No announcement yet.

Sound card or not

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Sound card or not

    I bought a new mobod from gigabyte.
    GIGABYTE GA-Z68X-UD4-B3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

    Audio ChipsetRealtek ALC889Audio Channels8 ChannelsI have a sound card already from HT Omega Claro 7.1 I venture to guess that the Omega is a better route than the onboard? Anyone care to comment?
    Windows 7 Professional
    (2)-ASUS VS248H-P Black 24" Monitor
    CORSAIR Hydro Series H60 (CWCH60) Liquid CPU Cooler
    ASRock Z77 Extreme4 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
    Kingston Hyper X Blu 16GB
    Intel Xeon E3-1245 V2 Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Server Processor
    High Current Pro HCP-750 750W TX12V v2.3 / EPS12V v2.92 SLI Certified CrossFire Certified 80 PLUS GOLD
    SAMSUNG 830 Series MZ-7PC256B/WW 2.5" 256GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive
    3 -2TB Western Digital Black HDD
    Rosewill RDCR-11003 74-in-1 USB3.0 3.5 Internal Card Reader
    1 Asus Blu Ray Burner
    1 Plextor DVD Burner

  • #2
    Re: Sound card or not

    it might be slightly better but the onboard sound is pretty good anyway,i dont notice much difference between my soundcard and onboard
    Gigabyte z77x UP4-TH F11c Modded Bios
    Intel i7 3770k 24/[email protected] 1.38v Turbo llc +0.165v dvid multithreading enabled
    Samsung Green(MV-3V4G3D/US) 8GB @2133mhz 9-10-10-21-1t 1.55v
    Thermalright Silver Arrow Cpu Cooler
    1xSamsung 840 pro 256 Gb SSD windows 8.1 pro 64bit
    1xSamsung f4 HD204UI 2tb hard drive Storage
    Powercolor 7970 3gb V3 @1150mhz core/1700mhz mem,1.150v Accelero aftermarket air cooler 55c max
    Razer Lycosa Keyboard
    Logitech X-530 5.1 Speakers
    Lite-On iHAS124-19 24x Sata DVDRW
    K-World Hybrid DVB-T 210SE Digital T.V Card
    L.G E2260V L.E.D 1920x1080 Monitor
    Xfx Pro 750w silver rated Psu 80+
    Fractal Arc Midi Case

    http://i38.tinypic.com/14myvfa.jpg x58 ud5 <=3.8ghz + 4.2ghz Overclock Template!!
    http://www.youtube.com/user/warren304#p/u Visit Me On Youtube

    Lots Of Gaming Videos With X58 Ud5 System And Gpu On My Youtube Channel!!
    Just Uploaded New Battlefield 4 Video!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Sound card or not

      Very much depends what you do!
      If you play music or watch movies, then its fine.

      I have a simulator what has a large amount of sounds which swamps the onboard sound, more than 3 sounds at the same time and the sounds get put in a queue.

      I only bought a Creative x-fi titanium and it can handle about 20 sounds at the same time.

      Cheers
      Antec 900 case, x58a-ud7 (rev1) Bios F7x, i7-930 stock, Zalman CNPS Extreme 10X fan, 6GB Corsair Dominator 1600 ram, 1TB Hitachi 120GB Corsair Reactor SSD, OCZ Core V2 60GB, ATI HD Radeon 5850 1GB, Corsair HX850 PS, Samsung SyncMaster 204b monitor

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Sound card or not

        Originally posted by wazza300 View Post
        it might be slightly better but the onboard sound is pretty good anyway,i dont notice much difference between my soundcard and onboard
        That's because the Xonar DG is an entry level soundcard and anything Logitech plus speakers is generally garbage. In short, your sound set up can definitely be improved.

        OP: Go for it. Spend as much as you can. You will reach a point of diminishing returns.

        Keep in mind that the following influence overall sound quality:

        Source (CD/MP3/FLAC etc)
        Sound Card
        Speakers/Headphones
        Any interference or noise
        Isolation
        Amplification

        Example: on my titanium card, unless I mute the front and rear mic ports, I get terrible hiss on 100% volume. This is why it defaults to about 30%. I however do not care for default settings or manufacturer recommendations :)
        My Rig
        CPU: Phenom II X4 955BE @ 4GHz
        RAD: Corsair H60 [2x Gentle Typhoon AP-15]
        MB: ASRock 990FX Fatal1ty Professional
        RAM: 8GB G.Skill Ripjaws X 1600MHz
        GPU: MSI GTX 560 Ti Twin Frozr II OC
        SND: Asus Xonar Essence STX
        SSD: Cosair Force 3 60GB
        HDD: Samsung F3 1TB
        PSU: Silverstone Strider Plus 600W ST60F-P
        CASE: CoolerMaster Storm Scout

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Sound card or not

          dx is a mid range card,and logitech are good speakers,lots of software can improve your sound too,just dont believe spending £100's on sound equipment when mb sound is just as good imo,plus i heard creative sound drivers are a pain
          Gigabyte z77x UP4-TH F11c Modded Bios
          Intel i7 3770k 24/[email protected] 1.38v Turbo llc +0.165v dvid multithreading enabled
          Samsung Green(MV-3V4G3D/US) 8GB @2133mhz 9-10-10-21-1t 1.55v
          Thermalright Silver Arrow Cpu Cooler
          1xSamsung 840 pro 256 Gb SSD windows 8.1 pro 64bit
          1xSamsung f4 HD204UI 2tb hard drive Storage
          Powercolor 7970 3gb V3 @1150mhz core/1700mhz mem,1.150v Accelero aftermarket air cooler 55c max
          Razer Lycosa Keyboard
          Logitech X-530 5.1 Speakers
          Lite-On iHAS124-19 24x Sata DVDRW
          K-World Hybrid DVB-T 210SE Digital T.V Card
          L.G E2260V L.E.D 1920x1080 Monitor
          Xfx Pro 750w silver rated Psu 80+
          Fractal Arc Midi Case

          http://i38.tinypic.com/14myvfa.jpg x58 ud5 <=3.8ghz + 4.2ghz Overclock Template!!
          http://www.youtube.com/user/warren304#p/u Visit Me On Youtube

          Lots Of Gaming Videos With X58 Ud5 System And Gpu On My Youtube Channel!!
          Just Uploaded New Battlefield 4 Video!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Sound card or not

            >plus i heard creative sound drivers are a pain

            Heard from who?

            They work fine on my system

            Cheers
            Antec 900 case, x58a-ud7 (rev1) Bios F7x, i7-930 stock, Zalman CNPS Extreme 10X fan, 6GB Corsair Dominator 1600 ram, 1TB Hitachi 120GB Corsair Reactor SSD, OCZ Core V2 60GB, ATI HD Radeon 5850 1GB, Corsair HX850 PS, Samsung SyncMaster 204b monitor

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Sound card or not

              from what ive read on the net,anyway if you want a sound card go ahead and buy one,its just my opinion that modern mb's onboard sound is more than enough for any everyday user,coupled with good quality speakers and headphones, plus software,i just found it a constant pain in the arse to keep having to fiddle with the xonar dx sound options to get the best sound from it,whether it was gaming/movies or music,with onboard i can set it and forget it

              if your card works fine on your system then good for you,im not gonna get into an arguement about it

              good software i find is jetaudio for films/music

              ac3 filter for movies is awesome
              Last edited by wazza300; 11-28-2011, 04:41 PM.
              Gigabyte z77x UP4-TH F11c Modded Bios
              Intel i7 3770k 24/[email protected] 1.38v Turbo llc +0.165v dvid multithreading enabled
              Samsung Green(MV-3V4G3D/US) 8GB @2133mhz 9-10-10-21-1t 1.55v
              Thermalright Silver Arrow Cpu Cooler
              1xSamsung 840 pro 256 Gb SSD windows 8.1 pro 64bit
              1xSamsung f4 HD204UI 2tb hard drive Storage
              Powercolor 7970 3gb V3 @1150mhz core/1700mhz mem,1.150v Accelero aftermarket air cooler 55c max
              Razer Lycosa Keyboard
              Logitech X-530 5.1 Speakers
              Lite-On iHAS124-19 24x Sata DVDRW
              K-World Hybrid DVB-T 210SE Digital T.V Card
              L.G E2260V L.E.D 1920x1080 Monitor
              Xfx Pro 750w silver rated Psu 80+
              Fractal Arc Midi Case

              http://i38.tinypic.com/14myvfa.jpg x58 ud5 <=3.8ghz + 4.2ghz Overclock Template!!
              http://www.youtube.com/user/warren304#p/u Visit Me On Youtube

              Lots Of Gaming Videos With X58 Ud5 System And Gpu On My Youtube Channel!!
              Just Uploaded New Battlefield 4 Video!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Sound card or not

                Google search using: creative driver problems
                gives 178,000,000 hits
                Maybe their newer drivers are better, but in the past their were many issues.

                Onboard sound? Decent if you're not very demanding and/or have mid to lower end speakers or headphones.
                Logitech speakers = garbage? No way!
                Are their better speaker systems high fidelity? Nope, but some of their systems deliver excellent sound reproduction.

                My hearing isn't great; too many decades of motorcycle riding where wind noise has taken a toll.
                I've used the HT Omega Striker 7.1 and Claro plus+ pci sound cards for several years with my Z-5500 Logitech speakers and the sound is superior to onboard sound, especially with my Sennheiser HD 280 Pro headphones.
                HT Omega tech support is excellent; fast replies that are well written and they provide information that deals directly with your questions.

                A quality sound card's output will have a superior signal to noise ratio, better dynamic range and lower distortion.
                Some sound cards are better than others when it comes to special sound effects in computer games.

                That's my 2 cents.
                Last edited by profJim; 11-29-2011, 06:02 PM. Reason: minor edit
                Q9650 @ 4.10GHz [9x456MHz]
                P35-DS4 [rev: 2.0] ~ Bios: F14
                4x2GB OCZ Reaper PC2-8500 1094MHz @5-5-5-15
                MSI N460GTX Hawk Talon Attack (1GB) video card <---- SLI ---->
                Seasonic SS-660XP2 80 Plus Platinum psu (660w)
                WD Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB (data)
                Samsung 840 Pro 256GB SSD (boot)
                SLI @ 16/4 works when running HyperSLI
                Cooler Master 120XL Seidon push/pull AIO cpu water cooling
                Cooler Master HAF XB computer case (RC-902XB-KKN1)
                Asus VH242H 24" monitor [1920x1080]
                MSI N460GTX Hawk (1GB) video card
                Logitech Z-5500 Digital 5.1 Speakers
                win7 x64 sp1 Home Premium
                HT|Omega Claro plus+ sound card
                CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD UPS
                E6300 (R0) @ 3.504GHz [8x438MHz] ~~ P35-DS3L [rev: 1.0] ~ Bios: F9 ~~ 4x2GB Kingston HyperX T1 PC2-8500, 876MHz @4-4-4-10
                Seasonic X650 80+ gold psu (650w) ~~ Xigmatek Balder HDT 1283 cpu cooler ~~ Cooler Master CM 690 case (RC-690-KKN1-GP)
                Samsung 830 128GB SSD MZ-7PC128B/WW (boot) ~~ WD Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB (data) ~~ ZM-MFC2 fan controller
                HT|Omega Striker 7.1 sound card ~~ Asus VH242H monitor [1920x1080] ~~ Logitech Z-5500 Digital 5.1 Speakers
                win7 x64 sp1 Home Premium ~~ CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD U.P.S
                .

                Comment

                Working...
                X