Best sound card for 5.1 Gaming?

[lessthanjakejohn]

I'm looking for the best bang for the buck in terms of performance in games to price. Audigy series is the only way to go correct? I see cards that range from like $50 to $250 in the Audigy series. Will the cheap one perform just as well for gaming?

 

[Newbify2]

What kind of speakers/receivers are other misc. audio equipment are you using? If you simply have a set of multimedias go Audigy.

 

[lessthanjakejohn]

What kind of speakers/receivers are other misc. audio equipment are you using? If you simply have a set of multimedias go Audigy.

Some decent gear:


SAXR50 Receiver
http://www.jr.com/JRProductPage.process?Product=3964404

Velodyne Speakers
http://www.velodyne.com/velodyne/products/ob_product_detail.aspx?ID=CHTSWV

Sennheiser HD497

 

[Newbify2]

The only way to go digitally out to that receiver and have 5.1 in games is using Soundstorm.
The other way to get 5.1 is using analog mini-to-rca connectors and use a ENVY based soundcard-> http://htpcnews.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=3616

 

[lessthanjakejohn]

The only way to go digitally out to that receiver and have 5.1 in games is using Soundstorm.
The other way to get 5.1 is using analog mini-to-rca connectors and use a ENVY based soundcard-> http://htpcnews.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=3616

I can't do the same thing with the Audigy?

I would assume that the audigy would perform better than the AV710 in games in terms of FPS and I've also heard that game makers develop their soundtracks with the Audigy(2) in mind.

 

[Newbify2]

AFAIK you can't do 5.1 for games using a reciever unless you output using analog. Movies on the other hand will be 5.1 because they are already encoded.