sidsrvnn

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Nov 13, 2009
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18,510
ive got a gigabyte ex58 ud5 mobo, so that means it has the alc888 onboard audio. till now ive been using my old x-fi extrememusic which uses the pci slot, the big one,

my galaxy geforece 8800 GTS died, but thanks to warranty its being replaced by a 9800 1 gig, albeit the low power model. now the thing is, i dont intend to buy a next gen graphics card till i see what nvidia has to offer with the gtx 300 and even then ill be waiting for prices to drop before buying, so im considering picking up another 9800 and sliing

i got this idea after seeing a benchmark for a palit 9800 gt 1 gig card in sli, it basically performed equivalent to a gtx 280. now the only issue is that were i to put this in sli, i wouldnt have space to keep the sound card in its pci slot

mobo.jpg



im curious, does anyone know how much of a difference going back to onboard will actually make? ive got grado s80 headphones, and a logitech z-5500 speaker system. im currently trying it out on onboard using a coax out and using dolby digital live and i cant make out the massive change in sound quality that everyone says you should be having, even when i use analog, do i just not appreciate sound much? or is it all hyperbole?
 
Solution
Once you get your replacement GPU, you have the perfect opportunity to do your own sound tests between the 2 setups and let us know what you discover at least that way we have a hands on actual test from you to help others in this same situation.

Even though SLI increases performance it can be a serious let down as you are not doubling the performance, but you are doubling the money spent.
Once you get your replacement GPU, you have the perfect opportunity to do your own sound tests between the 2 setups and let us know what you discover at least that way we have a hands on actual test from you to help others in this same situation.

Even though SLI increases performance it can be a serious let down as you are not doubling the performance, but you are doubling the money spent.
 
Solution

sidsrvnn

Distinguished
Nov 13, 2009
7
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18,510
well im getting one 9800 for free through warranty, and i dont want to invest in a high end card just now, with the dx 11 cards so close at hand, so i only need to pay for 1 9800.

but yeah, ive already yanked out the x-fi and i cant really find much of a difference, and as for functionality, the alc889 set comes with dolby digital live encoding capability, and full dts/dolby pass through anyway, if anyone could suggest some benchmark software for audio ill run that and let you know what i find