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Sexy Brunette Fucks Her Accountant - review by Danielmayu33216| Author | Post |
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jayo  All-Star Member  2117 Posts 7/04 |  Posted - Feb 6 2010 : 8:11PMI think the hardware of my on-board sound is failing, so I want to try an add-on sound card (I've already installed, deleted, re-installed, all sorts of drivers and codecs). I need to get a card that runs off PCI Express. I don't run high-end games so I just want something tame. I think it boils down to three: a Soundblaster, a Turtle Beach, and something from Diamond. Any comments/opinions on them? I had a bad experience with a Diamond video card, but that was a decade ago. I've had SBs before but no real opinion either way. Never owned a TB product. I know they used to have a great reputation, but again, that was a decade ago. (System is a mid-level PC running Win XP.) Edited by - jayo on Feb 6 2010 [Link] |
| Harri Patel Senior Member #SDNY he's all yours. -- Michael Steele 5110 Posts 3/03 | Posted - Feb 6 2010 : 8:28PM [Link] |
| jayo All-Star Member 2117 Posts 7/04 | Posted - Feb 6 2010 : 8:46PM [Link] |
| BYOB_Kenobi Senior Member “Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.” - Kierkegaard 2684 Posts 8/09 | Posted - Feb 6 2010 : 9:26PM If you have a PCI slot, personally, I'd go with a proven $25 PCI SB 7.1 card. I have read a lot of good reviews by testers for Asus's Xonar/Sonar PCI sound cards and thought about getting their $50 PCI model for something above onboard audio that provides good fidelity (but this is just me). You're options: I don't like Diamond (have heard too many problems and company has gone downhill since late 90s) I only like SB if it's cheap (able to get another brand card if problems) and only non-exotic models (PCI or maybe USB) proven models (been out a while w/lots of satisfactory users). I actually like TB from little I know (probably not enough experience for a recommend), but definitely not as bad as Diamond. --- Yeah, I just checked Newegg and the model that died is the Creative SB X-Fi Xtreme Audio 70SB104000000 that are the only PCI-E sound cards under $99. Not sure what to tell you. I never used a USB solution, but Harri probably stated the only other PCI-E alternative. If you have to go with PCI-E and you want to can afford it, if it was me, I'd go with the ASUS Xonar DX 7.1 Channel PCI-E Sound Card Retail (http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetailp?ProductCode=10008407) over at ZipZoomFly (in stock) for $84 (out of stock @ Newegg). But caveat is I've only read & heard of these good Asus audio cards, never used them. But I have used ZipZoomFly and they are a decent vendor that I go to if there are supply issues @ Newegg. Edited by - BYOB_Kenobi on 2/6/2010 9:34:22 PM [Link] |
| jayo All-Star Member 2117 Posts 7/04 | Posted - Feb 7 2010 : 3:34PM [Link] |
| DrP0rn0 Senior Member 1836 Posts 5/04 | Posted - Feb 8 2010 : 3:06PM Turtle Beach cards had a great rep way back when; mostly for high quality applications like recording studios. These days I think it's more hype than anything else. Sound Blaster tends to be very solid value for the money and largely compatible. Drivers seem to mostly "just work". I had a few really bad experiences with Turtle Beach card drivers, but that's been a long time now. Seems like you're the perfect candidate for an entry level SB USB external sound card. I'm using one on a PC with no slots and it works like a champ. Excellent sound quality both in and out. The on board sound card had really awful recording quality; the SB is very nice in that respect. I think I paid $50 for mine several years ago. I see they are still available in that range. Best of luck. Dr. P [Link] |
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