Sound card? Worth it?

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george_hopkins

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#1 george_hopkins
Member since 2005 • 1397 Posts

I just got some awesome headphones for christmas (Beyerdynamic DT770 pros) and i also have a logitech z-5400 surround sound system. I have always wanted a sound card but i've always put it off. Now that i have a saturday job and an extra £150 a month i am just wondering if it would be worth it to buy a X-Fi sound card or something similar? I want to get the most out of my sound equipment and my onboard sound to be honest sounds great but i'm still debating wether to go for it or not?

Opinions and sound card recommendations are appreciated :D thanks

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thanatose

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#2 thanatose
Member since 2003 • 2465 Posts
It's worth it for the higher sound quality. I'd highly suggest going for one of the higher end X-Fi sound cards, the low end ones are just a re-labled Audigy 2.
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LahiruD

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#3 LahiruD
Member since 2006 • 2164 Posts

Yo man.

Before that try to upgrade your processor

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fivex84

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#4 fivex84
Member since 2006 • 1216 Posts
Yes.
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Daytona_178

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#5 Daytona_178
Member since 2005 • 14962 Posts

Yo man.

Before that try to upgrade your processor

LahiruD

True, a new processor would be a better investment. But if you really want a new sound card i recommend the X-Fi Xtreme Gamer....its great value and sounds amazing!

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george_hopkins

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#6 george_hopkins
Member since 2005 • 1397 Posts

Yo man.

Before that try to upgrade your processor

LahiruD

I'm waiting for the penryns and a new processor also means a new motherboard which is quite a major upgrade. At the moment i just want high quality sound. I think i'll definitely get an X-Fi of some description, all the different names confuse me though? What is the difference between the Extreme Gamer and the Xtreme Music one???

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jang_nara

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#7 jang_nara
Member since 2003 • 178 Posts
xtreme music and gamer is same.
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kodex1717

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#8 kodex1717
Member since 2005 • 5925 Posts

xtreme music and gamer is same.jang_nara

FAIL.

GO KILL YOURSELF.

XtremeMusic cards don't actually have an X-Fi chip and don't offer the same features. I.E. you can't set the sound quality to 'X-Fi'.

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NamelessPlayer

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#9 NamelessPlayer
Member since 2004 • 7729 Posts

[QUOTE="jang_nara"]xtreme music and gamer is same.kodex1717

FAIL.

GO KILL YOURSELF.

XtremeMusic cards don't actually have an X-Fi chip and don't offer the same features. I.E. you can't set the sound quality to 'X-Fi'.

You're right that the XtremeMusic and XtremeGamer are different, but you are WRONG, WRONG, WRONG that the XtremeMusic is the fake! It's the XtremeAudio that you need to avoid! (And try not to remind me of the hellhole of the Internet whose name I will never speak unless I absolutely have to.) Anyway, I found my Auzentech X-Fi Prelude to be worth it right from the very moment I fired up a music file, which was encoded in .MP3 and being piped through crappy speakers! I can only imagine how it would sound with a lossless-encoded file blasted through Z-5500s or other quality speakers! Games like Battlefield 2 that take advantage of EAX 5.0 also sound great. Is it worth 190-200 US$, though? I'll leave that up to you-however, the Creative SB X-Fi XtremeGamer would be anywhere from one half to one fourth of the price(when factoring rebates)while still having the X-Fi DSP and thus having EAX 5.0 and all the other neat features.
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kodex1717

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#10 kodex1717
Member since 2005 • 5925 Posts

Oh, I suppose that you're right. I guess I'll need to go kill myself, then.

I totally forgot about the XtremeAudio.

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george_hopkins

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#11 george_hopkins
Member since 2005 • 1397 Posts
I will mainly be using this for Music listening so is the Xtrememusic the best?
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george_hopkins

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#12 george_hopkins
Member since 2005 • 1397 Posts

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/129740

I just found that, great price, great features. It's seemingly great but the Xtreme audio doesn't have an X-Fi chip? Does that mean it is much worse?

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NamelessPlayer

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#13 NamelessPlayer
Member since 2004 • 7729 Posts

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/129740

I just found that, great price, great features. It's seemingly great but the Xtreme audio doesn't have an X-Fi chip? Does that mean it is much worse?

george_hopkins
Because the XtremeAudio lacks the X-Fi DSP, it does all of the sound processing work on the CPU-just like onboard sound. Thus, I don't think that it's an upgrade at all. (Also, you can't use X-Fi-specific sound settings in games, nor can you use ALchemy to restore hardware-accelerated sound under Vista.)
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