Use my P5W DH onboard sound card, or get a X-Fi Xtreme

[fishboi]

I just got a set of nice Logitech Z-2300 2.1 Speakers, and want to know if the sound output (quality and power) will be as good using my on board sound card with this Asus mobo (note - its a nice mobo with 5.1 support), or if I should go with the X-Fi. I basicaly would need a 100% increase in performance to justify spending $100.

Anyone used the onboard sound card with this combination or others? Any thoughts? Thanks.

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=360409&prodlist=pricegrabber

 

[halcyon]

LOL. You'll never get a 100% in performance or sound quality with an dedicated soundcard. They're good...but not that good. However, if you get a Creative soundcard (Audigy/X-Fi), you will get a few more fps when gaming. $100 worth? No. ...but you'll get better sound and the latest renditions of EAX which means a potentially more enjoyable gaming experience altogether. ...plus the X-Fi has a bunch of audio toys you like the 24bit Crackalizer (I mean Crystalizer), EAX 5 and CMSS3D surround. Actually, I believe the Audigy has CMSS3D, as well. I'd say an Audigy 2ZS or Audigy 4 would be a nice investment, for gaming audio, and they'll do reasonable justice to your movies and music as well.

If gaming is not your thing the choices broaden up nicely in soundcards. Chaintech, M-Audio, Auzentech, Turtle Beach, etc. If pure music is your thing, there's a bunch of truly nice cards out there, many of which compete quite favorably for less than Creative's solutions...especially if pushing audio to a descent receiver or pre-amp.

 

[quantumsheep]

LOL. You'll never get a 100% in performance or sound quality with an dedicated soundcard. They're good...but not that good. However, if you get a Creative soundcard (Audigy/X-Fi), you will get a few more fps when gaming. $100 worth? No. ...but you'll get better sound and the latest renditions of EAX which means a potentially more enjoyable gaming experience altogether. ...plus the X-Fi has a bunch of audio toys you like the 24bit Crackalizer (I mean Crystalizer), EAX 5 and CMSS3D surround. Actually, I believe the Audigy has CMSS3D, as well. I'd say an Audigy 2ZS or Audigy 4 would be a nice investment, for gaming audio, and they'll do reasonable justice to your movies and music as well.

If gaming is not your thing the choices broaden up nicely in soundcards. Chaintech, M-Audio, Auzentech, Turtle Beach, etc. If pure music is your thing, there's a bunch of truly nice cards out there, many of which compete quite favorably for less than Creative's solutions...especially if pushing audio to a descent receiver or pre-amp.

What he said.

Don't mean to hijack the thread but i want to ask Halcyon, how are those HD595s? Worth the money or should i stick with my HD202?

 

[fishboi]

If the difference is less than 30% then it's not worth it to me. For the software aspect, I can just get whatever I need off the internet. I think that these speakers will have a built in AMP or something like that so it really should pump up my games. I was just curious to know if having a dedicated card made the world of a difference. It sounds not, so I'll stick to the onboard mobo and hopefully my speakers will pick up the juice!

The reason I didnt like on board sound cards in the past is because they dont output enough sound power (in pure loudness terms - I'm a noob). I'm sure these speakers will compensate.

Thanks for your thoughts!

 

[JohnWeldt]

The x-fi has a good noise to signal ratio meaning you will get clearer sound. I went from a gamer to the x-fi and like the change. But my speakers are not the best and that is my next target upgrade.

If you want loud then you might get a few extra dba out of the card but if you want quality then a card will help out. Audio is kind of hard to judge as personal preferences come into play.

I like the card.

 

[fishboi]

Roger that! Thanks man. I understand now.

 

[halcyon]

Don't mean to hijack the thread but i want to ask Halcyon, how are those HD595s? Worth the money or should i stick with my HD202?

I really do like the HD595's. They're good upfront sounding, but smooth. If the bass and treble are in the music they present them quite nicely, tending more towards neutrality than coloring either end. They're mid-level headphones and I think they were worth the $190 I paid for them. ...and TBH, they're very comfortable. I can listen to them all day (and I have) and not get tired of them physically or sonically. Definitely an easy headphone to recommend for all types of music. For gaming? ...I'd imagine they'd almost be overkill, but if you want high-end headphones at a reasonable price (some headphones sell for $1K or more) that can be driven by a soundcard or MP3 player nicely, give them serious consideration.

 

[quantumsheep]

Don't mean to hijack the thread but i want to ask Halcyon, how are those HD595s? Worth the money or should i stick with my HD202?

I really do like the HD595's. They're good upfront sounding, but smooth. If the bass and treble are in the music they present them quite nicely, tending more towards neutrality than coloring either end. They're mid-level headphones and I think they were worth the $190 I paid for them. ...and TBH, they're very comfortable. I can listen to them all day (and I have) and not get tired of them physically or sonically. Definitely an easy headphone to recommend for all types of music. For gaming? ...I'd imagine they'd almost be overkill, but if you want high-end headphones at a reasonable price (some headphones sell for $1K or more) that can be driven by a soundcard or MP3 player nicely, give them serious consideration.

How are they on the move? I regularly walk the 3+ Miles to town and back, and without music the journey is quite boring.

 

[halcyon]

I think the HD595's are too big for portable use. You may look...interesting wearing full-size circum-aural headphones out-and-about. Plus, the 595's are open-backed cans so not only will you hear just about ALL of the outside sounds, folks around you may hear you jamming to LedZeppalin or whatever your current jam is.

More concisely, I don't think the HD595's are really suited to portable use.

 

[quantumsheep]

I think the HD595's are too big for portable use. You may look...interesting wearing full-size circum-aural headphones out-and-about. Plus, the 595's are open-backed cans so not only will you hear just about ALL of the outside sounds, folks around you may hear you jamming to LedZeppalin or whatever your current jam is.

More concisely, I don't think the HD595's are really suited to portable use.

Ahh, looks like im going to keep my HD202 for walking to and from town then. They're quite light, very portable. Sure you may look a fool walking down the street, but what they don't know is that the sound quality is lovely.

I can put up with looking a buffoon for the sake of decent sound.