Which Sound Card?

gibbon565 · Jul 23, 2002, 05:50 AM

Guys at the moment I have one of those sound blaster Live 5.1 but it is pissing me off as it keeps crashing

So I need a new one

so I can ditch the crashing peice o crap

lol..So what do u recommend guys? I want a card the is mid range priced for XP
If any of you are selling then I may be interested but advice would be apreciated.
thx
Andy

DallasStar · Jul 23, 2002, 08:10 AM

In the midrange market, Phillips Acoustic Edge and Turtle Beach SantaCruz are currently very popular. If you want something similar to the LiveDrive included, then Hercules Gametheatre XP would be good. I haven't actually tried these, but they seem to be very popular among the crowd that had problems with Creative cards.

kbleft · Jul 23, 2002, 10:42 AM

fortissimo 2 is coming this week for me. I'll let you know how it works.

Necrosis · Jul 23, 2002, 12:09 PM

Any of the three cards that were mentioned are great. I will be receiving my Game Theater XP later this week. If you want to pick up something right now, and cheap go with the Fortissimo II. You can pick it up at Best Buy I think for around $69.XX plus tax. Don't quote me on that but you can check on their site. BTW, what drivers have you tried with your SBLive?

gibbon565 · Jul 23, 2002, 05:38 PM

I have just tried the new drivers guys and what a difference but I'm still on the market for a new card. Oh and thx for the help guys I'm interested in the Fortissimo 2, let me know how it goes kbleft.
Cheers

Karma Police · Jul 23, 2002, 05:45 PM

Isn't the Hercules Gametheatre XP sposed to be better than the Sound Blaster Live! Series?

DallasStar · Jul 23, 2002, 05:48 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Karma Police
Isn't the Hercules Gametheatre XP sposed to be better than the Sound Blaster Live! Series?

That can be true and that can be false. It can't be proven, it can't be disproven. It is an opinion.

Karma Police · Jul 23, 2002, 06:04 PM

I guess it comes down to how much money you wanted to spend on a sound card?

I heard nothing but good things about the Hercules Gametheatre XP, but then again I didn't hear much!

snoz · Jul 24, 2002, 04:20 AM

I just upgraded my soundblaster live to a audigy. I read many reviews and opinions here but in the end i just could not get away from the EAX support the audigy offers, as i use my pc pretty much 100% for gaming this was the most important thing to me and also in reviews i read the audigy uses less cpu then any of the other currant soundcards. So i got one, and tbh sound quality wise i cant tell any difference at all, I'm most likely stone deaf though

but the main thing is is runs 100% stable on my system and is causing no problems... which im happy with.

e-Seeker · Jul 27, 2002, 04:10 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by snoz
I just upgraded my soundblaster live to a audigy. I read many reviews and opinions here but in the end i just could not get away from the EAX support the audigy offers, as i use my pc pretty much 100% for gaming this was the most important thing to me and also in reviews i read the audigy uses less cpu then any of the other currant soundcards. So i got one, and tbh sound quality wise i cant tell any difference at all, I'm most likely stone deaf though but the main thing is is runs 100% stable on my system and is causing no problems... which im happy with.

That's true, it uses hardly any CPU time (ex.: WinAMP - 0-1%, unbelievable!; as a reference: with Live - 6-10%, and as for Extigy, well - 'round 20%

)...
I've had Live (kicks ass, never had any problems with it) and Extigy (which, apart from its HW DD5.1 decoding, sucks even with newest drivers and firmware... A LOT!

)...
...used the Live on SoundWorks DTT2500, but then came the time to change to something better, so I went 'out' and got myself the MegaWorks 510D

and Extigy... Well, the sound was oK, but not what I'd expected... after 'bout two weeks I went nuts and couldn't stand it no longer, so I got the Audigy Platinum and believe me, it never sounded better! I probably wouldn't notice any major difference between Extigy and Audigy listening to music if I hadn't bought the MegaWorks... but here I am, with a huge smile on my face, every time I hear them it this beautiful combination of HW

Malus · Jul 27, 2002, 08:00 AM

Go with a Philip's or a Santa Cruz. You won't have any problems. No sense in buying another Creative card if you had too many problems with the first.

Necrosis · Jul 27, 2002, 09:02 AM

I just installed my Game Theater XP last night..and I am impressed! Comes with a boat load of software (which I already have anyway) and Power DVD Pro 6.1. I don't have 6.1 speakers thought but it sounds good!

The only thing I am concerned with is the size of the freaking cable from the break out box to the card. It's huge! I didn't know if I was hooking it up, or putting a garden hose on my rig.

griff · Jul 28, 2002, 04:58 PM

Go for the SANTA CRUZ. Have been using it for a year or so and it doesn't matter what kind of system you put it in it works flawlessly.

Jul 23, 2002, 05:50 AM	#1
gibbon565 Bouncy BOUNCY! Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Edinburgh, Scotland Posts: 316 Rep Power: 0	Which Sound Card? Guys at the moment I have one of those sound blaster Live 5.1 but it is pissing me off as it keeps crashing So I need a new one so I can ditch the crashing peice o crap lol..So what do u recommend guys? I want a card the is mid range priced for XP If any of you are selling then I may be interested but advice would be apreciated. thx Andy __________________ 3500 x64 ASRock Dual Sata 2 7900 GTO 512 1 gig OCUK HANNS-H HW13D

Jul 23, 2002, 08:10 AM	#2
DallasStar Junior Join Date: May 2002 Location: Wave Existence Posts: 2,065 Rep Power: 0	In the midrange market, Phillips Acoustic Edge and Turtle Beach SantaCruz are currently very popular. If you want something similar to the LiveDrive included, then Hercules Gametheatre XP would be good. I haven't actually tried these, but they seem to be very popular among the crowd that had problems with Creative cards. __________________ "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

Jul 23, 2002, 05:38 PM	Thread Starter #5
gibbon565 Bouncy BOUNCY! Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Edinburgh, Scotland Posts: 316 Rep Power: 0	I have just tried the new drivers guys and what a difference but I'm still on the market for a new card. Oh and thx for the help guys I'm interested in the Fortissimo 2, let me know how it goes kbleft. Cheers __________________ 3500 x64 ASRock Dual Sata 2 7900 GTO 512 1 gig OCUK HANNS-H HW13D

Jul 23, 2002, 05:45 PM	#6
Karma Police DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Australia Posts: 14 Rep Power: 0	? Isn't the Hercules Gametheatre XP sposed to be better than the Sound Blaster Live! Series? __________________ Athlon XP 2000+ ASUS A7V333 RAID 512MB 2100 DDR MSI GeForce 4Ti 4400 128MB Segate 40Gig Barracuta IV 7200rpm Quantum Fireball 20Gig 5200rpm Sound Blaster Live! Benq 24x10x40 CD-RW Samsung 12x DVD Windows XP Corp

Jul 23, 2002, 06:04 PM	#8
Karma Police DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Australia Posts: 14 Rep Power: 0	I guess it comes down to how much money you wanted to spend on a sound card? I heard nothing but good things about the Hercules Gametheatre XP, but then again I didn't hear much! __________________ Athlon XP 2000+ ASUS A7V333 RAID 512MB 2100 DDR MSI GeForce 4Ti 4400 128MB Segate 40Gig Barracuta IV 7200rpm Quantum Fireball 20Gig 5200rpm Sound Blaster Live! Benq 24x10x40 CD-RW Samsung 12x DVD Windows XP Corp

Jul 23, 2002, 10:42 AM	#3
kbleft DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 88 Rep Power: 0	fortissimo 2 is coming this week for me. I'll let you know how it works.

Jul 23, 2002, 12:09 PM	#4
Necrosis HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: Ohio Posts: 8,838 Rep Power: 131 System Specs	Any of the three cards that were mentioned are great. I will be receiving my Game Theater XP later this week. If you want to pick up something right now, and cheap go with the Fortissimo II. You can pick it up at Best Buy I think for around $69.XX plus tax. Don't quote me on that but you can check on their site. BTW, what drivers have you tried with your SBLive?

Jul 24, 2002, 04:20 AM	#9
snoz DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: England Posts: 27 Rep Power: 0	I just upgraded my soundblaster live to a audigy. I read many reviews and opinions here but in the end i just could not get away from the EAX support the audigy offers, as i use my pc pretty much 100% for gaming this was the most important thing to me and also in reviews i read the audigy uses less cpu then any of the other currant soundcards. So i got one, and tbh sound quality wise i cant tell any difference at all, I'm most likely stone deaf though but the main thing is is runs 100% stable on my system and is causing no problems... which im happy with. __________________ [color=red] Windows 2000 sr3 Athlon XP 1900+ Epox 8k3a kt333 chipset [/color] [color=yellow]Via 4 in 1 4.45 [/color] [color=red]768mb of Crucial pc2700 cas 2.5 ram Soundblaster Audigy[/color][color=yellow] 5.12.1.253 drivers [/color] [color=red]Geforce 4 ti4400[/color] [color=yellow]Nvidia Detonator 41.80[/color]

Jul 27, 2002, 08:00 AM	#11
Malus BSD SMASH! Join Date: May 2002 Location: A rabbit hole. . . Posts: 1,170 Rep Power: 0	Go with a Philip's or a Santa Cruz. You won't have any problems. No sense in buying another Creative card if you had too many problems with the first. __________________ quad (FreeBSD/amd64 8-CURRENT): Intel Q6600 - Asus P5E-VM HDMI - 2x2 GB Kingston PC6400 DDR2 Ram - Seagate 320GB 7200RPM HD - 2xSeagate 1TB 7200RPM HD in RAID 1 via ZFS - Lite-On 20x DVD Multi Recorder - Coolermaster Centurion 5 router (FreeBSD/amd64 8-CURRENT): Intel E4500 - Intel D945GCNL - 2 GB PC6400 Mushkin Ram - Lite-On 48x24x48x16 - Seagate 320GB 7200RPM HD - Silverstone SST-SG02-F wanderer (FreeBSD/i386 7-CURRENT): Lenovo Thinkpad T61p mini (OS X 10.5): Intel Core 2 Duo @ 1.8Ghz, 4 GB Mushkin PC5400 Ram - Headroom MicroDAC Portable sound: Rockboxed iPod Video -> Westone UM2's Not-So-Portable Sound: Headroon MicroDAC -> Singlepower PPX3-SLAM -> Grado RS-1's or Beyerdynamic DT-880's Very-Not-Portable-Sound: Squeezebox v3 -> Denon AVR-1507 -> B&W 683's & Sunfire HRS-10

Jul 27, 2002, 09:02 AM	#12
Necrosis HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: Ohio Posts: 8,838 Rep Power: 131 System Specs	I just installed my Game Theater XP last night..and I am impressed! Comes with a boat load of software (which I already have anyway) and Power DVD Pro 6.1. I don't have 6.1 speakers thought but it sounds good! The only thing I am concerned with is the size of the freaking cable from the break out box to the card. It's huge! I didn't know if I was hooking it up, or putting a garden hose on my rig.

Jul 28, 2002, 04:58 PM	#13
griff HardwareHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Smithers BC Canada Posts: 41 Rep Power: 0	Go for the SANTA CRUZ. Have been using it for a year or so and it doesn't matter what kind of system you put it in it works flawlessly.