Need help picking a new sound card

[slayer10000]

Hello i need some help on picking out a sound card cause i am a hardcore gamer and i like to watch alot of movies and shows on my comp and i would like some thoughs on wat card to get to that gives me great sound cause i dont like my onboard sound right now

my comps specs are
6600
p5b-dx
8800 gts
2gbs hyper x

i was looking at the SOUND BLASTER X-FI XTREME GAMER cards and the Fidelity ones if one of theses ones would be a good pick but wat one the Fidelity ones looks like the better pick cause of the x ram but i am not too sure so any help in this matter would be great thx

 

[jeremyrailton]

I have the X-Fi Xtreme gamer and it's nice, makes games sound much better. I'm probably gonna get blasted by fanboys for this, but i don't think that many games take advantage of the xram right now, plus there is a pretty big price discrepancy between xram and non-xram cards anyhoo that's my 2C.

 

[r0x0r]

I have the X-Fi Xtreme gamer and it's nice, makes games sound much better. I'm probably gonna get blasted by fanboys for this, but i don't think that many games take advantage of the xram right now, plus there is a pretty big price discrepancy between xram and non-xram cards anyhoo that's my 2C.

I've only ever heard of BF2 supporting xram, so no flames from me.

@slayer10000

-What speakers are you using?
-Is your PC loud?

 

[jonrem]

I have the X-Fi Xtreme gamer and it's nice, makes games sound much better. I'm probably gonna get blasted by fanboys for this, but i don't think that many games take advantage of the xram right now, plus there is a pretty big price discrepancy between xram and non-xram cards anyhoo that's my 2C.

I've only ever heard of BF2 supporting xram, so no flames from me.

@slayer10000

-What speakers are you using?
-Is your PC loud?

Both guys are right on. I believe Prey, BF2 and 2142 support x-ram, but it won't make a noticeable difference on a properly equipped pc unless you're using 64 or more voice channels. If you're using Vista wait until the 3/8/07 drivers are released for X-fi cards before making any decisions. I love my X-fi, but Creative needs to get their crap together when it comes to drivers.

 

[lazyvenki]

I really enjoy my X-Fi and find it to be a step up from the Audigy2 ZS, which was a huge leap from the original Audigy. I feel its so good that you can justify the purchase of a really need a nice pair of headphones or a killer surround setup(not surround like the Logitech Z-5500s, though they are decent for most) and make use of its true potential.

 

[vultureyo]

seems people post that the xfi gamer is good but imo if your going to spend any more than that on a higher end one you might want to try the razer ac-1.... I haven't tried any of the Xfi's so not sure how it compares exactly but I went from a older creative live drive to ac-1 and it blows it away. also what speakers do you have? after getting the sound card I decided to get new speakers... went from 5.1 altecs to klipsch media 2.1 and with this combination its a totally diff. experience... I never thought sound really mattered much... ah how ignorance is bliss.

 

[AdamBomb42]

I just ordered this sound card today. It got good reviews, has a lot of connections, and is not too pricey. I'll let you know how it is once I get it.

 

[dermotti]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16829127002


This is the sound card i have, sounds awesome in games / music / home theatre.

If you want one of the best well rounded cards, go with the bluegears.

If its pure gameing, XFI might be better, but gets squashed in music and home theatre by the bluegears hands down.

Bluegears driver is 0% bloatware, its small and does its job.

 

[r0x0r]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16829127002


This is the sound card i have, sounds awesome in games / music / home theatre.

If you want one of the best well rounded cards, go with the bluegears.

If its pure gameing, XFI might be better, but gets squashed in music and home theatre by the bluegears hands down.

Bluegears driver is 0% bloatware, its small and does its job.

That looks great, especially for HTPC since it has all the plugs at the back (unlike Creative...).

I've always resented that my Audigy has no TOSLINK out at the back. Royal pain in the ass.

 

[AdamBomb42]

I got my new card and it rocks balls! The HT Omega Striker is a great card and works fine under vista. At $60 it's a deal for what you get.

 

[lassic]

If you are just going to use windows XP and NEVER switch to Vista, than the X-fi is awsome. I have the Fatality version and it sounds great. There is a noticable differance over the On-board sound. However i'm very disapointed in Creative for the lack of support for Vista. It's the only piece of hardware that i can not get to work proporly in Vista (64). For the first time in years (since 8-bit sound) i'm going to buy a non-creative soundcard. I was looking at either the Razor (but found out - no vista supported drivers) or Bluegears.

 

[r0x0r]

I got my new card and it rocks balls! The HT Omega Striker is a great card and works fine under vista. At $60 it's a deal for what you get.

How was the installation? Are the drivers conflicting with anything else?

 

[AdamBomb42]

The installation was as painless as it could have been, except I had to move my reservoir. The CD did not have the Vista driver so to checked out their website and downloaded it from there. It was as easy as inserting the card, turning on the machine, and double-clicking the exe.