soundcard/front panel recommendation

[Sarekai]

Hi,
I am looking to upgrade my sound card/setup on my gaming machine. Currently, I've got an Asus A8n-SLI32 motherboard and I am just using the onboard sound. So far it's been fine, but I am looking to upgrade.

What I'd like to be able to do is have my speakers (Klisch 4.1's) be hooked up in back, yet have a front panel (5.1/4 or 3.1/5) that allows me to plug in various peripherals - specifically a headset with a mic. I hate having to unplug my speakers from the back of my computer and deal with that anytime I want to goto headphones+mic for some teamspeak, voip.

Is there a generic audio frontpanel insert that can *seamlessly* merge with the onboard audio of the a8n-sli32? Or would I be better off going wth one of the new Creative cards? I don't particuliarily like Creative as a company (patent crap) but I know they make decent albeit overpriced products.

In terms of a soundcard, I just want something that has excellent audio quality, doesn't bog down the CPU too much and doesn't introduce any DRM crap into my system.

Thanks

 

[hity645]

BAM

If you got the money..

 

[tomatoesontoast]

Here ya go


http://www.frontx.com/

 

[ballpoint]

FrontX looks promising, but difficult and labour intensive.

I use my X-Fi Platinum for what you describe and it works very nicely. Between the front panel and the drivers, you will have a couple options for easy switching from mode to mode. Creative's drivers are a bit bloated, but at the same time very powerful. The X-Fi also does legitimately improve on the overall media playback and gaming sound of the Audigy 2ZS. 3D positioning in headphones is a big standout for me. The card convincingly places sources anywhere in 3D space. Before now I was never convinced that things were above, below, or directly in front of me. Now headphone 3D is more accurate than 3D on my 5.1 speakers.

I spent about CAN$240 on mine and it has been well worth the money.

 

[Sarekai]

FrontX looks promising, but difficult and labour intensive.

I use my X-Fi Platinum for what you describe and it works very nicely. Between the front panel and the drivers, you will have a couple options for easy switching from mode to mode. Creative's drivers are a bit bloated, but at the same time very powerful. .

Thanks for all the feedback.

Seems like Creative may be the way to go..
Have you found the X-Fi Platinum to be well suited for games vs the Fatality? The only reason I ask is the Fatality includes the 64MB of onboard ram...I presume both offload sound processing from the CPU?

when you say switching from mode to mode, do you mean going from standard speaker output to say, headphones and a mic? Because that is exactly what I am trying to streamline. Is it as simple as plugging in the headphones+mic in the front panel or do you need to flip a setting in the Creative control panel?

 

[Moofasa~]

Thanks for all the feedback.

Seems like Creative may be the way to go..
Have you found the X-Fi Platinum to be well suited for games vs the Fatality? The only reason I ask is the Fatality includes the 64MB of onboard ram...I presume both offload sound processing from the CPU?

Stick with the Platinum, right now nothing makes much use out of the X-Ram.

when you say switching from mode to mode, do you mean going from standard speaker output to say, headphones and a mic? Because that is exactly what I am trying to streamline. Is it as simple as plugging in the headphones+mic in the front panel or do you need to flip a setting in the Creative control panel?

There are three modes with the X-Fi: Gaming, Audio Creation, and Entertainment Mode. Gaming mode offers full hardware acceleration for games, while Audio Creation offers bit-perfect playback for the highest quality for music (and I have never had much use for Entertainment Mode). Each mode is geared toward certain aspects of audio. It is perfectly fine to have your headphones and mic plugged in at the same time. The modes are more geared to what kind of software you are using, not hardware

 

[ballpoint]

when you say switching from mode to mode, do you mean going from standard speaker output to say, headphones and a mic? Because that is exactly what I am trying to streamline. Is it as simple as plugging in the headphones+mic in the front panel or do you need to flip a setting in the Creative control panel?

It's as simple as plugging in your headphones. The card will automatically mute your speakers, and also turn them back on when you remove the headphone jack.

You also have the option of leaving everything plugged in and using the interface to manually mute your speakers when you put on the headphones, but you will often forget to mute the speakers and discover that you have been playing at full volume in the middle of the night.