Best non-Creative gaming card?

D

Dario D.

Gawd
Joined
Dec 8, 2004
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Strangely enough, extensive Googling and forum-searching didn't help me answer this question: What's the BEST non-Creative sound card for gaming? (or the best line of cards)

Would help if it didn't cost an arm and a leg, but either way... (doesn't matter for now).

I'm looking into getting something that will also allow basic support for recording (such as using Fraps in games).
 
Auzentech's Forte (PCI-e) or Prelude (PCI) are the best gaming cards. They're very good for music, too.
 
Really liking my Auzentech Forte. They do use the XFi chip but are not built by Creative.

On sale. If you are looking for a PCIe card see http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1437529

Back Again: Auzentech Forte $89.28 less $10 MIR = $79.28 plus S/H
43 left as of 07/23/29009 at 5:30 AM

Sold out in a couple of days last time.

$89.28 less $10 MIR = $79.28 plus S/H

ends 7/28/2009. Limit 1 per customer

http://www.ncixus.com/products/?sku=...h&promoid=1192

This is where I bought mine a week or so ago, I was charged $11.46 for S/H FedEx Express Saver to WA State. They did not offer ground shipping to me last week. They used Purolator courier service to send it to Bellingham WA and then FedEx. It took one day to get to Bellingham WA, then only 1 business day to get to Olympia. FedEx kept it an extra day before delivering. Others report S/H costs might run up to $16 to the East coast. There were no customs charges or sales tax.

US RMA's are sent to Auburn WA

Only thing I have ever bought from them. 9.62 rating at resellersratings http://www.resellerratings.com/store/NCIX

$8 less than last week. See http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1435894 for last weeks discussion.
 
I like Turtle Beach but I think they're only PCI. They used to have a much broader lineup, now it seems they have starting making more audio peripherals
 
Thanks for the replies. And do these X-Fi based cards use the same drivers and settings-panels as Creative's X-Fi? (or at least very, very similar, based on the same interfaces)

In other words, are they essentially Creative X-Fi's, just not "Creative"?
 
The drivers are somewhat different, modified specifically for the Auzentech cards, and updates are released far more frequently. Otherwise, the software is nearly identical.
 
Yea, the UI is the same. I think the only feature Auzentech cards don't have is the THX Console. But that's not THAT important. The main purpose of it is to change speaker distance, degrees, levels, test note, polarity, and speaker shifting. All of it with a simple to use visual interface. But that's OK, since the defaults are perfect, and there is other software (and methods) you can use to do the fancy stuff anyways.

The rest of the features in the THX Console you can access them from the Audio Control Panel as well, so you don't miss much.
 
Odin75 said:
Yea, the UI is the same. I think the only feature Auzentech cards don't have is the THX Console. But that's not THAT important. The main purpose of it is to change speaker distance, degrees, levels, test note, polarity, and speaker shifting. All of it with a simple to use visual interface. But that's OK, since the defaults are perfect, and there is other software (and methods) you can use to do the fancy stuff anyways.

The rest of the features in the THX Console you can access them from the Audio Control Panel as well, so you don't miss much.
Click to expand...

With out setting the speakers correct with angle, distance ect in the THX console. I get a lot lesser 3D sound pictur in games and movies.
 
Just copped a Forte via the NCIX special..Price was too good to pass up..
 
Thanks for the replies. I understand the Auzentech/Xonars are really good, but I was able to find the X-Fi Xtreme Gamer on eBay for $35 (new... if you can imagine that), and since it's essentially the same thing as the Auzentech/Xonar, I went with that, because I need to save every penny for my upcoming upgrade.

I was hoping there'd be some non-Creative-based gamer card out there, because I hate the X-Fi, for its lack of recording/sound-editing support (even for simple things that use no fancy external equipment), and reliability for ANYTHING that isn't just listening to sound. Actually, even for that, my XtremeAudio sucked miserably (rear sound in games is disgusting), and my XtremeGamer developed a come-and-go crackle. And it took Creative until just a few WEEKS ago to finally enable "What U Hear" recording in Vista... and X-Fi has been out since August 2005.
 
Last edited:
Odin75 said:
I guess you never tried clicking the "Audio Creation Mode"
Click to expand...
I did. The issue is only what tasks it quite simply won't support,and how many circles you have to run around certain things before they'll work.

XtremeAudio is not a real X-Fi, the real ones start from XtremeMusic onward.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I had to learn that the hard way.
 
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