Hardware/software buffer?

[lamer_gamer]

I have a SB PCI 128 soundcard. When running dxdiag recently, I ran into the following message:
"Your sound card does not support hardware buffering. Sounds will only play back from software buffers."
I've got the latest drivers for the card, they are certified, and the option to adjust the "Hardware Sound Acceleration Level" is <i>not</i> grayed out (in other words, I can slide the bar up & down; doesn't that indicate that, in fact, I <i>have</i> hardware acceleration?).
In my old pos system, it seems like I did get hardware buffering with this card. I've checked out Creative's web site, but there is nothing I can see that plainly says whether or not this card supports hardware buffering (but I'm pretty sure it does).

Pertinent system specs:
1.2Gig Athlon 266
Asus A7A266 bios 1004
DirectX 8.0
Windows Me

Ideas anyone?
btw- How could this be affecting my system/game performance?

My brain has performed an illegal operation and will be shut down

 

[Guest]

One thing you might want to try is to re-install DirectX 8. Something I ran into recently with my Philips AE was that "hardware acceleration" was greyed out when I tried to play Thief Gold. I had recently upgraded the drivers and I don't think all of the DirectX registrations were "proper" after that upgrade. Re-installing DirectX fixed the problem.

Get your facts first, and then you can distort them as much as you please. - Mark Twain

 

[FatBurger]

Hardware buffering and hardware acceleration are most likely two different things. Most likely your card simply does not have enough memory for hardware buffering. Did you have an older version of DX on your older machine? I suspect that is the case, and the older version either did not support hardware buffering, or simply did not give the error message (at all or just not in the same way).

Anyhow, if you're not having any problems with the card, I wouldn't worry about it.

In DX, apparently "AGP Texture Acceleration" doesn't work on Abit boards (based on experiences of me and my friends), but I have absolutely no problems, so I don't worry about it.

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9/11 - RIP</font color=green>

 

[lamer_gamer]

I tried reinstalling DX8, but no go.

I wish I could remember if I did get the error message with my older machine or not. I don't remember seeing it, which is what makes me think that it wasn't there (I also <i>kinda</i> remember sounds being played with hardware <b>and</b> software buffers). I sometimes get strange skips or echoes when playing cd's which also didn't happen with my old machine.

My brain has performed an illegal operation and will be shut down

 

[lamer_gamer]

If anyone has a SB pci 128, maybe you would be willing to run dxdiag and tell me if you get the same results I do?

<font color=blue>must</font color=blue>... <font color=blue>stop</font color=blue>... <font color=blue>learning</font color=blue>....

 

[lamer_gamer]

Bumpety, bump bump!
I know there are peeps here with the SB pci 128. Please run dxdiag and post your results. I would just like to know if I should be concerned about lack of hw buffering, or if that's how the card should be functioning.

<font color=blue>must</font color=blue>... <font color=blue>stop</font color=blue>... <font color=blue>learning</font color=blue>....