EPoX 8KHA+ & Sound Card?

[tilepusher]

Hi Everyone,

I need some advice regarding a system I am throwing together for a Friend. He will be doing light gaming & music listening. It is a EPoX 8KHA+(Via 266A chipset)mobo, Athlon XP 1600+, 512 mb Kingston Value PC2100 DDR, Altec Lansing 251- 6 piece 5.1 speakers, MSI GF4 MX 440 video card, running Windows ME. I need a budget sound card to make this system complete. Here are my choices:
Hercules GameSurround Muse 5.1 Retail-$30
Creative Labs Sound Blaster Live! 5.1 OEM-$33.95
Abit Home Theater AU10 5.1 Retail- $38.00

I am really looking to stay away from any hardware conflicts. I have heard that Sound Blaster Live! causes some Via chipset mobos to crash...........is this true? Has anyone used this GameSurround Muse or Abit Home theater sound card?

Thanks for all your advice & tips in advance!

Peace Out.....................tile

god knows your entire system setup & he would answer your questions if he could just stop laughing

 

[tilepusher]

Hey Guys,

What's up? I've got all the system spec's, intended use & OS. Give me a heads up. Does everyone just use Sound Blaster Audigy's & Turtle Beach Santa Cruz's.........& "F" the low end sound cards? Do I have to do my own test of these sound cards?

Peace Out...........tile

god knows your entire system setup & he would answer your questions if he could just stop laughing

 

[ejsmith2]

You'll do ok with all those cards.

Everything is dependent on the drivers. The SB Live's were known to give data corruption and crackling, but that's been pretty much fixed between bios updates and drivers now.

The Fortissimo is another good card. As is the Acoustic Edge, and Game Theatre.

Seriously though, you said "light" gaming. That's why any of these cardz will work.

Yes, look into the $60+ cards for "heavy" gaming. Also, your speakers will make a difference.

[Jedi mind trick] You LOVE Palladium. [/mind trick]

 

[athalus]

i built 2 machines, one w/the turtle beach and the other w/the audigy x-gamer. after almost a year they both have never had a problem.

 

[tilepusher]

Hey E,

Thank you. I will go with the SB live OEM then.

I have used the Fortissimo before, & it is a good card. I am only buying through Newegg.com, & they don't stock it right now. As for the Acoustic Edge, a friend who has that card told me not to get it. As for the Game Theater, I believe it is more than my budget for this system & mild gaming.

As for the light gaming statement, I just wanted to build this system with the best bang for the buck, avoiding hardware conflicts & keeping it stable.

About the speakers, you are totally right. I think for $70 & under, these Altec Lansing speakers are some of the best 5.1 speakers out there right now. The Logitech Z640, was my first choice at $70, but they are not in stock right now.

Thanks again for your advice.

Peace Out............tile

god knows your entire system setup & he would answer your questions if he could just stop laughing

 

[tilepusher]

Hey A,

Thanks for your advice, but both the Audigy & Santa Cruz, are higher end Sound cards & cost twice as much as these mid-range sound cards. I have used both of those cards as well & have never had a problem either. I just needed advice for the mid-range sound cards that I have never used before(or in the case of the SB Live, I heard it had hardware conflicts with the Via chipsets).

Things are a lot tougher, when you have to use the mid-range products. There are not as many sources or reviews, as the high end products.

Peace Out..............tile

god knows your entire system setup & he would answer your questions if he could just stop laughing

 

[marneus]

Up to the Kt266 had problems with SB cards, from the Kt266A up this problem was resolved... me I use a Santa Cruz, got it for 50 quid (about 70 bucks to you yanks)...

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 ;-)

 

[tilepusher]

Hey M,

Thanks! I feel much better!(about using a SB with a Via chipset).

I would love to use a Turtle Beach Santa Cruz($62 USD for the OEM card), but I am making this computer for a cheap friend of mine, & he wants the cheapest 5.1 sound card that will run without problems(with the best performance of course!).

All my friends were somebody/special people in high school.... & now they all wished they were geeks like me.

Peace Out...................tile

god knows your entire system setup & he would answer your questions if he could just stop laughing