Do I need to buy a new sound card?

[john_antonio]

Hi! I just received my Logitech x-540. I tested my movies and I can barely hear the surround sound. I don't know if it's because of the movies or of the poor onboard sound card. My mobo is an EVGA 650i Ultra A1. I think it has alc885 as the onboard sound. I'm not quite sure.

1. Do I need a new sound card to bring out the true surround sound of the speakers? Here are my choices:

a. http://us.creative.com/products/product.asp?category=209&subcategory=669&product=15855&listby=

b. http://us.creative.com/products/product.asp?category=209&subcategory=669&product=16770&WT.cg_n=Campaigns&WT.mc_id=9024

2. Will either of these cards would give better results over the onboard?
3. Will I hear a big difference especially on the surround sound performance?
4. What is the difference between the two sound cards above other than the interface, one being pci and the other pcie?
5. On the first card, it says it can support up to 7.1 but it only has 4 slots. How will a 7.1 setup go in? Where would the side speakers go if one slot is for line in(mic)?

Thanks!

 

[xavdeman]

Don't buy either of those. ExtremeAudio cards are not real X-Fi Cards since they are not based on the real X-FI chipset (Emu20kX I believe). They do all their processing in software and got cheap D/A converters to boot. Get yourself a real X-Fi card like the ExtremeGamer.

And about the connections, one of them is a dual jack, which means 4 speakers are mounted in 1 connection. They are the rear and side speakers so this is not as bad as it appears.

If you get the XtremeGamer you can enable something like Smart Volume Normalization which will make your movies audible once again.

 

[chookman]

What "movies" are you playing... proper DVD releases or something youve grabbed off the net? If its off the net what codec for audio does it use.

What cable connects are you using (not sure if the x-540's have optical or the like)

Sounds more like something is setup wrong or you dont actually have surround sound on the movie your trying.

 

[john_antonio]

I'm looking at the asus xonar dx... Is it anything good? is it better than creative cards? what creative card does it compete with? What creative features does it have? it doesn't have? what is the 24 bit crystalizer? does the xonar have it too?

 

[squatchman]

Make sure to test your setup in the audio drivers before you buy some overpriced garbage. The ALC software should come with a utility that tests each speaker.


chookman has the right gist of it. Generally, it's usually what people are trying to listen to that is the problem. They may be using some software that doesn't support surround play back, or the source wasn't encoded in 5.1, or they're trying to set it up in tiny room, or any other number of mistakes that people make their first time.

 

[john_antonio]

I don't have any problems anymore on the sources. I just like to buy a new sound card.. I have seen a sale on the sound blaster x-fi xtreme gamer fatal1ty SB046B. Is it better than asus xonar? I heard that there are compatibility issues about creative cards on nforce mobo? i have a 650i ultra. does this xtreme gamer also have compatibility issues? I have to decide fast... THanks!