Soundcard Advice

[G0ggy]

Hi all,

I've finally been convinced of the benefits of moving away from my on-board sound-card. I have narrowed by search down to 2, which are:

Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Gamer 7.1 Sound Card - Retail - £58.74
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...tid=11&subcat=

Or the:
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer Fatal1ty Professional Series 7.1 Sound Card - Retail - £90.46
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...tid=11&subcat=

After looking at the specs, about the only difference I can see is this:

64MB of X-RAM for fast loading of high-quality audio samples.

On the Fatal1ty. I don't want to pay extra just to have that Wendel bloke all over the box if that doesn't give a tangible benefit.

Help me out please!

[Scinto]

Re: Soundcard Advice

I've got the xtreme music which is similar to the gamer, you can hear things alot clearer in games even the slightest sound.

I would assume the Fatal1ty would have a bigger improvement for the price

[G0ggy]

Re: Soundcard Advice

I've got the xtreme music which is similar to the gamer, you can hear things alot clearer in games even the slightest sound.

I would assume the Fatal1ty would have a bigger improvement for the price

Hmm maybe, I'm just concerned that these Wendle Fatal1ty branded components are being hiked in price, irrespective of any extra benefit.

[Mo0by]

Re: Soundcard Advice

Sorry OT: Im interested in upgrading my pc's sound (the one thing that ive never done) I dont really understand how these "offboard" soundcards work and are they better? Could someone give me a link to a helpful page?

[G0ggy]

Re: Soundcard Advice

I think it's to do with taking the sound processing away from your system processor and allowing the sound card to do it instead, theoretically freeing up your processor.

People who know more about it may be able to expand better.

[Scinto]

Re: Soundcard Advice

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=17793556

close enough of a comparison

[G0ggy]

Re: Soundcard Advice

http://techreport.com/articles.x/11759

Looks like the X-Fi comes top of this bunch.

[ConscriptVirus]

Re: Soundcard Advice

btw dont get xtreme-audio or xtreme music (forget which one but one of htem doesnt acutally use an X-Fi chip.

[Stormy{CAN}]

Re: Soundcard Advice

Or if you want to spend a little more,

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...tid=11&subcat=

[Scinto]

Re: Soundcard Advice

btw dont get xtreme-audio or xtreme music (forget which one but one of htem doesnt acutally use an X-Fi chip.

nout wrong with xtreme music, the audio is the one with out the chip i think,

[The Laughing Man]

Re: Soundcard Advice

Comes down to one thing, what kind of sound system you gonna play it on?

If it's a pair of el-cheapo 2.1 speakers then don't bother to upgrade at all. If it's a decent set of 2.1 then go for the Xi-fi Gamer, the Wendell version only comes with a bit more memory, which you'll never really use and a stupid front panel which most decent PC cases come with as standard anyway. If you have a super speaker system then go for the Auzentech X-Fi Prelude 7.1 Sound Card.

[G0ggy]

Re: Soundcard Advice

Harmon/Kardon Soundsticks II