Asus Xonar Essence ST or STX

[jmacri]

Hello Tom's Hardware Community!!

Quick Question, I am considering upgrading from onboard audio to a high end graphics mostly for gaming but also for some great sound quality through music. I have done alot of research and what i learned is that a gaming soundcard is mostly a marketing tool. Id rather have greater true sound than a muttered hallway sound given by creative =(

My decision came down to Asus Xonar Essence ST or STX

From what I understand they are exactly the same card.... but the ST doesnt jitter as much being a PCE slot, and the STX being a PCE express slot. Also the ST being a PCE card make take away from my SLI setup. I also hear that the ST can be upgraded to a Xonar H6(http://uk.asus.com/Multimedia/Audio_Cards/Xonar_H6/#overview). So each card has it pros and cons.

I am running a Asus p8p67 deluxe mobo with SLI EVGA GTX 560 Ti.

I have one PCE slot left but all of my other pce express slots are open.

I will be using mostly with headphones ( Astro A40s) and be playing games like BF3, LoL, WoW, SWTOR, Skyrim, etc..

Thank you!!!

 

[gamerk316]

Both cards are basically identical. Aside from the slot difference (PCI versus PCI-E), there are two key differences:

1: The STX requires an extra power connector
2: The ST adds a jitter clock, which ever so slightly increases overall quality.

The differences between the two are negligable, so use whichever one best fits your motherboard. I believe both can be connected to the H6 card to allow full multichannel hookups, though if you need that, the Xonar Xense might be a better option for you.

 

[jmacri]

Thanks for your input. I decided to go with the stx mainly because i have an SLI setup. My last PCE16 connection is under the graphics cards which blows downward. Dont want any extra heat on the sound card.

Thank you gamerk316

 

[jmacri]

Best answer selected by jmacri.