Old Sound Card Worth Using?

beehew

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So, I have a Sound Blaster Live CT4760 sound card lying around and am wondering if it is worth putting into my system that I am upgrading. My motherboard is supposed to have good onboard sound (Asus P5Q Pro Turbo) or so the manufacturer claims. Is this old sound card worth using or is it better left for eBay?

Thanks!
 

505090

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wow haven't seen a sb live in a while. i wouldn't bother carrying it over the card but i would get a new one the xonar d1 will sound a lot better than the onboard sound and it's cheap
 

hefox

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You should use the onboard one. It's a good sound card. I've read an review and the differences between an onboard one and an expensive sound card are barely noticeable.
 
Ebay? I don't know who would want it, but I did see several on sale at Amazon for $10.
Never know I guess, maybe someone collecting old hardware might want it.
Performance wise, yes modern onboard sound will be literally YEARS ahead of the old sound card.
 

505090

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the difference from onboard sound and a $80 dollar sound card is night and day, unless you have some really cheap speakers
 


And what is the purpose of this nonsense?
First, we are not talking about an $80 sound card. We are talking about a 6-10 year old SB Live.
Second, unless you have just bought a $59 el cheapo motherboard, the onboard sound will be quite good.
You would need much better than an $80 sound card to tell the difference.
 

505090

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@jitpublisher
I told him he would be better of with the onboard sound than with a sb live card already

@jitpublisher & hefox
Have you tried these cards or do you just go by reviews. Because i have consistently found sound cards to sound better than onboard sound in mine and my customers homes. Hell when my Audigy 2 finally died a few weeks ago i had to go back to onboard sound and it doesn't even to compare to that old sound card. As to the $80 card, it is the xonar d1 I hooked it up to a bose speaker system and it sounds great.
 
I have had and used over the years, SB16, SBPro, SBlive, Turtle Beach Santa Cruz and Turtle Beach Montego, and of late, Auzentech Prelude, an X-FI gamer.
4-5 years ago I would have sworn, and have in fact argued on this very forum that no onboard sound would ever match a decent sound card.
But..........................
I just gave away the last sound cards I had, the X-FI and the Auzentech.

After the last 2 motherboards I have had, a DFI Lanparty, and the Gigabyte board I am using now, I could tell no big difference in sound quality, and just decided that there really isn't any need to bother with a Sound Card anymore.
I am not audiophile by any means, but I do like my music load and clear, and I have no problem with the new onboard modules delivering.