Do all sound cards work separate from the CPU??

ADE

ADE

banned
OK, I just got some 5.1 surround sound headphones and am getting a 5.1 surround sound speakers. Of course I want the best gaming experience possible, but I don't want the sound to put stress on my CPU (it has to deal enough all ready). Which boils down to the question, Do all sound cards work solo as in works separate from the CPU?
 
Impr3ssiv3

Impr3ssiv3

New Member
no not all of them

not all sound cards have their own DSP(digital sound processor) which is like the cpu for sound how the GPU is what processes the graphics


just get a nice high quality one from Creative and you'll be good

i would suggest a X-Fi series
 
ADE

ADE

banned
Hmm.... I got a MIDI 32bit 5.1 sound card....only paid $1 for it on ebay brand new.
 
magicman

magicman

VIP Member
Not really, plus the item description doesn't fill me with confidence:

  • They are all different OEM models
  • No drivers, card only
  • Will not look exactly like photo
  • Possibly new but will sell as Used/Not tested

You'd be looking at a lot more than $8.95 if you want to take stress from the cpu. If you're a fan of eBay, look for used X-Fi XtremeMusic cards going cheap. I found this one you could follow. Not sure if that link will work, I can't access the US site from the UK.
 
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ADE

ADE

banned
Well, I saw many like this in the USA site for cheep, but had a few days left. Sadly by the end of the action it gets well over $100.
 
ADE

ADE

banned
Are there any other sound cards that don't cost as much that will take the load off of the CPU?
 
magicman

magicman

VIP Member
Well it's a case of whether you value quality sound, and whether you have the money for something worthwhile. A card like the one you linked would be no better than onboard sound, and would still make work for the cpu. So in all fairness, if your mobo supports 5.1, a card like that would be a waste of 9 dollars.

I just witnessed a Buy It Now go for exactly $75 plus $25 postage, you probably won't get any better than that, if that's too much for you, look for something like the Audigy 4 series.
 
magicman

magicman

VIP Member
Lol, I wasn't expecting you to have time to bid for that one at all - there's plenty more where that came from, I just posted that item to give you an idea of a price range for a used Audigy 4. Keep looking - the next one down the line is this, only it's new, so will probably fetch more.
 
magicman

magicman

VIP Member
Yes if you want, it's the same card as the ones in the above 2 auctions, and that's a very decent price by the looks of it. I somehow doubt they have 999 in stock, though... :rolleyes:

This is the chip that takes the load off the cpu:

audigy4.jpg
 
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ADE

ADE

banned
I bought the one listed above in the link. That one cost less overall with shipping. It has 100% positive reviews, so that one is just like the other. Both 4 and the 4 SE are the same right?
 
Impr3ssiv3

Impr3ssiv3

New Member
actually the SE one is not as high tech as the other one

the SE only gets up to 96 kHz while the other goes up to 192 kHz

and the Audigy4 is cheaper so id get it
 
ADE

ADE

banned
S**t. So I got the wrong one. So I wont get as good sound quality huh? I was hoping you'd reply sooner, but I thought they'd be the same. Curse my impatient ways. Is it worth calling off the buy and getting the non SE. And why the heck would they call it special edition if its less special than the original???? AAAHHHH!!! I should have waited for you reply!
 
ADE

ADE

banned
Specifications: Audigy 4 Processor: Advanced hardware accelerated digital effects processing. Patented 8-point interpolation that reduces distortion to inaudible levels. 64-voice hardware wavetable synthesizer. Professional quality digital mixing and equalization. High Definition Audio Quality for Playback and Recording: 64 audio channel playback with independent sample rates. 24-bit Digital-to-Analog conversion during playback with sampling rates of 8, 11.025, 16, 22.05, 24, 32, 44.1, 48 and 96kHz in 7.1 mode and up to 192kHz in stereo mode.

Wait! Read that last sentence!! Does that mean its as good as the non SE?
 
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