Sound Cards?

SAMSAMHA · Dec 26, 2002, 09:00 PM

I have a question. Which one is a better sound card? The one that I have on my mobo (intel 815eea2u), which I believe is soundmax 3. Or the Turtle Beach Santa Cruz. I have saw that Turtle beach on sale for like 30 or so and I am just curious that should I spend the money to upgrade my sound card, would I be happier with my new card or I probably won't notice any difference and wasted few bucks. Thanks for all inputs.

digitalwanderer · Dec 26, 2002, 09:08 PM

...'cause I think that the TBSC is much better than your onboard audio....at least it better be. I'm in the middle of buying a used one to ugrade my SB-live 5.1 with. (I'm being nice, I'm letting the wife have it.

)

ToshiroOC · Dec 27, 2002, 01:00 AM

It would depend a lot on your speaker setup. If you have $hitty speakers (integrated into the monitor, anything under 5 watts per...) you are not going to notice the slightest bit of difference... if your speakers are better than that, it would still depend on what you are doing audio wise. If you want more advice, please post more specifics.

Zarathustra · Dec 27, 2002, 01:47 AM

The TBSC is a great card. It sounds incredibly better than my old Live Platinum. I'll move this to the Audio forums so it will get more views...

Necrosis · Dec 27, 2002, 03:25 AM

Definitely the Santa Cruz.

MikeDaMan · Dec 27, 2002, 06:41 AM

OK, I guess I have pretty much the same question right now I have Cyber Acoustics speakers Actual Product and I am using onboard sound using AC97 codec. Would it be a good idea to buy a PCI sound card, I like playing games a lot and with good sound quility.

ToshiroOC · Dec 27, 2002, 06:46 AM

In a word, yes. the AC97 is ok for most non-games, but at heart its an integrated part and not a dedicated sound processor. Again, I would recommend the Hercules GTXP sound card - really great, my friend has it and says he loves it...

Necrosis · Dec 27, 2002, 07:47 AM

I've owned the Santa Cruz and the Hercules Game Theater XP.

The two main differences in these cards are this.

GTXP: Offers the external rack much like the live drive but w/o a remote. The GTXP doesn't offer Sensaura based sound fields like the Santa Cruz does. It also must be noted the built in USB hub is powered from the internal PCI card which connects via a cable to the external rack.

SC. Offers the sound fields plus an output/input that you can specify what you would like it to be. The GTXP does offer something similar to this. However, the Santa Cruz also has virutal 5.1 which with the GTXP it is always in the state you select for your speaker output.

If you want a simple card with great sound and features. Go with the Santa Cruz. However, if you plan on hooking it up to a receiver or wish to do recording I'd recommend the Hercules.

P.S. The Hercules does also support more speakers outputs than the Santa Cruz even if you own an older version of the GTXP. You get more speaker outputs with driver updates.

SAMSAMHA · Dec 27, 2002, 10:04 PM

I have cyber acoutstic 300 (not a great speaker). Would I notice a big difference compare to my intel's mobo sound card?

Dec 26, 2002, 09:00 PM	#1
SAMSAMHA HardwareHeaven Addict Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 301 Rep Power: 0	Sound Cards? I have a question. Which one is a better sound card? The one that I have on my mobo (intel 815eea2u), which I believe is soundmax 3. Or the Turtle Beach Santa Cruz. I have saw that Turtle beach on sale for like 30 or so and I am just curious that should I spend the money to upgrade my sound card, would I be happier with my new card or I probably won't notice any difference and wasted few bucks. Thanks for all inputs.

Dec 26, 2002, 09:08 PM	#2
digitalwanderer Colour Commentator Join Date: May 2002 Location: Highland, IN USA Posts: 5,619 Rep Power: 0	Well, I hope I'm right on this... ...'cause I think that the TBSC is much better than your onboard audio....at least it better be. I'm in the middle of buying a used one to ugrade my SB-live 5.1 with. (I'm being nice, I'm letting the wife have it. ) __________________ WTF is up with the sigs?

Dec 27, 2002, 01:00 AM	#3
ToshiroOC Unbiased. Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 4,812 Rep Power: 0	It would depend a lot on your speaker setup. If you have $hitty speakers (integrated into the monitor, anything under 5 watts per...) you are not going to notice the slightest bit of difference... if your speakers are better than that, it would still depend on what you are doing audio wise. If you want more advice, please post more specifics. __________________ [img][/img] [color=White]Peace be with you, Joe.[/color] Driverheaven Staff Member (Supermoderator)

Dec 27, 2002, 06:41 AM	#6
MikeDaMan DriverHeaven Senior Member Join Date: May 2002 Posts: 874 Rep Power: 0	OK, I guess I have pretty much the same question right now I have Cyber Acoustics speakers Actual Product and I am using onboard sound using AC97 codec. Would it be a good idea to buy a PCI sound card, I like playing games a lot and with good sound quility. __________________ DFI Lanpart UT 250GB motherboard. 1GB 2X512 Crucial Ballistix PC 3200. AMD Athlon 64 3400+. Retail ATI Radeon X850XT PE AGP

Dec 27, 2002, 06:46 AM	#7
ToshiroOC Unbiased. Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 4,812 Rep Power: 0	In a word, yes. the AC97 is ok for most non-games, but at heart its an integrated part and not a dedicated sound processor. Again, I would recommend the Hercules GTXP sound card - really great, my friend has it and says he loves it... __________________ [img][/img] [color=White]Peace be with you, Joe.[/color] Driverheaven Staff Member (Supermoderator)

Dec 27, 2002, 01:47 AM	#4
Zarathustra Elite Bastard Join Date: May 2002 Location: The Confederacy Posts: 841 Rep Power: 0	The TBSC is a great card. It sounds incredibly better than my old Live Platinum. I'll move this to the Audio forums so it will get more views...

Dec 27, 2002, 03:25 AM	#5
Necrosis HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: Ohio Posts: 8,838 Rep Power: 131 System Specs	Definitely the Santa Cruz.

Dec 27, 2002, 07:47 AM	#8
Necrosis HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: Ohio Posts: 8,838 Rep Power: 131 System Specs	I've owned the Santa Cruz and the Hercules Game Theater XP. The two main differences in these cards are this. GTXP: Offers the external rack much like the live drive but w/o a remote. The GTXP doesn't offer Sensaura based sound fields like the Santa Cruz does. It also must be noted the built in USB hub is powered from the internal PCI card which connects via a cable to the external rack. SC. Offers the sound fields plus an output/input that you can specify what you would like it to be. The GTXP does offer something similar to this. However, the Santa Cruz also has virutal 5.1 which with the GTXP it is always in the state you select for your speaker output. If you want a simple card with great sound and features. Go with the Santa Cruz. However, if you plan on hooking it up to a receiver or wish to do recording I'd recommend the Hercules. P.S. The Hercules does also support more speakers outputs than the Santa Cruz even if you own an older version of the GTXP. You get more speaker outputs with driver updates.

Dec 27, 2002, 10:04 PM	Thread Starter #9
SAMSAMHA HardwareHeaven Addict Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 301 Rep Power: 0	I have cyber acoutstic 300 (not a great speaker). Would I notice a big difference compare to my intel's mobo sound card?