Sound card suggestions

El Kapitano · Nov 9, 2003, 01:14 AM

Anyone suggest agood sound card for my rig, preferably without too much overhead on the processor?

Looking in the region of £70. I only seem to be able to get hold of creative/philips/hercules easily, where are santa cruz etc. available from in the uk?

Currently using a 5.1 surround setup. I would prefer a 7.1 card for future proofing.

El.

Necrosis · Nov 9, 2003, 02:12 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by El Kapitano
Anyone suggest agood sound card for my rig, preferably without too much overhead on the processor?

Looking in the region of £70. I only seem to be able to get hold of creative/philips/hercules easily, where are santa cruz etc. available from in the uk?

Currently using a 5.1 surround setup. I would prefer a 7.1 card for future proofing.

El.

I would have to say the Hercules Fort III would probably be your best bet. The Santa Cruz & it's European counter part (can't remember name of the company

) is only 5.1.

RIV@NVX · Nov 10, 2003, 06:23 PM

Another vote for Hercules Fortissimo III.

El Kapitano · Nov 10, 2003, 08:32 PM

[COLOR=red][SIZE=x-small]Hercules Fortissimo III Eh?[/SIZE] [/COLOR] [COLOR=purple]Hmmmm[/COLOR]

Is that audio chipset not a bit on the crusty old side?

I don't particularly fancy going back to a creative card (l/player 5.1 bag of s... and s... driver updates to boot) so it may have to be. Nothing else seems to get close to it review wise.

Is no one but creative producing newer sound chipsets?
Are we all doomed eventually to either a creative or other high end sound card or on board audio?

[COLOR=burlywood][SIZE=x-large]Anyone for tennis? [/SIZE] [/COLOR]

**MIG-31** · Nov 10, 2003, 08:34 PM

forget the phillips brand of soundcards the driver support isn't great.

wilho · Nov 12, 2003, 01:31 PM

Look might want to look for card with envy-chip, like m-audio's revolution 7.1 and some terratecs like aureon are. If you're lookin for more professional choise, in low-end price range I'd go for m-audio's audiophile.

evil_one · Nov 12, 2003, 06:20 PM

I'd say the Prodigy 7.1 is the best of the Envy24HT based cards. The Aureons have icky driver support.

~~HawK~~ · Nov 12, 2003, 06:29 PM

Or a Hercules FortissimoIII 7.1, great sound perfect drivers, and what i like very much:
a separate headphone plug, settable in the easy to use mixer, price around 55 euro.

El Kapitano · Nov 12, 2003, 06:47 PM

[COLOR=teal] [SIZE=x-large]HMMMMMMMMMMMMM[/SIZE] [/COLOR]

Choices, choices........

On one hand the reviews for the Fortissimo 7.1 sound pretty good but so do the reviews for the Prodigy, I may go with the Fortissimo purely on a price/performance ratio although the fact that I can't find a UK stockist for the Prodigy 7.1 may have swung it.......

Hurrah, off to the shops again.....more pcb's in ma case..

BTW how's the Fortissimo with shared slots, I'm not sure if I've got a busmastering slot free on my Gigabyte GA7-VAXP... where's that manual..

Thanks for your assistance peeps, I'll let you know which I plump for tomorrow, meanwhile keep the suggestions coming.

~~HawK~~ · Nov 12, 2003, 08:22 PM

As long as you don"t shove it in PCI slot one1 (the one next to the AGP) you be allright.
Btw wise choice I think

you won't be dissapointed.

El Kapitano · Nov 17, 2003, 05:52 PM

[SIZE=x-large][COLOR=deeppink]Waaaahey!!![/COLOR][/SIZE]

Got me a spankin' new Herc fortissimo III. Installed and updated drivers no sweat, sounds great, much better than the crappy AC '97 codec on me 'board.

Only problem, shipped without a game port bracket, mind you who has a non USB game controller these days? Oh yeah me and its the midi port as well.

Ah well, only 22 miles to the nearest branch that has stock.

Thanks to you all for your suggestions.

Nov 9, 2003, 01:14 AM	#1
El Kapitano Most of the 7 dwarfs in 1 Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Rochdale, Lancashire Posts: 947 Rep Power: 0	Sound card suggestions Anyone suggest agood sound card for my rig, preferably without too much overhead on the processor? Looking in the region of £70. I only seem to be able to get hold of creative/philips/hercules easily, where are santa cruz etc. available from in the uk? Currently using a 5.1 surround setup. I would prefer a 7.1 card for future proofing. El.

Nov 10, 2003, 06:23 PM	#3
RIV@NVX Freedom is a feature. Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Croatia, Rijeka Posts: 4,476 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	Another vote for Hercules Fortissimo III. __________________ -- Vedran

Nov 10, 2003, 08:34 PM	#5
MIG-31 HardwareHeaven News Mod Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Nottingham,UK Posts: 56,810 Rep Power: 471 System Specs	forget the phillips brand of soundcards the driver support isn't great. __________________ Please Post Your News Submissions Here

Nov 12, 2003, 01:31 PM	#6
wilho DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2003 Posts: 48 Rep Power: 0	Look might want to look for card with envy-chip, like m-audio's revolution 7.1 and some terratecs like aureon are. If you're lookin for more professional choise, in low-end price range I'd go for m-audio's audiophile. Last edited by wilho; Nov 12, 2003 at 03:15 PM.

Nov 10, 2003, 08:32 PM	Thread Starter #4
El Kapitano Most of the 7 dwarfs in 1 Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Rochdale, Lancashire Posts: 947 Rep Power: 0	[COLOR=red][SIZE=x-small]Hercules Fortissimo III Eh?[/SIZE] [/COLOR] [COLOR=purple]Hmmmm[/COLOR] Is that audio chipset not a bit on the crusty old side? I don't particularly fancy going back to a creative card (l/player 5.1 bag of s... and s... driver updates to boot) so it may have to be. Nothing else seems to get close to it review wise. Is no one but creative producing newer sound chipsets? Are we all doomed eventually to either a creative or other high end sound card or on board audio? [COLOR=burlywood][SIZE=x-large]Anyone for tennis? [/SIZE] [/COLOR]

Nov 12, 2003, 06:20 PM	#7
evil_one DriverHeaven Lover Join Date: Nov 2002 Posts: 109 Rep Power: 0	I'd say the Prodigy 7.1 is the best of the Envy24HT based cards. The Aureons have icky driver support.

Nov 12, 2003, 06:29 PM	#8
~~HawK~~ Banned Join Date: May 2002 Posts: 2,092 Rep Power: 0	Or a Hercules FortissimoIII 7.1, great sound perfect drivers, and what i like very much: a separate headphone plug, settable in the easy to use mixer, price around 55 euro.

Nov 12, 2003, 06:47 PM	Thread Starter #9
El Kapitano Most of the 7 dwarfs in 1 Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Rochdale, Lancashire Posts: 947 Rep Power: 0	[COLOR=teal] [SIZE=x-large]HMMMMMMMMMMMMM[/SIZE] [/COLOR] Choices, choices........ On one hand the reviews for the Fortissimo 7.1 sound pretty good but so do the reviews for the Prodigy, I may go with the Fortissimo purely on a price/performance ratio although the fact that I can't find a UK stockist for the Prodigy 7.1 may have swung it....... Hurrah, off to the shops again.....more pcb's in ma case.. BTW how's the Fortissimo with shared slots, I'm not sure if I've got a busmastering slot free on my Gigabyte GA7-VAXP... where's that manual.. Thanks for your assistance peeps, I'll let you know which I plump for tomorrow, meanwhile keep the suggestions coming.

Nov 12, 2003, 08:22 PM	#10
~~HawK~~ Banned Join Date: May 2002 Posts: 2,092 Rep Power: 0	As long as you don"t shove it in PCI slot one1 (the one next to the AGP) you be allright. Btw wise choice I think you won't be dissapointed.

Nov 17, 2003, 05:52 PM	Thread Starter #11
El Kapitano Most of the 7 dwarfs in 1 Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Rochdale, Lancashire Posts: 947 Rep Power: 0	[SIZE=x-large][COLOR=deeppink]Waaaahey!!![/COLOR][/SIZE] Got me a spankin' new Herc fortissimo III. Installed and updated drivers no sweat, sounds great, much better than the crappy AC '97 codec on me 'board. Only problem, shipped without a game port bracket, mind you who has a non USB game controller these days? Oh yeah me and its the midi port as well. Ah well, only 22 miles to the nearest branch that has stock. Thanks to you all for your suggestions.