? use onboard Creative CT5880 or old Live! Value

[bjp]

i've been reading lots of posts here today [in between doing some work -- like while i wait for queries to run] ...and it's quite informative. interesting. good that there're so many guys who have lots of experience in specific areas. but what i originally came for was to ask a question.

i'm putting together a new computer, with a Gigabyte GA-8IRXP. ...which has a Creative Labs CT5880 5.1-channel audio chip. i've got an old Live! Value. so i've wondered whether to install the Live! Value or just use the onboard audio.

i know that the advantage of the CT5880 is that it's got 5.1 and that the advantage of the Live! Value is that it has more connectors.

for games i use headphones. (anything else would disturb the neighbours too much.)

i stopped doing mp3s long ago, but i do rip CDs to .wav and play them on the computer. what i've read here today confirms what i'd thought all along. "PC / multimedia / amplified speakers" etc., is not real hi-fi audio. and it's a lot clearer to me that all the hype from Creative Labs is ...just that, and that there _are_ _real_ audio / "professional" sound cards out there.

if i connect a hi-fi amp/receiver to the PC (an ordinary old pre-"home theater" amp) and some speakers (as in unamplified, real speakers, with wooden boxes and no little plastic "satellite" speakers) ...then would it be better to use the onboard CT5880 or to install the SB Live! Value ?

thanks.
regards,
Brian

 

[Crashman]

I don't know what the sound quality is, but it's probably comparable to the Live.

<font color=blue>You're posting in a forum with class. It may be third class, but it's still class!</font color=blue>

 

[marneus]

I would say if U wants to play games & listen to mp3s then stick with the onboard (shouldnt B much diff unless U get all those doohickeys to test quality & so that mags & review sites have), if U need 2 make professional stuff go for the extra chips on your live card...

no-one shouts louder than someone who is being ignored, or in the case of techies, to be heard over the noise of their PC's ;-)

 

[ejsmith2]

There's a good chance the sblive will drop your cpu usage a considerable amount. Probably something like 10% if you're using a midline processor.

But then, you may run into IDE corruption unless you get the drivers/bios updates hammered out...

P4's @ 3600Mhz ()wNz J00 4LL!!!!!!