Soundcard Speaker combo

[chefman21]

Hey everyone.

I am in the process of building a mid-high end gaming system. I have decided on everything else and have found I can afford a decent sound/speaker setup! I've never had a soundcard before. I have noticed the difference between onboard and a barely average soundcard speaker setup on other people's computers though. So here goes...

Soundcard options:
My favourite for the soundcard option atm is a Razer AC-1 which I can get for $AU100 incl postage from the US (I am loving the exchange rate atm! LOL!). I have read it is a very capable card and for the price I can get it for (almost 50% off) it seems like a good option. It will be used mostly for gaming and occasional music. My other options are the Auzentech X-plosion for the same price, the Creative x-fi Fatal1ty XtremeGamer Pro Series for $AU120-130 or the X-Fi XtremeMusic for $AU100. What is the best one priceerformace wise? The XtremeGamer seems like a pretty good deal. How does it compare to the AC-1? The Auzentech and XtremeMusic seem a little expensive for the performance?

Speakers:
Right.... I have a set of Creative 2.1's atm which have been good for onboard sound but I want something with a little more "love" in them. Better sound quality and a little more oomph. I won't turn it up all the way, I will have it set at a level that you would have the tv at.
Options:
Logitech
Logitech G51 - Apparently it's a gamers set? What does this mean? It's $AU100.
Logitech Z5300e - My favourite so far. It's $AU100 as well. How does it compare between the other sets?
Creative
p7800 - This one intrigues me. It's a 7.1 system. The thing is though, do many games use 7.1 surround sound and does it compare for sound quality to the other systems? $AU75
t6100 - Seems to be the only 5.1 speaker system that compares to the others at a good enough price. $AU65

My system will be:
Case: CoolerMaster CM690
PSU: Antec Truepower Quattro 850w
CPU: Intel Q6600/Q9450 (depends on price when it is released)
MoBo: Asus Maximus Formula SE/Rampage Formula or a 790i (depends on price when released also performance for the 790i)
RAM: 2gb Corsair DDR2 800mhz 6400c4 RAM
GPU: 3870x2/9800gx2 (depends on price & performance on release)
Heatsink: Xigmatek HDT-S1283
Fans: 4 x Scythe 1900rm Slip Stream Fans
OS: Windows Vista Home Premium

Just on the PSU, I am having extra fans installed to make it 7, I will add a second HDD, possibly a second GPU and a second DVD drive. It will be overclocked. With the CPU, I want 4 cores for any future games. So don't complain!

 

[jay_l_a]

Here are my thoughts.
Only Creative cards support EAX (properly). If you like EAX then you need to go creative. Creative cards may also potentially take some load off the cpu (depending on the card).

This review is for the HT Omega Claro

http://www.elitebastards.com/cms/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=318&Itemid=27

But contains info about x-fi as well, and will help you understand a little more about your question.

Personally, I have an HT Omega Striker on a 5.1 setup. As to which games support 5.1 (7.1 is really a matrix'd extension of 5.1) there are quite a few. HL2, COD4, Bioshock all work pretty well on my setup. What you're really looking for here is a card with Dolby Digital Live. This can encode 5.1 on the fly. I think it uses directsound to position the audio. So often, even if there isn't specifically a 5.1 audio option, you'll still get pretty good positional audio with a DD Live card.

I'd recommend listening to a good EAX setup on X-Fi, and a good 5.1 setup. Ultimately they're your ears and only you can decide what they like.

 

[chefman21]

What do you mean by matrix'd extension of 5.1? Anyone else have any other opinions?

 

[jay_l_a]

When I say matrix'd I mean the sound is derived from signals encoded on another channel.
Take Dolby Pro Logic II for example. The source is 2 distinct channels (stereo / left channel / right channel). Pro Logic makes a psuedo 5.1 experience from this, but there are not 5.1 distinct channels.
While there are many 5.1 sources out there (many regular DVD's for example) and a few 6.1 there are actually very few 7.1 sources.
So when people talk about 7.1 the two rear channels are simply 'derived' from the existing channels. There isn't a rear left and a rear right channel on the recording, a processor makes a best approximation of what is best delivered to these 2 speakers.
Any clearer?

 

[chefman21]

yeah. a lot. So basically 7.1 is not really worth it for games as they don't usually use dedicated 7.1?

 

[jay_l_a]

I can't say if it's worth it. I think it just gets to the point of diminishing returns... If it doesn't cost much more, then go for it...