Which Sound Card?

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mbmadness

Gawd
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Mar 21, 2001
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Tomorrow the last piece of my new PC will arrive and I'll start piecing it together. I have two choices as far as audio goes.

I have a DFI LP LT P35-T2R motherboard that came with a "Bernstien Audio Device". According to the manual it is based on Azalia's 24-bit. Looking closely at the card it has a Realtek chip ALC885.

I also have a Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy 2 model SB0400.

I think I want to go for the one with lower CPU utilization. Which one do you guys recommend?
 
Before one can answer this, we really need to know:

OS?
Use: Games, Music, etc?
Analog or digital out?
 
the audigy has hardware acceleration for games. if gaming is what u do the audigy is the clear choice.
 
The Azalia suppose to be around a audigy any way in SQ, just doesnt have hardware acceration.

So it depends, if your have surround sound speakers and or you have headphones wih high Impedence. Which would make the headphones sound right with onboard then stick your audigy in.

Otherwise, I wouldnt even bother putting it, unless you really wants to.
 
Just wondering, will a hd650 work well without an serpate amp if I'm using a Auzen X-Fi Prelude 7.1 Sound Card?
 
Thanks for the responses guys. I am using Vista 32. This will be a gaming PC almost excusively. I will be using analog headphones for a while. Later, I'll use a digital home theatre system receiver.

Sounds like the Audigy 2 is the way to go. Just wasn't sure because the Audigy 2 is about 4 years old and this other sound card is newer tech.
 
Be forwarned that Vista and Creative working together is a crap shoot. It may or may not install correctly. In addition, the default Creative drivers give you VERY limited features in Vista. You will need Daniel_k's drivers for use with Vista and the Audigy. Also, you will need to add Alchemy, etc. for use with games. I don't know very much about Alchemy since I dumped my Audigy 2 ZS along time ago.

If you plan on hooking this up to an external HT receiver, you will have to use analog connections, as there is not a digital output from the Audigy, IIRC.

On the other hand, you will not get much in the way of 3D game effects with the on-board solution, which is what I use.

My suggestion is try the Audigy along with the modded drivers. It might work just fine. I do have to stress MIGHT.
 
AdmiralFlameberg said:
The Azalia suppose to be around a audigy any way in SQ, just doesnt have hardware acceration.

So it depends, if your have surround sound speakers and or you have headphones wih high Impedence. Which would make the headphones sound right with onboard then stick your audigy in.

Otherwise, I wouldnt even bother putting it, unless you really wants to.
Click to expand...

You pretty much hit that on the head..I have one and was playing around with it. I was listening to it against an Audigy card I have.
With some critical listening, I would have to give the nod to the Audigy..Now the coaxial out is not to bad. I could live with it on somebody else system.
 
Realtek = crap. If you want a good sound card without Creative's terrible drivers/bloatware I'd recommend the M-Audio Revolution series. They sound great and won't give you any hassles.
 
SharpieFiend said:
Realtek = crap. If you want a good sound card without Creative's terrible drivers/bloatware I'd recommend the M-Audio Revolution series. They sound great and won't give you any hassles.
Click to expand...

I take it you never ran their their 64-bit drivers? (Oopsie, there are none!)

M-Audio is terrible, stay clear of them.
 
Given your two choices I'd pick the Audigy 2, easily.

But generally I'd recommend against both Realtek (crap in general) and Creative (crap under Vista, though Daniel_K's drivers help a lot for Audigy 1/2 cards and make them infinitely more workable, as JC634 said).

Azalia (I can't believe some companies are still calling it that) is just an older code word used to refer to Intel's HD Audio standard, designed to replace the very old AC97 audio standard.

Pretty much all onboard audio codecs support HD audio now, but the quality of their sound varies by both the codec in use and the implementations of it on the motherboard. I think Realtek's audio is junk and has been for years. Analog Devices, IDT/Sigmatel and even Via have far more competent audio codecs for onboard solutions.
 
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