[Jeremy]

I like to watch HD 720p movies and TV shows and play games on my PC.
I have Razer Barracuda Gaming Headphones.
I just updated to Windows 7 x64 but my 7 year old Sound Blaster Live is unsupported.
What sound card should I get for 5.1 Surround Sound / 3D sound in game?
Can I get one for under $100?
My headphones power via USB and have 4 audio jacks...



The volume control has 4 channels plus the master knob...



I suppose I could get the Razer Barracuda sound card.

Any suggestions would be appreciated. I'm a newbie when it comes to sound cards and surround sound.


Cheers,
Jeremy

This post has been edited by Jeremy: 02 December 2009 - 11:59 AM

[Jeremy]

Someone on the Hardware Canucks forum recommended this one to me:
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku...anufacture=ASUS

What do you guys think?

[puntoMX]

The drivers for Windows 7 64bit are still not as good as they should be, some people can't get it even installed, but they say that when you use the older Vista 64bit drivers it just should work fine. That card has nice specs, it's PCI-E but still needs 3.5" power connector (yes, the floppydrive one ). It's also one of the better cards for under 100CAD as I presume no one really likes Creative any more...

[Jeremy]

I'm thinking about this card instead:
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku...anufacture=ASUS
It is compatible with Windows Vista x64 so that means it should be compatible with Windows 7 x64 as well.

[cluberti]

Make sure to at least give Daniel_K's Vista x64 drivers a shot before dropping cash down on new hardware. Most people find those drivers work fine in Win7 and have the features of the card enabled. If those don't work, I would say the Asus card is probably a good deal, but there's nothing wrong with the Creative card you have other than the vendor behind it is money-grubbing and p***-poor at driver development. Thankfully Daniel_K is neither and his drivers do usually work very well, even if unofficial.

[Jeremy]

cluberti, on Dec 2 2009, 02:46 PM, said:

Make sure to at least give Daniel_K's Vista x64 drivers a shot before dropping cash down on new hardware. Most people find those drivers work fine in Win7 and have the features of the card enabled. If those don't work, I would say the Asus card is probably a good deal, but there's nothing wrong with the Creative card you have other than the vendor behind it is money-grubbing and p***-poor at driver development. Thankfully Daniel_K is neither and his drivers do usually work very well, even if unofficial.

Cluberti,

I have tried:
- Numerous Drivers official from Creative.
- Kx Project's drivers
- Daniel K's drivers

None of which have worked for me in Windows 7 x64. I tried them all under Windows XP SP3 compatibility as well.
Even if my sound card worked in Windows 7 x64, it is time to get a new one. My surround sound has never worked properly.
Relatively speaking, anything as high-end as the one I am currently considering should not only blow my 7 year old SBL out of the water, but also send it into orbit.

This post has been edited by Jeremy: 02 December 2009 - 12:56 PM

[cluberti]

Well, if that's the case, vote with the ol' wallet and buy something other than Creative - I've got to imagine most anything in that price range should be a fairly good choice .

[Jeremy]

I'm just wondering - I don't think I really need a high-end card like this just to get my surround sound and TV hook-up. The extra cost seems to be for the bundled extras which I likely won't use.
For my current 7 year old SBL, I just install the drivers and then start listening to my music. No configuration whatsoever. This sound card is all I have ever known for sound. It has been in my last 3 PCs. Would I notice the audible difference between this sound card and the sound produced by a $200 card? A $50 card will give me my surround sound and TV hook-up, right?

Bottom line - is a high-end card worth it?

I found this comparison:
http://www.auzentech.../comparison.php

There are far too many details to compare but the main ones from what I can see are:

Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) is highest in the ASUS Xonar DX (116db) Higher is better, I take it.

The ASUS Xonar DX is the only one with its own audio processor. The others use "20K1" but I have no idea what that means. Does the fact that the Xonar DX has its own make it the better choice or the "outsider"?

They all have a max of 128 3D voices except for the AUZEN X-Studio 5.1 [Low Profile].

Most of them, including the ASUS Xonar DX, have a Max. Audio Resolution Playback & Quality of 24-bit/96kHz in 7.1ch.

The ASUS Xonar DX has a Max. Recording/Sampling Rate of 24-bit/192kHz. Is this for people to make their own music? I do not.

EAX2.0
AUZEN X-Studio 5.1 [Low Profile]
ASUS Xonar DX (Low Profile)

EAX5.0
AUZEN X-Fi Forte 7.1 [Low Profile]
Sound Blaster® X-Fi Xtreme Gamer FATAL1TY Pro
Sound Blaster® X-Fi Titanium FATAL1TY Pro

I looked this up on Wikipedia:
Environmental audio extensions - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

EAX 2.0 was used in Sound Blaster Live! sound cards.

* 32 simultaneous voices processable in hardware
* Occlusion Effects
* Material-specific reverb parameters

EAX 5.0 is present in Sound Blaster X-Fi sound cards.

* 128 simultaneous voices processable in hardware and up to 4 effects on each
* EAX Voice (processing of microphone input signal)
* EAX PurePath (EAX Sound effects can originate from one speaker only)
* Environment FlexiFX (four available effects slots per channel)
* EAX MacroFX (realistic positional effects at close range)
* Environment Occlusion (sound from adjacent environments can pass through walls)

All but the AUZEN X-Studio 5.1 [Low Profile] have 7.1 which is fine for me because I just use 5.1 headphones.

Obviously, they all have pros and cons.

I just someone to level with me on this one.

http://en.wikipedia....udio_extensions

$40.00

* 7.1 surround output
* 24-bit/96kHz audio resolution.
* 100dB signal to noise ratio.
* 64-Voice polyphony and multi-timbral capability
* EAX ADVANCED HD 3.0 support for gaming.

You guys see what I am getting at?

[puntoMX]

Jeremy, on Dec 3 2009, 09:08 AM, said:

Would I notice the audible difference between this sound card and the sound produced by a $200 card? A $50 card will give me my surround sound and TV hook-up, right?

Yes you will hear it with the headphones but not much on TV speakers.

Jeremy, on Dec 3 2009, 09:08 AM, said:

Bottom line - is a high-end card worth it?

A 100USD card compared with your old SB Live! 5.1 is worth it, but leave PCI for what it is and get your self a PCI-E, I'm sure you will use it for the next 8 years and PCI will be gone by then I would say. (100USD over 8 years will give you a good soundcard for 12.5USD a year , 1.04USD a month)

Jeremy, on Dec 3 2009, 09:08 AM, said:

The ASUS Xonar DX is the only one with its own audio processor. The others use "20K1" but I have no idea what that means. Does the fact that the Xonar DX has its own make it the better choice or the "outsider"?

ASUS also doesn't produce that audio chip, it's uses on more soundcards as well, even in instruments (keyboards / synthesizer), samplers and more I would presume, but it's a great audio chip most people say. The 20k1 is a Creative product again that is licensed to be used on other brand products with their own drivers, those chips are great, even the one you have now is great for it's time (that's the 10k1 I think, not sure). I won't call teh ASUS card an outsider but you are a bit hooked to there support yes.

Jeremy, on Dec 3 2009, 09:08 AM, said:

The ASUS Xonar DX has a Max. Recording/Sampling Rate of 24-bit/192kHz. Is this for people to make their own music? I do not.

No, your current card does the same by the way, so it's nothing special, just a standard.

Jeremy, on Dec 3 2009, 09:08 AM, said:

You guys see what I am getting at?

Yes you can get a cheap card, but even a onboard sound chip will slap a 40USD card in most cases, hell, even a Realtek 888/889 or so will slap that SB of yours, just to bad that motherboard makers don't put much attention to a good sound, it's mostly sounds a bit cold and a bit to snappy, but specs wise they are good...

[cluberti]

I've been OK with my onboard for a 5.1 setup for HTPC, but again it's hard to hear the difference to me, even on good speakers, versus the SB Live I had previously. I ditched it when I went to Vista (driver issues), and honestly I'm just as satisfied with the onboard sound on my P5Q Deluxe (ADI AD2000B, an Asus-specific custom version of the ADI 1989B chipset that supports things like EAX 4.0 in emulation - very, very good onboard sound). If you're an audiophile, a PCI-E card would probably provide better results, but for those of us just watching some movies or listening to music, a good onboard chip like the Realtek 88x or the ADI 19xx or 2xxx chips will save you $100 and not really give you any real sound differences over a discrete PCI-E card.