Which do you think is better? Onboard audio or a old SB Live?

C

Cthulhu

Limp Gawd
Joined
Apr 1, 2003
Messages
413
I've just been using the onboard audio...but i have a old SB Live in the closet. Do you guys think that it would be better than the onboard audio? and no, i'm not going to buy a new card. so don't even suggest it. :p
 
Cthulhu said:
I've just been using the onboard audio...but i have a old SB Live in the closet. Do you guys think that it would be better than the onboard audio? and no, i'm not going to buy a new card. so don't even suggest it. :p
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My SBLive sounds way better than my horrible onboard. Why don't you do a comparason and see what you like better. SBLive will also give you options like EAX and CMSS3d. I'd say try it out.
 
imo recent onboard sound, especially azalia sounds just as good as an old soundblaster, and you won't have to worry about creative drivers. Most onboard solutions can do eax2.
 
cool... maybe i'll try it out. what about performance? would having a dedicated sound card help in that respect at all?
 
It just depends on what chipset you have. Performance is generally not bad at all. You might want to check mobo reviews. I remember back in the day and especially on this site where they used to measure CPU usage off the sound and review the chipsets (northbridge etc) especially on the earlier nforce sound setups. I believe the new chipsets should fair better. Unless your old SBlive card was a top of thel ine creative card.
 
Which version of the Live do you have? What kind of speakers do you have? The Live I owned a few years ago was only 4.1. The Live 5.1 came out later. If you have 5.1 speakers, a 4.1 soundcard isn't going to cut it.

Cthulhu said:
cool... maybe i'll try it out. what about performance? would having a dedicated sound card help in that respect at all?
Click to expand...

Of course. Onboard sound uses your CPU for everything. The Live can accelerate EAX 1 and 2 with very little CPU hit. It's a waste to have a perfectly good Live sittting in your closet.
 
Pop it in, install the drivers and test it out.

Won't take more than a few minutes ;)
 
yeah, i really dunno why i never put it in... i don't watch movies or play TOO many games, so it never really crossed my mind to install it. i think i'll put it in tonight. thanks for the replies... :D
 
aldamon said:
Which version of the Live do you have? What kind of speakers do you have? The Live I owned a few years ago was only 4.1. The Live 5.1 came out later. If you have 5.1 speakers, a 4.1 soundcard isn't going to cut it.
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hmmm.. i just ordered some new speakers, which is why i started thinking about the card in the closet. the new speakers are 5.1. so i'll have to check out the card when i get home...might have only been the 4.1 variety. if so, guess i'll just keep using my onboard sound. :)
 
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