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berndawg3

Limp Gawd
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Mar 2, 2008
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Hey guys. I was wondering how big of a difference EAX makes in games? I'm looking into buying a soundcard, and I need to know if the EAX of the Prelude (on Vista x64) will make games sound noticeably better. If it's not worth it, I can save a lot of money and go with a much cheaper soundcard. Let me know what you all think.
 
What audio/speaker system are you using?

Could just get a $60-90 depending on deals you can find xtremegamer...?
 
I'd prefer to avoid the CL cards. My speaker system is a Sony DAV-FR1 HT system. My headphones will Sennheiser HD280 Pros. I considered the Asus Xonar DX, but I don't know if I need EAX or not, and I would like DTS:Neo as well as DDL. At this point, I'm pretty confused...
 
What games are you talking about, specifically? At this point, EAX-supported games aren't exactly that prevalent.

The Prelude is a great card, though, even if you play only a handful games that feature EAX. If you're using DDL, of course, you'd be missing out on the card's main high point (its solid analog outputs).
 
I want to use DDL and DTS:Neo for 3D positioning because I'll be using Optical as my connection since my HT receiver does not have analog. With the Senns, I obviously will not be using optical. I would imagine that the headphones require analog signal, correct? I want great sound over optical, but the headphones are just as important. I figured the DDL and DTS would be great for 3D positioning in games.

The following is a list of games I'll be playing: CoD4, Crysis, WiC, CoH, Bioshock, HL2, TF2, Portal, FEAR, Far Cry, Doom 3, DiRT, GTR2, Nascar Heat, Assassin's Creed, and UT3.
 
Well, of the games you listed, BioShock, Doom 3 and FEAR support EAX (though I didn't check those that aren't really familiar to me). BioShock's and FEAR's EAX support is solid, whereas Doom 3's is generally kind of shitty -- they basically just slapped it in there due to a legal entanglement with Creative.

If your receiver doesn't have six-channel analog inputs, then you'll obviously need DDL (or DTS Connect) to get discrete surround going. If you want EAX in addition to DDL, the Prelude's the card you want despite the highish price. Assuming your receiver has a headphone amplifier, you're all set with the HD280s. If not, then things may get a bit more complex.
 
I'm not sure if my receiver has a headphone amp or not, but it does have a headphone port on the receiver so I would assume it will. I really like the prelude, but I'm just wondering if the extra $70 over some other DDL/DTS card is worth it for EAX sounds. I've never heard the difference because I've never been able to test it, so I'm curious as to whether or not it's worth it. Could somebody try some of the aforementioned games and tell me what kind of a difference they notice (with headphones and 5.1, if possible). Thanks guys!
 
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