Sound card question

liquidshadow · 10-19-2006, 08:47 PM

Are USB sound cards better than PCI?
Sorry if its in the wrong section.

**The_Other_One** · 10-19-2006, 09:52 PM

Um this is a sound card question, shouldn't it be in soundcards

Anyway, sound wise, they would probably both be the same. However, USB requires many more resorces than PCI. Personally, I'd never even consider a USB sound card unless there were no other options.

PC eye · 10-19-2006, 10:19 PM

I wouldn't say usb cards are the only ones heavy on resources. Sound Blasters are particularly noted for pulling on power while during intense gaming or full bore multimedia playback. And that's with the pci models there.

Emperor_nero · 10-19-2006, 10:22 PM

go with PCI internal are cheaper then external

liquidshadow · 10-20-2006, 02:20 AM

Pulling on power? I thought the Sound Blasters make the computer do less work because it handles the audio playback.

Do USB or PCI have better sound quality? (GENERALLY SPEAKING)...

PC eye · 10-20-2006, 10:24 AM

Creative software is what has the EAX great for effects in gaming. I certainly give the Audigy 4 line the edge over the Audigy 2 series. Both are pci type cards there. The speakers you run along will have far more to do with the actual quality of sound as far as hearing it while the filtering of the signal sent to them has to do with the cards's software and hardware.

The Sound Blaster line is known for pulling on resources when gaming or pushing multimedia. The idea of using a pci type over the onboard is the larger capability and features they can offer. Between usb and pci which one has better sound quality is debatable there. A usb device wouldn't have the same power needs and would more likely be used on a laptop. I have never tried the usb type to be able to make a comparison on that.

SirKenin · 10-20-2006, 12:59 PM

As usual PC eye didn't answer the question. Just a bunch of nonsense to see himself type I guess??

A Sound Blaster PCI card will do most the work on board the card. Both PCI and USB do the decoding on the device, so there shouldn't be a whole lot of difference. Neither one uses anywhere near the CPU resources of an onboard sound chip.

**Archangel** · 10-20-2006, 01:26 PM

I dont think there will be a difference in sound quality between an USB and a PCI soundcard.. however.. i do think there is a performance difference..
Since USB is plug-and-pray hardware.. i think its more intensive for the pc to get it up and running (and keep it running ofc) than it would be for a PCI card.
also.. USB soundcards are merely ment for people who cant fit in a PCI one due to the lack of space, or because they use a laptop or so.

Like i said... I'm not sure about that.. i havnt found actual numbers yet.. but if im wrong, you'll see in the next posts i gues

liquidshadow · 10-20-2006, 11:12 PM

If I were to get a PCI sound card, would the X-fi series be my best choice?

SirKenin · 10-20-2006, 11:21 PM

I would say so.

10-19-2006, 08:47 PM	#1 (permalink)
liquidshadow Diamond Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Virginia, USA Posts: 1,030	Sound card question Are USB sound cards better than PCI? Sorry if its in the wrong section. __________________ Intel Q6600 \| D-Tek Fuzion Block Asus P5K Deluxe \| Swiftech MCR320 Rad G-Skill 4GB \| Swiftech MCRES-MICRO Res WD Raptor 150 \| EK FC8800 GTX Block Seagate 320GB \| 3 * Yate Loon DM12SL Samsung S182 \| Swiftech MCP655 Pump Coolmax 700W Antec P180b BUY MY STuff: http://www.computerforum.com/80556-comp.html

10-19-2006, 09:52 PM	#2 (permalink)
The_Other_One Super Moderator Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Lexington, NC Age: 23 Posts: 12,292	Um this is a sound card question, shouldn't it be in soundcards Anyway, sound wise, they would probably both be the same. However, USB requires many more resorces than PCI. Personally, I'd never even consider a USB sound card unless there were no other options. __________________ Urban De-Development * Athlon X2 4200 \| 2048M RAM \| 160G HD \| 7600GT * C2D T5250 \| 2048M RAM \| 160G HD \| Intel x3100 * G4 1.33GHz \| 512M RAM \| 40G HD \| Radeon 9200

10-19-2006, 10:22 PM	#4 (permalink)
Emperor_nero Diamond Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: 127.0.0.1 Posts: 2,267	go with PCI internal are cheaper then external __________________ I play Rugby, and no its not like it's sissy cousin with the pads.

10-20-2006, 02:20 AM	#5 (permalink)
liquidshadow Diamond Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Virginia, USA Posts: 1,030	Pulling on power? I thought the Sound Blasters make the computer do less work because it handles the audio playback. Do USB or PCI have better sound quality? (GENERALLY SPEAKING)... __________________ Intel Q6600 \| D-Tek Fuzion Block Asus P5K Deluxe \| Swiftech MCR320 Rad G-Skill 4GB \| Swiftech MCRES-MICRO Res WD Raptor 150 \| EK FC8800 GTX Block Seagate 320GB \| 3 * Yate Loon DM12SL Samsung S182 \| Swiftech MCP655 Pump Coolmax 700W Antec P180b BUY MY STuff: http://www.computerforum.com/80556-comp.html

10-20-2006, 01:26 PM	#8 (permalink)
Archangel Moderator Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Netherlands Age: 21 Posts: 7,775	I dont think there will be a difference in sound quality between an USB and a PCI soundcard.. however.. i do think there is a performance difference.. Since USB is plug-and-pray hardware.. i think its more intensive for the pc to get it up and running (and keep it running ofc) than it would be for a PCI card. also.. USB soundcards are merely ment for people who cant fit in a PCI one due to the lack of space, or because they use a laptop or so. Like i said... I'm not sure about that.. i havnt found actual numbers yet.. but if im wrong, you'll see in the next posts i gues __________________ Newton is dead, Einstein is dead, I don't feel very well either Xfire - Mirrari Intel Q6600 ( @3.6GHz) Asus Triton 79 Amazing 549/3200 4x 1Gb Corsair XMS2 DDR800 ( @ 960MHz ) Asus Maximus Formula Asus & Sapphire HD3870 512Mb Logitech MX Revolution mouse, G-15 keyboard, Saitek X-45 AeroEngine II case Corsair HX620W PSU Last edited by Archangel; 10-20-2006 at 01:36 PM.

10-19-2006, 10:19 PM	#3 (permalink)
PC eye Diamond Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Inside a pc Posts: 18,922	I wouldn't say usb cards are the only ones heavy on resources. Sound Blasters are particularly noted for pulling on power while during intense gaming or full bore multimedia playback. And that's with the pci models there.

10-20-2006, 10:24 AM	#6 (permalink)
PC eye Diamond Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Inside a pc Posts: 18,922	Creative software is what has the EAX great for effects in gaming. I certainly give the Audigy 4 line the edge over the Audigy 2 series. Both are pci type cards there. The speakers you run along will have far more to do with the actual quality of sound as far as hearing it while the filtering of the signal sent to them has to do with the cards's software and hardware. The Sound Blaster line is known for pulling on resources when gaming or pushing multimedia. The idea of using a pci type over the onboard is the larger capability and features they can offer. Between usb and pci which one has better sound quality is debatable there. A usb device wouldn't have the same power needs and would more likely be used on a laptop. I have never tried the usb type to be able to make a comparison on that.

10-20-2006, 12:59 PM	#7 (permalink)
SirKenin banned Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 4,711	As usual PC eye didn't answer the question. Just a bunch of nonsense to see himself type I guess?? A Sound Blaster PCI card will do most the work on board the card. Both PCI and USB do the decoding on the device, so there shouldn't be a whole lot of difference. Neither one uses anywhere near the CPU resources of an onboard sound chip.

10-20-2006, 11:12 PM	#9 (permalink)
liquidshadow Diamond Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Virginia, USA Posts: 1,030	If I were to get a PCI sound card, would the X-fi series be my best choice? __________________ Intel Q6600 \| D-Tek Fuzion Block Asus P5K Deluxe \| Swiftech MCR320 Rad G-Skill 4GB \| Swiftech MCRES-MICRO Res WD Raptor 150 \| EK FC8800 GTX Block Seagate 320GB \| 3 * Yate Loon DM12SL Samsung S182 \| Swiftech MCP655 Pump Coolmax 700W Antec P180b BUY MY STuff: http://www.computerforum.com/80556-comp.html

10-20-2006, 11:21 PM	#10 (permalink)
SirKenin banned Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 4,711	I would say so.

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