Is it worth paying more the fatal1ty for the xram.

[UltimaParadox]

I'd use built-in if it were the only thing I had. I'd also watch a 27" TV if my 55" HDTV was on the fritz! That doesn't mean the 27" one is just as good.

I never said it was just as good listening experience, I just said nowadays onboard sound has gone leaps and bounds what people give it. Everyone bashes it, but yet I bet they could hardly tell a difference if they didn't know. The sound is only as good as the source, and quite frankly the sounds in games and our modern mp3s and cds don't justfiy the continuous upgrade of products..

You are paying for effects done to the sound itself, which is understandable, but back to the original point. Onboard will do what most people want easily, if you want the extra by all means get it. Just realize its creative's effects your are buying. And yes they have a lot of bells and whistles, just try disabling CMSS, and EAX and then get back to me when you can tell a considerable difference. Which you can't really, but why turn them off since that is what you paid for. A lot of games that are programmed with their own sound system in mind will sound just as good on a creative card as they would any other, as long as it working correctly,and of course you have a decent set of speakers. I just don't want people rushed into the idea, that if they want to hear the sounds of the game YOU must be using a creative audio card, or an add in card in general. Its not the end all, your computer won't implode, and the change in FPS is like 5%. While I might not be sounding too [H] right now, I am just trying to comprehend why someone would not use their computer because onboard sound is that bad. Its just beyond me.

And if you think Creative's software is great, you have really ventured far into left field. Just wait till you have to update your drivers one day and you can't without your original cd.

 

[Elios]

yes creatives drivers SUCK BAD
thay out of the way the drivers for the X-fi are FAR better then the ones for the Live! or Audigy1 i had
the X-fi sounds far better then the Audigy1 too
as for why get a card over onboard sound i want my CPU doing other thing then sound
5% btw is a good bit any
oh i dont know any onboard sound that can do hardware DTS ES or DD EX

 

[flynlr]

everyone knows this card is gonna suck when Doom12 HL8 and NBA Live 2010 come out.
so I say stick to your SB16 w/asp like I do.

 

[Svperstar]

oh i dont know any onboard sound that can do hardware DTS ES or DD EX

SoundStorm, IIRC it is the ONLY soundcard that can output bit perfect 5.1 DD something or other(I know it is the only card that can output something digital at any price point, but I don't recall exactly what right now)

Most onboard sound does suck though, a lot of annoying clicks and pops that you cannot get rid of no matter what you do. Not so bad on low end gear but crystal clear on good stuff. I learned the joys of onboard trying to listen to my Sony MDR-SA5000s at work

 

[Elios]

SoundStorm, IIRC it is the ONLY soundcard that can output bit perfect 5.1 DD something or other(I know it is the only card that can output something digital at any price point, but I don't recall exactly what right now)

Most onboard sound does suck though, a lot of annoying clicks and pops that you cannot get rid of no matter what you do. Not so bad on low end gear but crystal clear on good stuff. I learned the joys of onboard trying to listen to my Sony MDR-SA5000s at work

thats out put for speakers alla DDLive kinda thing
im talking for watching DVDs my PC is also my TV and DVD player

 

[HoodooGuru]

Geesh I can't wait for Call Of Duty 2!

Donnie27

Donnie-

Check out the COD2 demo and let us know how it sounds. I just played it last night on my rig (with Audigy 2) and it's incredibly intense-- both video and audio. I'm curious how it sounds on X-Fi.

 

[UltimaParadox]

yes creatives drivers SUCK BAD
thay out of the way the drivers for the X-fi are FAR better then the ones for the Live! or Audigy1 i had
the X-fi sounds far better then the Audigy1 too
as for why get a card over onboard sound i want my CPU doing other thing then sound
5% btw is a good bit any
oh i dont know any onboard sound that can do hardware DTS ES or DD EX

READ THE POST!!!!!

Once again I will state my position on onboard sound, perhaps short enough for people to read.

Onboard sound has come a long way, better than it use to be. [End of Sentence]
One of the posters, said he would not use his computer because he did not have a sound card to put in, he is waiting on an X-fi [End of Sentence]
I stated that is ridiculous because onboard sound is better than you think, Its not better than a sound card, but it is suitable in almost everything. [End of Sentence]
You pay for upmixing and effects on Creative cards, not sound quality [End of Sentence]
Still plenty playable with onboard sound[End of Sentence]

And yes SoundStorm is still the best audio solution to date IMO, and it was onboard.

Forums aren't any good when you have to read I guess. .

 

[Donnie27]

I never said it was just as good listening experience, I just said nowadays onboard sound has gone leaps and bounds what people give it. Everyone bashes it, but yet I bet they could hardly tell a difference if they didn't know. The sound is only as good as the source, and quite frankly the sounds in games and our modern mp3s and cds don't justfiy the continuous upgrade of products..

The difference is very easy to hear=P I'm not a big Fan of MP3's unless they're MP3 Pro and the other WMA-Pro 5.1, give it a shot? My upgrades are to at least 4 to 6 computers that I may have or in the middle of building. I'm NOT talking about upgrades to one computer BTW.

You are paying for effects done to the sound itself, which is understandable, but back to the original point. Onboard will do what most people want easily, if you want the extra by all means get it. Just realize its creative's effects your are buying.

Onboard will NOT do a 3rd of the effects I've taken for granted by now. Yes, those sweet assed sounds come at a cost. Ignorance is bliss. If you don't know what you're missing out on, then On-Board will do.

And yes they have a lot of bells and whistles, just try disabling CMSS, and EAX and then get back to me when you can tell a considerable difference. Which you can't really, but why turn them off since that is what you paid for.

Actually, that's a valid test and I've used it to show my friends why I spent money on the Audigy 2 after being disapointed with the Audigy 1.

A lot of games that are programmed with their own sound system in mind will sound just as good on a creative card as they would any other, as long as it working correctly, and of course you have a decent set of speakers. I just don't want people rushed into the idea, that if they want to hear the sounds of the game YOU must be using a creative audio card, or an add in card in general.

As I've already given a link to EAX supported games, I can easily tell you that's far from being true. Half Life 2 is the exception and not even close to being the rule. I always try to get folks to hear, test, play with and or etc. before they buy=P I've shown my bud's what sucked about Audigy 1 just as I have shown them what was "Kick-Ass" about X-Fi and even Audigy 2 ZS before it.

If you made a bet on this one---->"rushed into the idea, that if they want to hear the sounds of the game YOU must be using a creative audio card, or an add in card in general." you'd easily LOOSE, hehehehe!

It's NOT sounds for the most part or even tracking. It's the effects those sound make in any given environment. By that I mean Up, down, under water, in a building, moving, standing still, kneeling, prone, on a hard/software or etc. surface. This can affect one single Gun Shot that might be made up of a mix of 5 different sounds itself. Now throw in 16 to 32 players shooting different kinds of weapons in an line Game? You still want to bet sounds will not be heard? X-Fi does 128 hardware voices.

Its not the end all, your computer won't implode, and the change in FPS is like 5%. While I might not be sounding too [H] right now, I am just trying to comprehend why someone would not use their computer because onboard sound is that bad. Its just beyond me.

Look at the 27" vs 55" HD example I gave? I'm not going to miss the big Game by seeing it on a 27" TV either right? That's an example of the overall difference. IMHO, if we're talking about Games only, then that 27" becomes a smaller 20" and having sit back about eight feet from it. Honestly I care more about sound quality than FPS.

And if you think Creative's software is great, you have really ventured far into left field. Just wait till you have to update your drivers one day and you can't without your original cd.

Try again? I said X-Fi has good drivers and a GUI, I didn't say Creative as a whole. There are ISO's and 3rd party drivers all over the Web. Does this issue suck? Of course it does.

Donnie27

 

[HybridHB]

This is funny. For the confused, im the guy who said i stopped playing BF2 because onboard sound sucks.I stopped playing it because it sounds really bad. Its my preference not to play because of the crappy sound experience, theres nothing wrong with that. To me it ruins the game because im sitting here thinking how bad it sounds instead of just enjoying the game. Has anyone gotten thier preorders yet? The status has changed to "pending" on my account.

 

[scottiefl]

I'd have purchased an X-Fi already, but there are no 64-bit drivers yet.

For a high-end sound card that supposedly targets high-end and early adopters like me, that's dumb.

 

[UltimaParadox]

The difference is very easy to hear=P I'm not a big Fan of MP3's unless they're MP3 Pro and the other WMA-Pro 5.1, give it a shot? My upgrades are to at least 4 to 6 computers that I may have or in the middle of building. I'm NOT talking about upgrades to one computer BTW.

Well if you don't listen to mp3s are the average game sounds that often, I guess that doesn't apply to you. I mean come on, you are sitting here continuously rebutting something that is totally unrelated. You are not an average user obviously, and try to get the best of the best.

In no ways am I saying an X-fi is bad, I am just continuously trying to say onboard isn't that bad to the average user. I have repeated this over and over, the average user can not tell a difference, when it comes to your average user listening to material, IE MP3s and games, when it comes to the actual sounds. Yes they can tell a difference with EAX, but that is what you pay for, but it is not necessarily needed to get what the developer intended.

Comparing the X-fi to onboard is like comparing 300 dollars to Zero you can't really, but the difference in noticeably sound quality FOR THE AVERAGE USER is not 300 dollars in price.

]Look at the 27" vs 55" HD example I gave? I'm not going to miss the big Game by seeing it on a 27" TV either right? That's an example of the overall difference. IMHO, if we're talking about Games only, then that 27" becomes a smaller 20" and having sit back about eight feet from it. Honestly I care more about sound quality than FPS.

So in replying to what I Asked you are saying that you won't watch the big game, if your 55" HD TV is broke, and all you had was your 27". Since the quality is like night and day, it would be totally worthless to watch on the 27!?

Doesn't that sound ridiculous, thats the Whole point I have been trying to make this time. I must have worded what I said wrong since you missed it completely I will reiterate, the onboard is not as gooad as the X-fi, and justifiably so, since you do have to pay a lot of money for an X-fi. I am just saying just because you don't have an X-fi doesn't mean you can't play games, thats just silly

 

[HybridHB]

What about this... what if the "big game" was "on demand" and the big screen was on order? Wouldnt you wait a short while to see the game on your nice new tv? I should also add in that onboard audio varies in sound quality as well. In my particular case, it cannot play voicecs in bf2 properly. The voices sound like robots, which is NOT the way Dice intended it to sound. The x-fi preorders have shipped though, so yay for us preorder guys!

 

[UltimaParadox]

What about this... what if the "big game" was "on demand" and the big screen was on order? Wouldnt you wait a short while to see the game on your nice new tv? I should also add in that onboard audio varies in sound quality as well. In my particular case, it cannot play voicecs in bf2 properly. The voices sound like robots, which is NOT the way Dice intended it to sound. The x-fi preorders have shipped though, so yay for us preorder guys!

No that is ridiculous, I mean the game is only gonig to happen once, why would I wait if its coming on now. I know it won't be as nice, but I mean it won't be terible on a smaller screen. Watching a game live, and watching it recorded is totally different, as more than likely someone/something has already ruined it for you anyways.

That is just a little too picky for me I guess. I mean when do you draw the line is something is not good enough for you.

 

[HybridHB]

Maybe when something doesnt work properly?

 

[UltimaParadox]

Maybe when something doesnt work properly?

Depends, but that is a whole different scenario...but to be more like the original scenario, No I would still watch the game on my TV if it wasn't hd, if my HD TV was broken. Even though there is an obvious picture quality difference, the non-hd tv is still plenty watchable.

 

[Donnie27]

Well if you don't listen to mp3s are the average game sounds that often, I guess that doesn't apply to you. I mean come on, you are sitting here continuously rebutting something that is totally unrelated. You are not an average user obviously, and try to get the best of the best.

In no ways am I saying an X-fi is bad, I am just continuously trying to say onboard isn't that bad to the average user. I have repeated this over and over, the average user can not tell a difference, when it comes to your average user listening to material, IE MP3s and games, when it comes to the actual sounds. Yes they can tell a difference with EAX, but that is what you pay for, but it is not necessarily needed to get what the developer intended.

Comparing the X-fi to onboard is like comparing 300 dollars to Zero you can't really, but the difference in noticeably sound quality FOR THE AVERAGE USER is not 300 dollars in price.



So in replying to what I Asked you are saying that you won't watch the big game, if your 55" HD TV is broke, and all you had was your 27". Since the quality is like night and day, it would be totally worthless to watch on the 27!?

Doesn't that sound ridiculous, thats the Whole point I have been trying to make this time. I must have worded what I said wrong since you missed it completely I will reiterate, the onboard is not as gooad as the X-fi, and justifiably so, since you do have to pay a lot of money for an X-fi. I am just saying just because you don't have an X-fi doesn't mean you can't play games, thats just silly

I didn't miss anything. I say again Built-in/On Board was not in the same ballpark as not only the X-Fi, but was already not as good as the Audigy 2/2 ZS. What's rediculous is your trying to say on-board is even close. Audigy 2 ZS kicked the crap out of SoundStorm as well. That's why most of my buds upgraded. By most I mean 9 out of 10.

If even the average user gets a chance to hear the X-Fi XM it would be hard to turn away. The thread is not about built-in sound but that hasn't stopped you. We were talking about X-Fi or XM vs FPS and if the X-RAM was that important or not.

No, I said I'd watch the "big Game" on the 27" TV. This line; "noticeably sound quality FOR THE AVERAGE USER is not 300 dollars is similarly off base or out of Whack! I already told you I own a X-Fi XM and that I voted NO to the original question. I really doubt average users are posting here and no damned body is talking about Average users anyway. You yourself just said Folks and nothing about average users.

SO here's what I said "I'd use built-in if it were the only thing I had. I'd also watch a 27" TV if my 55" HDTV was on the fritz! That doesn't mean the 27" one is just as good." No if you want to argue with that other guy who'd NOT, do it with him. I never said I wouldn't.

"'And yes SoundStorm is still the best audio solution to date IMO, and it was onboard.""

I should have known! Back to the Subject, X-RAM might not be a wise move right now for many. The X-Fi XM or even the Platinum just extended the lead for Creative and Gamers that the card is mostly intended for IMO. Even Intel with all of its might can't seem to unseat them either.

Donnie27

 

[Donnie27]

Donnie-

Check out the COD2 demo and let us know how it sounds. I just played it last night on my rig (with Audigy 2) and it's incredibly intense-- both video and audio. I'm curious how it sounds on X-Fi.

When the Demo first starts up, your rear speaker come alive. Background sounds aren't as good but the sounds also sound almost too clean. It is kind of neat to hear the bullets hitting your mates. The highest Audio setting is EAX 3 and I didn't get good elevation and occlusion was there but weak. IMHO, Call of Duty UO had similar but better sound, I see a Patch coming. Maybe I'm just too use to more sounds now. Maybe the sound will be improved to EAX 4 or even X-Fi like BF2.

Last but not least, I like these kinds of Games and this one is on my must get list. Even at 1024 X 768 32bit 2X AA the game looks great. Gosh I wish these game makers would find the old Army Trainning film so they could make the sound of the MG-42 sound correct. It sounds more like a little A-10 GAU or a Vulcan than a M60 or M240D.

Donnie27