Soundcard...?

jgroner · March 17th, 2004

Hey, I've been using an onboard sondcard on my standard p4 dell for my emulation needs thusfar, and i'm wondering if getting a PCI soundcard would make a lot of difference in the sound quality of my games... I'm especially wondering for newer generation, like psx and n64, since there's some problems with that. Thanks much.

**Katsuya** · March 17th, 2004

Quote:

Originally Posted by jgroner

Hey, I've been using an onboard sondcard on my standard p4 dell for my emulation needs thusfar, and i'm wondering if getting a PCI soundcard would make a lot of difference in the sound quality of my games... I'm especially wondering for newer generation, like psx and n64, since there's some problems with that. Thanks much.

Yes! (only a good sondcard will work)

**cooliscool** · March 17th, 2004

Quality, yep. Speed, prolly not.

Most cards offer EAX support (in particular effects changeable on the fly) so you could set the effect to Bathroom and it'll sound like the game is running in a bathroom. Most also offer their own EQ's that will equalize any sound. I recommend any thing recent from creative (SBLive! or better, though some other cards offer similar things to EAX and most others have EQ's too). If you're on a budget look for Mad Dog's offerings. They use CMedia chips and are extremely competetive to creative's.

jgroner · March 18th, 2004

Thanks to both... will they solve slow sound/crackling problems?

**Katsuya** · March 18th, 2004

Quote:

Originally Posted by cooliscool

Quality, yep. Speed, prolly not.

I wrote this before, but I thought it would be a good idea to post

This is all you need to know... about high-quality Sound

-Sound Card-

If you use the AC97 codec (most onboard sound) then you will have a drop of 5 to 15 frames per second in games. The reason for this is because AC97 uses all the CPU it can to decode audio data.

The two best solutions for this are

1 The nForce2 audio chip, you have almost no loss with this one, but it's only for the nForce2 motherboard (and XBOX)

2. The Sound Blaster Audigy. This one has very little loss (1% more then nForce) and you can get it for $60 USD

Sound quality

1 Sound Blaster Audigy (Best)

2 nForce2 (Excellent)

3 Onboard AC97 (from alright to bad depending on what board)

**Katsuya** · March 18th, 2004

Quote:

Originally Posted by jgroner

Thanks to both... will they solve slow sound/crackling problems?

Most likely... as long as your speakers are working properly.

**cooliscool** · March 18th, 2004

I realize that, but as much as they say it will help speed.. I've had tons of soundcards and they all run games the same as my AC97 did (but the via ac97 sounded crappy).

I guess it depends..

**Katsuya** · March 18th, 2004

Quote:

Originally Posted by cooliscool

I realize that, but as much as they say it will help speed.. I've had tons of soundcards and they all run games the same as my AC97 did (but the via ac97 sounded crappy).

I guess it depends..

Only a few cards use true hardware acceleration. 85% of all sound cards just use the CPU for everything...

**hushypushy** · March 18th, 2004

what about the Turtle Beach cards? i hear their Santa Cruz is excellent as well.

**Chrono Archangel** · March 18th, 2004

Quote:

Originally Posted by hushypushy

what about the Turtle Beach cards? i hear their Santa Cruz is excellent as well.

Is that the line of products Hercules makes? I heard they were great cards

**cooliscool** · March 18th, 2004

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chrono Archange

Is that the line of products Hercules makes? I heard they were great cards

Hercules makes Fortissimo cards I know (I had a Gamesurround Fortissimo III, it was quite good

). I *think* they also make the Santa Cruz cards too, which have gotten good reviews aswell.

**hushypushy** · March 18th, 2004

actually the brand name is Turtle Beach and the model is Santa Cruz, much like Creative and Audigy

**Chrono Archangel** · March 18th, 2004

Oh i see. i just check Hercules website and they make the Fortissimo, Digifire and Muse

Kazuya Mishima · March 18th, 2004

The Santa Cruz is nt supported in a lot of games recently.
Personally i'd reccomend buying an audigy since it has harware acceleration and the best you can get for 60 dollars. Just remember to get the oem version (the same as gamer and mp3 versions but without the games or the mp3 software). Dont worry, the oem disc has the programs you will ever need for your card (have you ever made a mp3 in 20 seconds?... try that card).

Clements · March 18th, 2004

My onboard 6-Channel AC'97 (ALC650) supports EAX and playing from hardware buffers and so forth and is good enough for me. Buying a separate £60 sound card for a measly few FPS is a complete waste, and I can't tell the difference in quality one bit. Rather spend it on something more useful. I'm sure my 3200+ can cope.

op3n_skill · March 18th, 2004

>>Personally i'd reccomend buying an audigy since it has harware acceleration and the best you can get for 60 dollars.

Creative's drivers suck, and bad..
i'd go for a VIA Envy anyday (MAudio Revolution, $300).... real 24bit/96khz sound (while the audigy 1 downmixes the 24/96 to a lower rate, and the Audigy 2 ZS is the only one that can really do it)...
or get a Phillips Acoustic Edge.. very nice card...

jgroner · March 18th, 2004

Quote:

Originally Posted by Katsuya

I wrote this before, but I thought it would be a good idea to post

This is all you need to know... about high-quality Sound

-Sound Card-

If you use the AC97 codec (most onboard sound) then you will have a drop of 5 to 15 frames per second in games. The reason for this is because AC97 uses all the CPU it can to decode audio data.

The two best solutions for this are

1 The nForce2 audio chip, you have almost no loss with this one, but it's only for the nForce2 motherboard (and XBOX)

2. The Sound Blaster Audigy. This one has very little loss (1% more then nForce) and you can get it for $60 USD

Sound quality

1 Sound Blaster Audigy (Best)

2 nForce2 (Excellent)

3 Onboard AC97 (from alright to bad depending on what board)

Thanks a ton, I'll look into an audigy, I've heard good things.

**hushypushy** · March 19th, 2004

creative has HORRID drivers...but i've seen em for $39 at Fry's (and 48 on newegg)

op3n_skill · March 19th, 2004

1st, the Soundstorm sucks at DAC (Digital to analog conversion) so without the SPDIF and DD Optical recievers, the performance is worse than a TBSC(Which IMO, has pretty good analog). also "some" of the drivers are a bit screwed.....

2nd the Audigy 1 (especially all of it's ports; gamer, etc) Suck.. as i said, The A2 ZS is the only true 24bit/96khz card that creative has (Audigy 1 and 2 downmixes it to 16 bit/48khz). also their drivers suck, IMO (Especially involving CMSS).

3rd, if you want cheap. get yourself a Cmedia PCI sound card (any will do). IIRC, All of the 4(3.1)/6(5.1) channel models has EAX, A3D, Dolby Digital, etc..
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...117-105&depa=1
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...117-107&depa=1

**hushypushy** · March 19th, 2004

if Creative didnt have ****TY ****TY DRIVERS than i suppose the Audigy would kick ass. but honestly, it's hard to recommend one of those.

March 17th, 2004	#1 (permalink)
jgroner Registered User Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 100	Soundcard...? Hey, I've been using an onboard sondcard on my standard p4 dell for my emulation needs thusfar, and i'm wondering if getting a PCI soundcard would make a lot of difference in the sound quality of my games... I'm especially wondering for newer generation, like psx and n64, since there's some problems with that. Thanks much.

March 18th, 2004	#7 (permalink)
cooliscool Moderator Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Hyda IV Posts: 6,059	I realize that, but as much as they say it will help speed.. I've had tons of soundcards and they all run games the same as my AC97 did (but the via ac97 sounded crappy). I guess it depends.. __________________ Fayt: Intel Core 2 Duo E4300 1.8GHz @ 3.0GHz [Allendale] (1333MHz FSB), 2GB Crucial DDR2-800 Dual Channel kit @ 800MHz 4-3-3-10, 512MB BFG nVidia GeForce 7950GT OC (650/1600), Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS, MSI P6N-SLi nVidia 650i mobo, 200GB Seagate Barracuda 8MB Cache 7200RPM SATA2 (NCQ), 80GB Seagate Barracuda 8MB Cache 7200RPM SATA2 (NCQ), Lite-On DVD+-RW 16x w/ Lightscribe, Lite-On 16X DVD-ROM, Aspire X-Dreamer II case, Logitech MX518 GG Optical Mouse, Asetek Waterchill kit (distilled water + Red Line Watter Wetter), T.I.M - Arctic Silver Ceramique

March 18th, 2004	#9 (permalink)
hushypushy the only one you've ever SEEN Join Date: May 2003 Location: San Francisco Posts: 21,837	what about the Turtle Beach cards? i hear their Santa Cruz is excellent as well. __________________ Dedicated to mediocrity and repetition since 1994. 2008 "How Not to Post" guide

March 18th, 2004	#12 (permalink)
hushypushy the only one you've ever SEEN Join Date: May 2003 Location: San Francisco Posts: 21,837	actually the brand name is Turtle Beach and the model is Santa Cruz, much like Creative and Audigy __________________ Dedicated to mediocrity and repetition since 1994. 2008 "How Not to Post" guide

March 18th, 2004	#13 (permalink)
Chrono Archangel Administrator Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Montreal, Canada Posts: 7,129	Oh i see. i just check Hercules website and they make the Fortissimo, Digifire and Muse __________________ When Pigs Fly: The Death of Oink, the Birth of Dissent, and a Brief History of Record Industry Suicide.

March 18th, 2004	#4 (permalink)
jgroner Registered User Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 100	Thanks to both... will they solve slow sound/crackling problems?

March 18th, 2004	#14 (permalink)
Kazuya Mishima The seeker of perfection Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Suing somebody Posts: 3,012	The Santa Cruz is nt supported in a lot of games recently. Personally i'd reccomend buying an audigy since it has harware acceleration and the best you can get for 60 dollars. Just remember to get the oem version (the same as gamer and mp3 versions but without the games or the mp3 software). Dont worry, the oem disc has the programs you will ever need for your card (have you ever made a mp3 in 20 seconds?... try that card). __________________ Visit my blog in Spanish: http://andreyirra.blogspot.com

March 18th, 2004	#15 (permalink)
Clements MMP-2 Dude Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: UK Posts: 1,633	My onboard 6-Channel AC'97 (ALC650) supports EAX and playing from hardware buffers and so forth and is good enough for me. Buying a separate £60 sound card for a measly few FPS is a complete waste, and I can't tell the difference in quality one bit. Rather spend it on something more useful. I'm sure my 3200+ can cope. __________________ PJ64 Homepage \| ZSNES Documentation Project \| bsnes Supporter

March 18th, 2004	#16 (permalink)
op3n_skill Finally!! :D Join Date: May 2003 Location: Manila, Philippines Posts: 1,840	>>Personally i'd reccomend buying an audigy since it has harware acceleration and the best you can get for 60 dollars. Creative's drivers suck, and bad.. i'd go for a VIA Envy anyday (MAudio Revolution, $300).... real 24bit/96khz sound (while the audigy 1 downmixes the 24/96 to a lower rate, and the Audigy 2 ZS is the only one that can really do it)... or get a Phillips Acoustic Edge.. very nice card... __________________ Member of "The Pessimistics Club"

March 19th, 2004	#18 (permalink)
hushypushy the only one you've ever SEEN Join Date: May 2003 Location: San Francisco Posts: 21,837	creative has HORRID drivers...but i've seen em for $39 at Fry's (and 48 on newegg) __________________ Dedicated to mediocrity and repetition since 1994. 2008 "How Not to Post" guide

March 19th, 2004	#19 (permalink)
op3n_skill Finally!! :D Join Date: May 2003 Location: Manila, Philippines Posts: 1,840	1st, the Soundstorm sucks at DAC (Digital to analog conversion) so without the SPDIF and DD Optical recievers, the performance is worse than a TBSC(Which IMO, has pretty good analog). also "some" of the drivers are a bit screwed..... 2nd the Audigy 1 (especially all of it's ports; gamer, etc) Suck.. as i said, The A2 ZS is the only true 24bit/96khz card that creative has (Audigy 1 and 2 downmixes it to 16 bit/48khz). also their drivers suck, IMO (Especially involving CMSS). 3rd, if you want cheap. get yourself a Cmedia PCI sound card (any will do). IIRC, All of the 4(3.1)/6(5.1) channel models has EAX, A3D, Dolby Digital, etc.. http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...117-105&depa=1 http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...117-107&depa=1 __________________ Member of "The Pessimistics Club"

March 19th, 2004	#20 (permalink)
hushypushy the only one you've ever SEEN Join Date: May 2003 Location: San Francisco Posts: 21,837	if Creative didnt have **TY **TY DRIVERS than i suppose the Audigy would kick ass. but honestly, it's hard to recommend one of those. __________________ Dedicated to mediocrity and repetition since 1994. 2008 "How Not to Post" guide

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