what soundcard to buy?

ledzep · Oct 11, 2004, 02:21 PM

hi all.
i now have a onboard realtech AC97 sound card, and im looking for something better that will give me better sound control and better sound in games.
im very new to soundcards but not new to computer hardware.
i dont whant to spend alot on a soundcard , what should i look at?
i now use headphones and also have the creative inspire 2.1 speakers.

thanks , lz.

dipstick · Oct 11, 2004, 02:41 PM

The best gaming cards are the Audigy 2 series but Hercules makes good cheaper cards as well.

**dj_stick** · Oct 11, 2004, 09:25 PM

you say you don't want to spend alot, try the audigy ES series (oem audigy model)
you may be able to use ther a2zs drivers on it

ledzep · Oct 12, 2004, 12:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dj_stick

you say you don't want to spend alot, try the audigy ES series (oem audigy model)
you may be able to use ther a2zs drivers on it

hi mate
could you give me an exact model cause i cant find it around here.

btw what about this 2? the are at my price range.
1- Creative SOUND BLASTER AUDIGY LS (SE) - RETAIL
2-Creative SOUND BLASTER DIGITAL MUSIC -
cheers , lz.

classic_leon · Oct 12, 2004, 06:00 AM

Better not choose option "1".

rjpogi · Oct 12, 2004, 08:11 AM

well.. you can check Creative Labs SB Audigy 2 ZS platinum, i've heard that it's the best

Lowfat · Oct 12, 2004, 08:19 AM

personally i wouldn't get an audigy 2, which uses outdated technology. The audigy also oversamples sound which is a no-no. Modifying sound can cause distortion.

Personally i think the best sound card on the market right now is a M-Audio Revolution 7.1

zamac_man · Oct 14, 2004, 04:53 PM

I just got an audigy 2 zs gamer form Best Buy. It has a 50 mail in rebate on it till the 16th I think

Jitter · Oct 14, 2004, 05:05 PM

I would not get an Audigy LS I have one and actually reverted back to my onboard sound (soundmax 3d, which is some variation of ac'97). The audigy LS sounds good, but it severely drains your CPU and will kill your frame rates in some games.

BWX · Oct 14, 2004, 05:26 PM

I love my Hercules Fortissimo III 7.1, but not sure if you can find one anywhere.

Shadow Lady · Oct 14, 2004, 05:31 PM

if u dont want to spend too much money on it go for the audigy LS

if u want more power get the audigy2 ZS

Brian48 · Oct 25, 2004, 03:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BWX

I love my Hercules Fortissimo III 7.1, but not sure if you can find one anywhere.

Only on eBay. Hercules stopped making the Fortissimo and Herc GTXP a long time ago. Cirrus Logic officially desupported the chipset (CS4624) at the beginning of the year.

Still very happy with my F3 though. Will continue to use it until something else better comes along that has optical out (not satisfied with any of the Envy 24HT-S offerings thus far).

GeneralClaymore · Oct 25, 2004, 11:47 AM

you can get the Sblive 24bit 7.1, its basicy a A2ZS with things a Gamer would only need. u can pick it up for 30 bucks from compusa. Things like

EAX3/4, DDEX, 7.1

BWX · Oct 25, 2004, 01:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brian48

Only on eBay. Hercules stopped making the Fortissimo and Herc GTXP a long time ago. Cirrus Logic officially desupported the chipset (CS4624) at the beginning of the year.

Yeah that sux- But the drivers are about as stable as any and the last update was a loong time ago.. I'm gonna be PISSED when they quit working, (if they do)

Mr cairo · Oct 25, 2004, 01:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BWX

Yeah that sux- But the drivers are about as stable as any and the last update was a loong time ago.. I'm gonna be PISSED when they quit working, (if they do)

same here love the card but h8 the fact that there are no newer drivers coming ..

would change the card but i like the extra headphone jack socket and like the fact i dont need to unplug the speakers if i want to use the headphones

Lchevy79 · Oct 25, 2004, 02:23 PM

https://www.zigzag2000.co.il/catalog...roducts_id=454
https://www.zigzag2000.co.il/catalog...roducts_id=661
the site you put up only carries creative either of these 2 and save some cash

YAYitsAndrew · Oct 25, 2004, 02:51 PM

I'm also using a fortissimo III, it's a great card. Sad to hear that it's discontinued now though...I was going to buy the next iteration when it was available.

BWX · Oct 25, 2004, 03:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cairo

same here love the card but h8 the fact that there are no newer drivers coming ..

would change the card but i like the extra headphone jack socket and like the fact i dont need to unplug the speakers if i want to use the headphones

Yeah it's awesome, want to listen to headphones? Choose headphones in the driver CP... no unhooking or plugging in jacks. Still have 5.1 hooked up AND headphones and mic at the same time.. Just what I have.

~~HawK~~ · Oct 26, 2004, 09:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cairo

same here love the card but h8 the fact that there are no newer drivers coming ..

Why? You can't make perfect any better, they are stable and got perfect software aswell, will continue to use mine until it falls apart, then i'll put in my new spare one

But not just for the software, I love the "warm" sound it produces
I'm sure the top Audigy's are fine, apart from the ridiculous price, but anything lower really is Crapetive..

BWX · Oct 26, 2004, 12:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HawK

but anything lower really is Crapetive..

"Crapetive" is that a new word? Or did you mean Crap-a-tive?

~~HawK~~ · Oct 27, 2004, 01:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BWX

"Crapetive" is that a new word? Or did you mean Crap-a-tive?

Ehh, it's Creative & crap together

Oh did I mention I have the ZM-RS6F (5.1 headset) used 3 Y splitters so I can use both 5.1 speakers(Logitech X-530) & headset, I just turn of the speakers when room need silence, or when I wanne fire at Will (funny, why can't we fire at Peter??)

the Zalman is great for FPS and Racing games, watching movies on the otherhand is better with speakers IMM

Oct 11, 2004, 02:21 PM	#1
ledzep DriverHeaven Addict Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 260 Rep Power: 0	what soundcard to buy? hi all. i now have a onboard realtech AC97 sound card, and im looking for something better that will give me better sound control and better sound in games. im very new to soundcards but not new to computer hardware. i dont whant to spend alot on a soundcard , what should i look at? i now use headphones and also have the creative inspire 2.1 speakers. thanks , lz. __________________ [color=limegreen]P4 2.4C@3.2ghz \| 4xGeil 256MB PC3200@2.5,4,4,8 \| Thermaltake silent purepower 480W \| ATI 9800 Pro 128mb (r350) + ATI Silencer #1 max@440/370 \| Gigabyte GA-8IPE1000 Rev1.0 \| SB Realtech AC97 Audio onboard \| 2IBM (120+80GB, 8mb Buffer)@7200rpm \| WinXP Pro SP-1\| DX 9.0c & UniAN 5.6\| LG Flatron 775ft (17")@1024768\|[/color] [color=palegreen]aquamark03-> 52,306 \| 6,561<-3dmark03[/color] [color=yellow]3Dprof - try it![/color]

Oct 12, 2004, 06:00 AM	#5
classic_leon HardwareHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Wu Han, Hu Bei, P.R.China Posts: 1,238 Rep Power: 0	Better not choose option "1". __________________ Fashion keeps us alive. YouP-PAX Please visit http://www.A-PAX.co.uk to discuss the computer mods. The latest YouP PAX modded drivers are provided on the site.

Oct 14, 2004, 05:05 PM	#9
Jitter HardwareHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 534 Rep Power: 0	I would not get an Audigy LS I have one and actually reverted back to my onboard sound (soundmax 3d, which is some variation of ac'97). The audigy LS sounds good, but it severely drains your CPU and will kill your frame rates in some games. __________________ Sony Vaio PCV-RX670 P4 1.8ghz XP Pro SP2 1 GB PC2100 RAM ATI All in Wonder 9700 pro Audigy 2 ZS Aquamark ~29,500 3dMark03 ~ 5,000

Oct 14, 2004, 05:26 PM	#10
BWX unplugged Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: USNY Posts: 19,669 Rep Power: 110 System Specs	I love my Hercules Fortissimo III 7.1, but not sure if you can find one anywhere. __________________

Oct 14, 2004, 05:31 PM	#11
Shadow Lady Avril Fan Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: somewhere in colombia, okok, bogotá city :p Posts: 1,262 Rep Power: 0	if u dont want to spend too much money on it go for the audigy LS if u want more power get the audigy2 ZS __________________ Oblivion ftw

Oct 11, 2004, 02:41 PM	#2
dipstick HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: USA Posts: 3,609 Rep Power: 71 System Specs	The best gaming cards are the Audigy 2 series but Hercules makes good cheaper cards as well.

Oct 12, 2004, 08:11 AM	#6
rjpogi DriverHeaven Lover Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Seoul-Tokyo Connection Posts: 235 Rep Power: 0	well.. you can check Creative Labs SB Audigy 2 ZS platinum, i've heard that it's the best

Oct 12, 2004, 08:19 AM	#7
Lowfat Xtreme Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Grande Prairie, AB, Can Posts: 4,254 Rep Power: 101	personally i wouldn't get an audigy 2, which uses outdated technology. The audigy also oversamples sound which is a no-no. Modifying sound can cause distortion. Personally i think the best sound card on the market right now is a M-Audio Revolution 7.1

Oct 14, 2004, 04:53 PM	#8
zamac_man DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 63 Rep Power: 0	I just got an audigy 2 zs gamer form Best Buy. It has a 50 mail in rebate on it till the 16th I think

Oct 25, 2004, 11:47 AM	#13
GeneralClaymore HardwareHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: MI Posts: 434 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	you can get the Sblive 24bit 7.1, its basicy a A2ZS with things a Gamer would only need. u can pick it up for 30 bucks from compusa. Things like EAX3/4, DDEX, 7.1 __________________ Source: x-fi titanium hd 2x LT1124ACN+ 2x LT1115 > Matrix M-Stage V2 /w 2x LME49710NA> DT880 pro 250ohm

Oct 25, 2004, 02:23 PM	#16
Lchevy79 -=[DHzer0point Team]=- Join Date: Nov 2003 Posts: 725 Rep Power: 0	https://www.zigzag2000.co.il/catalog...roducts_id=454 https://www.zigzag2000.co.il/catalog...roducts_id=661 the site you put up only carries creative either of these 2 and save some cash __________________ msi K7N2 delta2-AMD 2800xp@2083-1gig of pc2700ram -ati x850xt 256mb -Audigy mp3+ - 1 80gig maxtor 8mb and 1 250gig 16mb maxtor -48x24x48 buslink burner-and a lite on 4x +/- dvd burner xp home samsung lcd (19") 930b monitor

Oct 25, 2004, 02:51 PM	#17
YAYitsAndrew Anti-Piracy Poster Boy Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: NJ Posts: 2,605 Rep Power: 79 System Specs	I'm also using a fortissimo III, it's a great card. Sad to hear that it's discontinued now though...I was going to buy the next iteration when it was available. __________________ "It is because the resistance to paying for copyrighted material, although often characterized as arising from a supposed technical burden or principled concern for the public interest, arises rather from exactly the same segment of the brain that is dominant in shoplifters." - Mark Helprin, Digital Barbarism In other words, it's never okay to steal even if you think you have a good reason! www.yayitsandrew.com