Good sound card

Tralis · 08-22-2007, 05:16 AM

I need a hardware recomendation for upgrading my rig.
I'm looking to spend $75. Less is good, more only if really justified.

I NEED the following in my card:
5.1 surround.
Excelent support for games and whatever interfaces it needs to support for that.
Decent support for DTS and other movie formats
Microphone input to talk to squadmates

I'd LIKE the following (in order of nessesity)
7.1 Channel support
Either RCA or Fiber optic out

PC eye · 08-22-2007, 09:36 PM

The lowest priced card by Creative that supports upto 7.1 goes for $65.99 at http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16829102007

Now for getting into a better card for gaming and higher end multimedia the price starts over $80 unless OEM. Newegg has two others seen for under $100 at http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2000360057+50001137+ 1102608534+4027&name=%2475+-+%24100 with the Xtreme Gamer going for $90.99. That's the best of the three there.

Tralis · 08-23-2007, 07:31 PM

What about if I only want 5.1?
See, I really need a mic input because otherwise I can't VOIP with my squadmates.
Or, could I use the mic input on my onboard while using the 7.1 output on the card?

Really all I need is an SPDIF passthrough and 7.1 processing with a mic input.

PC eye · 08-24-2007, 12:09 AM

You can still set the speaker settings to 5.1 on a 7.1 card. I will doing that here on the new build having a 5.1 set of speakers. The default setting when you first look is 2 1/2 for a pair with a sub woofer. Most cards especially Creative SB models have a mic in as well as the line in jack seen. The software is what controls the input/output on any card. I even create desktop shortcuts by going into the audoo console folder in the Start>Programs menu and right clicking there for speaker settings, sound mixer, and even the EAX console for XP. Vista and newer now use OpenAL.

K3rupt · 08-24-2007, 01:10 AM

Go for a Logitech x-530's They are a 5.1 Set.

They are beautiful

I have a set, I Love em.

The sound they produce is excellent for Music

And the sound is Accurate for gaming.

And excellent all round speakers.

Tralis · 08-24-2007, 03:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by K3rupt

Go for a Logitech x-530's They are a 5.1 Set.

They are beautiful

I have a set, I Love em.

The sound they produce is excellent for Music

And the sound is Accurate for gaming.

And excellent all round speakers.

The speakers I have work beautifully. My onboard sound just doesn't do positional effects as well as I'd like. It could be a driver issue.

PC eye · 08-24-2007, 05:52 AM

Once you have a good card installed you will have to make sure that the onboard sound is disabled in the bios itself. This will rule out using the mic with the onboard plus surround sound from the expansion card installed on the system. The X-FI Xtreme Audio by Creative lacks the line in jack and sees the mic jack only on that model. Before deciding on which card to go with look over the specifications to which one will work best there.

08-22-2007, 05:16 AM	#1 (permalink)
Tralis New Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 17	Good sound card I need a hardware recomendation for upgrading my rig. I'm looking to spend $75. Less is good, more only if really justified. I NEED the following in my card: 5.1 surround. Excelent support for games and whatever interfaces it needs to support for that. Decent support for DTS and other movie formats Microphone input to talk to squadmates I'd LIKE the following (in order of nessesity) 7.1 Channel support Either RCA or Fiber optic out

08-22-2007, 09:36 PM	#2 (permalink)
PC eye Diamond Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Inside a pc Posts: 20,457	The lowest priced card by Creative that supports upto 7.1 goes for $65.99 at http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16829102007 Now for getting into a better card for gaming and higher end multimedia the price starts over $80 unless OEM. Newegg has two others seen for under $100 at http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2000360057+50001137+ 1102608534+4027&name=%2475+-+%24100 with the Xtreme Gamer going for $90.99. That's the best of the three there. __________________ Turning the Tongue into a Device Controller http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/Sma...ory?id=5647175 High Tech gifts for the Holidays under $150 http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/GadgetGuide/

08-23-2007, 07:31 PM	#3 (permalink)
Tralis New Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 17	What about if I only want 5.1? See, I really need a mic input because otherwise I can't VOIP with my squadmates. Or, could I use the mic input on my onboard while using the 7.1 output on the card? Really all I need is an SPDIF passthrough and 7.1 processing with a mic input. Last edited by Tralis; 08-23-2007 at 09:45 PM.

08-24-2007, 12:09 AM	#4 (permalink)
PC eye Diamond Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Inside a pc Posts: 20,457	You can still set the speaker settings to 5.1 on a 7.1 card. I will doing that here on the new build having a 5.1 set of speakers. The default setting when you first look is 2 1/2 for a pair with a sub woofer. Most cards especially Creative SB models have a mic in as well as the line in jack seen. The software is what controls the input/output on any card. I even create desktop shortcuts by going into the audoo console folder in the Start>Programs menu and right clicking there for speaker settings, sound mixer, and even the EAX console for XP. Vista and newer now use OpenAL. __________________ Turning the Tongue into a Device Controller http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/Sma...ory?id=5647175 High Tech gifts for the Holidays under $150 http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/GadgetGuide/

08-24-2007, 01:10 AM	#5 (permalink)
K3rupt Diamond Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Australia Age: 17 Posts: 1,386	Go for a Logitech x-530's They are a 5.1 Set. They are beautiful I have a set, I Love em. The sound they produce is excellent for Music And the sound is Accurate for gaming. And excellent all round speakers. __________________ GigaByte K8N Nforce Pro-SLI AMD 3800+ Socket 939 2048MB PC3200 DDR Matched RAM 960GB Hard Drive [3 x 320GB SataII Seagate's] Albatron 8600GT 256MB New. . .Too me 21" ViewSonic LCD Monitor 6.3 Sound System \|Desktop\| \|Setup!\| \|Inside Computer\| \|Server\| Updated Setup! Check out My Banner! When The Rich Wage War Its The Poor Who Die.

08-24-2007, 05:52 AM	#7 (permalink)
PC eye Diamond Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Inside a pc Posts: 20,457	Once you have a good card installed you will have to make sure that the onboard sound is disabled in the bios itself. This will rule out using the mic with the onboard plus surround sound from the expansion card installed on the system. The X-FI Xtreme Audio by Creative lacks the line in jack and sees the mic jack only on that model. Before deciding on which card to go with look over the specifications to which one will work best there. __________________ Turning the Tongue into a Device Controller http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/Sma...ory?id=5647175 High Tech gifts for the Holidays under $150 http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/GadgetGuide/

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