WEll then buy it smart guy!

03-06-2007, 08:17 AM	#12
kam Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Melbourne Posts Rated Helpful 0 Times	Depends how good your speakers/headphones are imo I bought Audio Technica AD700 headphones (crazy good) and even with Realtek AC97 onboard crap there was a massive difference than if I used my previous Beyerdynamic DT231pro set with an X-Fi soundcard. Personally I'd wait and see if the majority of upcoming games will use OpenAL or not. But you said you don't care about EAX so... Fuck?

03-06-2007, 02:43 PM	#15
allisvoid what is tfc? Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: houston tx Posts Rated Helpful 0 Times	sound card is one thing and speakers are another. if you are running Logitech® Z-5450 Digital 5.1 Speaker System with on board audio... it may sound bad ass but even more bad asser with a good sound card. i was running an older logitech 5.1 pretty much equivalent to that link above on a 30$ Hercules Fortissimo 3 7.1 and it sounded great... but i was running it optical out. for 30$ i think that sound card is worth it... if you pair some DECENT (not your 3$ value deal at your local computer electronics shop) speakers/headphones with it. and then again to some, audio doesn't mean much but with how cheap sound cards are now-a-days why not get a decent one? go for the 30$ one and get off that on board junk... brand name usually have better software as well, more control.

03-06-2007, 03:30 PM	#16
Jinx disgruntled mapper Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Ohio Posts Rated Helpful 0 Times	that's sort of what I'm thinking, allisvoid. for $30 why not? I'm still looking for a new job so I haven't got much to spend; this just seemed like a nice cheap upgrade, and tbh it's about the only thing left that I haven't done on this pc that I would like to. Also give me an excuse to get in there and do some housekeeping. I like my speakers, they are an older Antec 2.1 set that was around $100 at the time. I also have it piped out to my full stereo (set up with my tv, for tv-out and music), which is nice quality though it doesn't support SPDIF.

03-06-2007, 03:54 PM	#18
GambiT Fortress Forever Staff Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Baton Rouge Class/Position: Spy Affiliations: -=DoM=- Posts Rated Helpful 0 Times	i bought that same card for my comp...and YES it does sound better than the integrated...i say get it...its really nice for 30 bucks.... for another 30 dollars you can get these cheap speakers that sound really good with that card... http://directron.com/gmax2100.html

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