Audigy 2 or onboard audio?

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biggles

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If a motherboard has Realtek ALC888 8 channel audio, would this be worse than using 5.1 sound coming from a Soundblaster Audigy 2? I think the Audigy 2 is better but I wanted to verify this. Also, I've heard that using audio from the motherboard cuts into gaming performance (lower frames per second).
 
Realistically, on-board sound versus the newer onboard chips like those made by Realtek have close to no audible difference. And the performance difference would only be maybe 1-5 FPS at most. So I would just stick with the onboard.
 
If you can can get the Audigy 2 cheaply and have a spare PCI slot then go for it, otherwise if you have a good enough machine your fine with onboard.
 
Well the main difference between onboard audio and an Audigy2 is that (I think) the Realtek chip doesn't support EAX, so you won't be able to hear doppler effect and all that fancy stuff.
 
Audigy 2.

Some time ago Tom's Hardware did a test while gaming with and without a soundcard. There was about a 8 to 10% performance gain while using a soundcard - as well as better sound. Considering how cheap they are, there's little reason not to.
 
Eagle156 said:
Well the main difference between onboard audio and an Audigy2 is that (I think) the Realtek chip doesn't support EAX, so you won't be able to hear doppler effect and all that fancy stuff.
Click to expand...

agreed, the main reason I use Creatives products is to get full EAX support in games.
 
audigy sounds way better IMHO....

Music and games.... Less CPU dependent too...
 
It basically sounds exactly the same. EAX is supported in many games and that's what makes a sound card worth it.
 
I've never been satisfied with onboard audio. Discrete solutions like X-Fi or Audigy 2 are a better option, and the Audigy 2 is pretty cheap.

I have an X-Fi platinum, and I love it.
 
what everybody else has already said - on-board sound is for those on an extremely tight budget , which includes a lot of people :p
 
If it was a $30 difference, I'd get the Audigy2, EAX gaming is sure worth it to me.

Sphere
 
i've gotten by just fine on onboard audio for most applications. however, in the case where i used to have my Biostar M7VIG Pro, i got my Zalman 6 channel headphones, plugged them in, set 6 channel options onboard, and it sounded like total garbage. I don't think they had nearly enough amplification power on the onboard jacks. Popped in my Audigy mp3+, made a world of difference.

Also i should note, that when i was using my Gigabyte GA-7NNXP, with the ALC655 ***SOUNDSTORM*** , i had the 6 channels accounted for with amplified speakers (on the analog jacks for the time being, there was a noticeable deficit in detail and clarity especially on the rear channels. When i dropped my audigy in, the whole sound spectrum was more full, there seemed to be more going on all around me audiowise.

Will onboard work just fine? Yes.
Is there a noticeable difference? I personally think so, but the truth is in the ear of the beholder.
 
Uh... guys... almost all onboard audio nowadays supports EAX. I know because I can enable it with my onboard Realtek AC '97.
 
unfortunately, the onboard solutions max out at EAX 2.
The Xifi goes up to EAX 5, my Audigy 4 uses EAX 4, it hasnt been a limit to my experience yet.

You wont be able to use EAX 3 and above or EAX Advanced HD settings with an onboard sound solution.
 
I was a firm believer in just using on-board audio until I got an X-Fi and Klipsch Promedia 2.1 speakers.

OH MY GOD :eek:
 
Hands down the Audigy 2. Those saying that onbaord is "just about as good" are tone deaf or have really bad speakers. I went from the same onboard realtek chipset to and A2 value and the difference was large. The only thing that should stop you is if you don't have a pci slot avialable. Or you don't have any money.

Also the accuracy of the 3d postioning is much higher than the onbard.
 
daemionsos said:
Hands down the Audigy 2. Those saying that onbaord is "just about as good" are tone deaf or have really bad speakers. I went from the same onboard realtek chipset to and A2 value and the difference was large. The only thing that should stop you is if you don't have a pci slot avialable. Or you don't have any money.
Click to expand...

Guess I'm tone deaf and have "really bad speakers." Because I can't tell the difference between AC'97 and an Audigy 2 or X-Fi for that matter. And it's not that I normally have problems with things like this because I mix music as a hobby and actually was told I had above-average hearing when I took a hearing test a couple weeks ago. Maybe some people are hearing a difference when there isn't one?

Back in the day, yes. All onboard audio was crappy. But now that it costs hardly anything to put a decent audio chip in, motherboard manufacturers have been doing so.

And software-emulated 3D positioning is damn good if you ask me.
 
PWMK2 said:
Guess I'm tone deaf and have "really bad speakers." Because I can't tell the difference between AC'97 and an Audigy 2 or X-Fi for that matter. And it's not that I normally have problems with things like this because I mix music as a hobby and actually was told I had above-average hearing when I took a hearing test a couple weeks ago. Maybe some people are hearing a difference when there isn't one?

Back in the day, yes. All onboard audio was crappy. But now that it costs hardly anything to put a decent audio chip in, motherboard manufacturers have been doing so.

And software-emulated 3D positioning is damn good if you ask me.
Click to expand...

I do not know what kind of speakers you use and maybe you turn up the music real loud with bass or what not... But even a old soundblaster Live has a better tone/sound than a onboard sound card... Similar sound maybe but Audigy sounds better for a lot of people.. Could it be it's only you and couple of others who can't hear the difference?

Also when you use EAX 2 on your onboard sound... It eats away lot of your processing power around 15-30%.... While Audigy and even old school soundblaster uses up only 1-3% of your processing resources...
 
It really can depend on the Codec used and the drivers too.

The HD codecs were designed to be High Definition, these arent bad.
Many motherboards now ship with HD codecs.
To improve them even more, dont use the default drivers supplied with the motherboard but use the ones provided by the codec manufacturer. Keep them up to date as well.

For example, if you have a Realtek codec, dont use the NForce etc sound drivers but goto Realteks site and get the latest drivers.
From what I have seen myself and others opinions, they arent quite as easy to use but do have higher sound quality.
 
I own an Audigy 2 and Z5500's. Onboard sounds like a joke compared to the Audigy 2. It's really that big of a change.

To be fair, there was little noticable diff between the Audigy 2 and onboard when I was using lower end speakers (z640's)
 
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