Onboard Sound, Use it or not?

[tombance]

I have a mobo with AC-97 onboard sound, i also have a sb16 PCI card vacant but i would rather not put this in. Is the ac97 onboard likely to be good enough for me to listen to mp3 and also play games like counterstrike. I dont care about 5.1 surround as i plan on using only 2 speakers (im using a decent amplifier and good speakers), and i also dont care about eax, a3d etc as a sb16 dosent have these anyway. Do you think the onboard would be good enough for my needs? ps I have pIII 750mhz

Need ADVICE????

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[upec]

If you do not care about the eax, a3d etc and only use 2.1 setup. I think Onboard sound will be fine.

 

[tombance]

thx, im just about to try and see if the quality is better or worse for each card, ill post the results on here later

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[tombance]

Ok it turned out the sb16 was way better than the onboard, im going to check prices and might decide to get a 5.1 or something, cos the sb16 doesnt have a proccessor (e.g emu chip)and therefore has really high cpu utilisation. any reccomendations (no more than about £70)??

If all else fails, Go further

 

[Vince604]

How about onboard Realtek ALC201A AC'97 controller vs Sound Blaster Live! Value?

I'm not good at this stuff so wondering which would be better.

 

[Crashman]

Turtle Beach Santa Cruiz had been around a LONG time and has a BIG following of loyal fans.

<font color=blue>At least half of all problems are caused by an insufficient power supply!</font color=blue>

 

[kai_kai]

a stupid question...
so the onboard sound would take cpu usuage alot? and if i have a pci sound card, it'll help my cpu run smoother?

 

[Jake75]

Well, what can you say?
If you are satisfied with the quality of the sound then be appy with the AC97, else...................

<font color=blue>P.S. I´m drunk.</font color=blue>

 

[kinney]

i use the sound blaster audigy, it has the lowest cpu utilization of any soundcard for games. Its the only one to accelerate EAX3 in hardware in games such as GTA3/JK2/SOF2. I'm the type that can't be without the latest and greatest (esp in sound).
I've been playing GTA3 regularly and it sounds great.

Athlon XP 1700+,KT266A,Geforce3, Audigy.. 'nuff said.

 

[FatBurger]

EAX 3 sounds great in GTA3, I agree. JKII is another story...

<font color=blue>Hi mom!</font color=blue>

 

[upec]

Game manufacturer will be utilizing the technology better with their up coming games. A sound card usually last a long time.

 

[FatBurger]

I agree, I think JKII sounds bad just because it was the first game and was rushed (also remember that there was no menu option for EAX3 until the first patch).

However, I also think GTA3 lends itself to the technology more than JKII does. I could be wrong, but it seems like the type of game where EAX3 really shines.

I still prefer my GTXP, but it'll be nice when there are other cards with EAX3 to choose from.

<font color=blue>Hi mom!</font color=blue>