How is the eVGA 780i onboard Audio???

[mcstagger]

I just picked up the new eVGA 780i mobo and i also picked up a SoundBlaster X-Fi PCI express sound card. i wanted to have quality audio to run optical out to a receiver and sound system.

the 780i says it has HD 7.1 audio but is it quality?

should i keep the X-fi sound card?

 

[mcstagger]

any comments at all???

unless someone says the X-fi is amazing im sending it back. it looks like my mobo has the best version of the HDA (Azalia) onboard audio anyway.

the X-fi crystalizer looks interesting but eff' it, saves my another 65 bucks.

 

[akhilles]

I've come to like onboard audio. I'm not an audiophile.

Why don't you try it out yourself?

 

[maverick7]

it is dismal... lol go with creative

 

[darkage]

The comparison isn't close, the onboard is rather good for gaming using it with my 5.1 setup .. but for music .. its aweful ... my old audigy zs 2 just wasn't happy with vista .. so till i got a new card i was using the onboard ... its not bad, but if your picky about your music and crystal clear gaming ... yeah, get yourself a creative card.

 

[halcyon_skys]

I have to disagree with the other poster.
The motherboard audio is fine. It has 7.1 capability and fits most users needs perfectly. The age of bad motherboard audio seems to be past, unless of course you buy something really cheap.
I have both and have used both. Im also been a technician for many years so i get to play with all the toys and combinations that come out.
While Creative has been the choice for a long time generally and i loved them in the past, in the last year they have been complete crap quality not only hardware but drivers and software (a shame they have failed so heavily).
The creative x-fi has been horrible not just for me, but many other people. If in doubt go look at their support forums.
It has had a general hate for Vista especially and even though many games might say its made for use with Creative, it has caused a lot of not only wierd audio problems, but crashes as well even in XP.
Then also chalk up having to use 'Creative Alchemy' to even implement eax effects using Vista at all, which doesnt support everything btw, its just another reason not to use this card.
It just wastes a slot on the board if you ask me, especially if you use Vista.
They have had over a year to work with the drivers and have yet to make it decent. Its almost as if they just dont even care.
The reason for using cards in the old days were to have better audio, and to take processing power off the board.
Both of those reasons are pretty much bunk now concerning sound (again, unless you have a cheap ass motherboard, which were not talking about here).
Its gone into the 'box of cards' i do not use, and im back to useing on board audio on the motherboard as it presents no problems and works just fine.
sums up.
780i audio is fine.
creative is currently crap.

 

[gamerk316]

First off, Creative and NVIDIA chipsets do not play nice. About half of my games have major sound issues whenever I run a Creative card. If you want dedicated sound, look elsewhere (I highly recommend the Razer Barracuda AC-1, it blows any Creative out of the water).

Back to your question, the onboard audio does its job if you just play with 2 speakers. Realtecs onboard offerings are very good in general. There is a diffrence, but its minimal.