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SB Live 5.1 or nForce2 Soundstorm?

Forum CPU & Components : Sound Cards - SB Live 5.1 or nForce2 Soundstorm?

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Ive heard good things about the Soundstorm and even heard it compared to the Audigy or Audigy2 or something (someone clarify?)

Im using a SBLive 5.1 so that would theoretically be a step up either way right?

Which is straight out the best sound solution for gaming?
Edited by FDTzeng on 04/22/03 11:39 PM.

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SoundStorm is definitely better than Audigy (quality wise and performance wise) never to say Live. It's by far the best on board sound solution ever, and it is capable to do realtime Dolby Digital 5.1 decoding, so if you hook it to a digital speaker via coaxial or optical digital output you'll get a superior sound quality which cost you nothing.

You never know how stupid you are until you have done something stupid enough for you to realize it.
<A HREF="http://www.anandtech.com/mysystemrig.html?id=22996" target="_new">My System Rig</A>

Reply to TKH

Soundstorm is definitely better. Personally, I'm getting the Guillemot Game Theatre XP 7.1 because since it does the processing outside the computer, it won't be subjected to EM interference from the different components in the computer, giving a sharper, clearer soundstage, and it has really really nice sound as it is. Plus, it looks cool to have the little box there.

XP 2500+ Barton @ 198x11.5@1.85v
Thermalright SLK-800
Thermaltake Smartfan II
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Soundstorm

Reply to umheint0

I'm also looking at GTXP 7.1 before I purchase A7N8X Deluxe because of its external coder and full connectivity but budget cut... it's a good "sound box" I must say.

You never know how stupid you are until you have done something stupid enough for you to realize it.
<A HREF="http://www.anandtech.com/mysystemrig.html?id=22996" target="_new">My System Rig</A>

Reply to TKH

Yeah, the external coder is awesome because it means the sound is going to be crystal clear because of the active crc checking when getting the signal. Gotta love it. I'll let you all know how it sounds.

XP 2500+ Barton @ 198x11.5@1.85v
Thermalright SLK-800
Thermaltake Smartfan II
A7N8X Dlx
2x512MB Corsair PC3200
BBA 9700 Pro AIW
2x80GB 7200RPM Maxtor
Soundstorm

Reply to umheint0

So from best to worst it looks like this?

1. Soundstorm
2. Audigy 2
3. Audigy
4. SB Live 5.1

(Possibly with the GTXP 7.1 in "0" place?) Or is the Audigy2 still better than the Soundstorm? You guys only mentioned "Audigy"

Reply to FDTzeng

Well, the GTXP would be in 0, the Audigy2 would be in 1, Soundstorm in 2, the rest is okay. The Audigy2 is still considered better than Soundstorm. It's fairly clearer, more accurate, and so forth, than the Soundstorm. I'd say the GTXP because it doesn't get EM interference which really degrades quality when you use good headphones/speakers (both of which I have).

The M-Audio Revolution 7.1 would be in -1, and then all pro audio would be -2 through -82,547.

XP 2500+ Barton @ 198x11.5@1.85v
Thermalright SLK-800
Thermaltake Smartfan II
A7N8X Dlx
2x512MB Corsair PC3200
BBA 9700 Pro AIW
2x80GB 7200RPM Maxtor
Soundstorm

Reply to umheint0

Keep this in mind: If you are a gamer, the Soundstorm uses the least amount of CPU time of any of the sound cards, which is good. Audigy 2 comes in second in terms of CPU usage, but offers slightly higher quality.

The Netherlands is where you go when you're too good for heaven. :tongue:

Edited by Twitch on 04/23/03 09:56 PM.

Reply to Twitch

I was trying to decide between the Epox 8RDA (Plain Jane) or the 8RDA+ (only nforce2 mobo's available here) I also have a 5.1 SB Live sound card, so should I flog it and get the +? The 8RDA+ does use Soundstorm no?

Reply to ChestRockwell

Yes Epox 8RDA+ do utilise SoundStorm.

You never know how stupid you are until you have done something stupid enough for you to realize it.
<A HREF="http://www.anandtech.com/mysystemrig.html?id=22996" target="_new">My System Rig</A>

Reply to TKH

Actually, there are [currently] only three boards that pass nVidia and Dolby Laboratories' criteria for being labeled 'Soundstorm certified'. I encourage everyone to take a look at this page on nVidia's website:

http://www.nvidia.com/view.asp?IO=motherboards

As you can see, only three are Soundstorm mainboards: Abit NF7-S, MSI K7N2G-ILSR and Shuttle's (cube barebones) SN-41G2.

I see comments about Asus A7N8 Deluxe being a soundstorm board but -at least according to nVidia- it's actually not that way. Neither is Epox 8RDA+. I don't know however, what exactly keeps nVidia from calling the A7N8 Deluxe soundstorm non-compliant (Asus claims it is a soundstorm board with DD realtime encoding). It may be a shared digital and analog output port for example(?)...

Reply to r2k

You are right, these mobo are certified by nvidia because they have passed the requirement of nVidia(I said "utilise", not certified). But remember, we don't need a SoundStorm certified mobo to run the APU through MCP-T

These are the requirements of SoundStorm Certification:
- NVIDIA nForce(tm)2 platform processor-based motherboard that includes the MCP-T with APU supporting Dolby Digital 5.1 encoding
- Discrete (non-shared) front left and right analog outputs
- Discrete (non-shared) rear left and right analog outputs
- Discrete (non-shared) center and subwoofer analog outputs
- Discrete (non-shared) S/PDIF digital output (coax recommended, but they can do optical)
- Discrete (non-shared) line-in analog inputs
- Discrete (non-shared) microphone analog input
- Minimum 85db signal-to-noise ratio on all analog outputs
- Minimum 80db signal-to-noise ratio on all analog inputs
- Dolby Digital testing, certification, approval from Dolby and NVIDIA

"A motherboard may not be SoundStorm-certified but it can still offer the same audio features and performance as SoundStorm-certified motherboards. What SoundStorm certification means is that the product has been tested by NVIDIA and Dolby and found to meet the minimum specifications listed above." -- Adrian's Rojak Pot

Asus A7N8X Deluxe definitely meet all those requirement and the reason they've been out of the list is not hardware issue.
Asus or other mobo's that are using MCP-T and SoundStorm APU but not getting certification remain unknown, but all of them are now currently under certification process.

You never know how stupid you are until you have done something stupid enough for you to realize it.
<A HREF="http://www.anandtech.com/mysystemrig.html?id=22996" target="_new">My System Rig</A>Edited by TKH on 04/24/03 11:37 AM.

Reply to TKH

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