Which to buy

Crisler · Feb 23, 2003, 04:05 AM

Hi all,

Building a new system. P4 based. Got everything but the sound card. Am considering an Audigy 2 or a Fortissimo III. The Hercules card has decent reviews and is considered very stable. I am not sure that with my setup I will be able to really enjoy what the Audigy series offers. I run 2.1 speakers and use headphones alot. I game and mix between Madden 2003, BF1942 and Hearts fo Iron.

Is it worth the 80$ more for the Audigy? Yes I do listen to music and play DVDs with this machine.

Edward

RIV@NVX · Feb 23, 2003, 01:29 PM

I don't know about Fortissimo III, but Fortissimo II has very good and stable drivers. 80$ more for Audigy2 - it probably isn't worth it, but I can't tell you about DVD playback of Fortissimo III. Audigy2 definitly has a lot better EAX support.

Crisler · Feb 23, 2003, 08:49 PM

I am also considering the Philips card, forgot which model, is $50 at Best Buy. I am just wanting to make sure I get a good card without spending a lot more than I need to.

~~Asuka~~ · Feb 24, 2003, 11:50 PM

Depends on how much you want/need EAX... the Fortissimo III surely looks nice, and I seriously doubt the $80 more would be worth it. If you really need EAX, you could rather consider a cheaper Audigy 1 card (there you can still use the new Audigy 2 drivers - heck, they even work on my SB Live!

)

DallasStar · Feb 25, 2003, 12:00 AM

Honestly, with a 2.1 speaker setup, you don't need to be blowing away money on expensive cards. With good headphones, you might want good quality sound, but you still don't need something with lots of surround sound options or anything. I'd say get the Fortissimo III. It has good quality sound and it isn't very expensive. I mean, what's the point of having a soundcard decode 5.1 dolby digital if you still hear the same thing as you would if it were 2.1? Also, on anything short of a 4.1 speaker system, you would not really be able to notice much of a difference with or without EAX (though it may be different if you used your headphones, but who uses headphones while gaming? And who would pay 80 dollars extra to get some moderately better sound while gaming on headphones?).

dipstick · Feb 25, 2003, 12:13 AM

huh? Headphones are unbelievable for games!!! You need some seriously expensive speakers to match even an 'ok' pair of headphones. Anyways, I don't think it's worth it to spend all that extra money for an Audigy. All that money could be better spent elsewhere.

DallasStar · Feb 25, 2003, 04:24 AM

I know headphones are great for games; I use them myself and love them. I, however, think EAX is more suited towards surround sound speaker setups and less towards headphones. That's why I said that EAX doesn't offer any substantial improvement on the sound of headphones in games to be worth 80 dollars. IMO, headphones sound great even with the standard two-channel sound of most games.

dipstick · Feb 25, 2003, 04:32 AM

True, I totally misread your post..my bad

Necrosis · Feb 25, 2003, 04:34 PM

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the Santa Cruz..just plug and go. No worries...works great and you can usually pick one up for a decent price. Herucles does make good cards but I haven't been too impressed with how you have to upgrade the drivers. Does anyone know if they have corrected the "un-plug your ethernet" issue?

dipstick · Feb 25, 2003, 05:00 PM

Nope, that's still there. But you can just disable the connection through the Network Properties and turn it back on easy enough. It's cool they do that; you don't want Windows downloading MS drivers...that's a big no-no.

Feb 23, 2003, 04:05 AM	#1
Crisler DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Desoto, IL Posts: 15 Rep Power: 0	Which to buy Hi all, Building a new system. P4 based. Got everything but the sound card. Am considering an Audigy 2 or a Fortissimo III. The Hercules card has decent reviews and is considered very stable. I am not sure that with my setup I will be able to really enjoy what the Audigy series offers. I run 2.1 speakers and use headphones alot. I game and mix between Madden 2003, BF1942 and Hearts fo Iron. Is it worth the 80$ more for the Audigy? Yes I do listen to music and play DVDs with this machine. Edward

Feb 23, 2003, 01:29 PM	#2
RIV@NVX Freedom is a feature. Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Croatia, Rijeka Posts: 4,476 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	I don't know about Fortissimo III, but Fortissimo II has very good and stable drivers. 80$ more for Audigy2 - it probably isn't worth it, but I can't tell you about DVD playback of Fortissimo III. Audigy2 definitly has a lot better EAX support. __________________ -- Vedran Last edited by RIV@NVX; Feb 23, 2003 at 01:35 PM.

Feb 25, 2003, 12:00 AM	#5
DallasStar Junior Join Date: May 2002 Location: Wave Existence Posts: 2,065 Rep Power: 0	Honestly, with a 2.1 speaker setup, you don't need to be blowing away money on expensive cards. With good headphones, you might want good quality sound, but you still don't need something with lots of surround sound options or anything. I'd say get the Fortissimo III. It has good quality sound and it isn't very expensive. I mean, what's the point of having a soundcard decode 5.1 dolby digital if you still hear the same thing as you would if it were 2.1? Also, on anything short of a 4.1 speaker system, you would not really be able to notice much of a difference with or without EAX (though it may be different if you used your headphones, but who uses headphones while gaming? And who would pay 80 dollars extra to get some moderately better sound while gaming on headphones?). __________________ "A picture of my existence... would show a useless wooden stake covered in snow... stuck loosely at a slant in the ground in a ploughed field on the edge of a vast open plain on a dark winter night." --- Franz Kafka

Feb 25, 2003, 04:24 AM	#7
DallasStar Junior Join Date: May 2002 Location: Wave Existence Posts: 2,065 Rep Power: 0	I know headphones are great for games; I use them myself and love them. I, however, think EAX is more suited towards surround sound speaker setups and less towards headphones. That's why I said that EAX doesn't offer any substantial improvement on the sound of headphones in games to be worth 80 dollars. IMO, headphones sound great even with the standard two-channel sound of most games. __________________ "A picture of my existence... would show a useless wooden stake covered in snow... stuck loosely at a slant in the ground in a ploughed field on the edge of a vast open plain on a dark winter night." --- Franz Kafka

Feb 23, 2003, 08:49 PM	Thread Starter #3
Crisler DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Desoto, IL Posts: 15 Rep Power: 0	I am also considering the Philips card, forgot which model, is $50 at Best Buy. I am just wanting to make sure I get a good card without spending a lot more than I need to.

Feb 24, 2003, 11:50 PM	#4
~~Asuka~~ BANNED Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Germany Posts: 579 Rep Power: 0	Depends on how much you want/need EAX... the Fortissimo III surely looks nice, and I seriously doubt the $80 more would be worth it. If you really need EAX, you could rather consider a cheaper Audigy 1 card (there you can still use the new Audigy 2 drivers - heck, they even work on my SB Live! )

Feb 25, 2003, 12:13 AM	#6
dipstick HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: USA Posts: 3,609 Rep Power: 71 System Specs	huh? Headphones are unbelievable for games!!! You need some seriously expensive speakers to match even an 'ok' pair of headphones. Anyways, I don't think it's worth it to spend all that extra money for an Audigy. All that money could be better spent elsewhere.

Feb 25, 2003, 04:32 AM	#8
dipstick HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: USA Posts: 3,609 Rep Power: 71 System Specs	True, I totally misread your post..my bad

Feb 25, 2003, 04:34 PM	#9
Necrosis HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: Ohio Posts: 8,838 Rep Power: 131 System Specs	I'm surprised no one has mentioned the Santa Cruz..just plug and go. No worries...works great and you can usually pick one up for a decent price. Herucles does make good cards but I haven't been too impressed with how you have to upgrade the drivers. Does anyone know if they have corrected the "un-plug your ethernet" issue?

Feb 25, 2003, 05:00 PM	#10
dipstick HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: USA Posts: 3,609 Rep Power: 71 System Specs	Nope, that's still there. But you can just disable the connection through the Network Properties and turn it back on easy enough. It's cool they do that; you don't want Windows downloading MS drivers...that's a big no-no.