Real PCI Soundcard Needed ?!?!?

I have onboard sound, and I don't have any problems with it at all. I have been thinking about getting an upgrade or somthing, but then again.....If it ain't broke then don't try to fix it Just keep that in mind too. But of course if you really want one, go out and get one.

What's your PC specs? Maybe there's a better upgrade we can point out for $60.

Upgrading to a sound card IMO is only worth it if you're an audiophile with a good set of speakers. Even an Audigy would sound terrible through a pc speaker. And performance increases would be negligible at best, and for $60, there's probably something that would be a more valuable upgrade, particularly for performance.

There is no real point in changing to a PCI soundcard, unless you are going to be getting a decent set of speakers -

i.e. 4:1 or 5:1 surround sound

otherwise most of the soundcards capabilities will be wasted.

Oh, and some PCI soundcards slow your machine down.

it is muche better to have a true soundcard, u get much more sound quality, as long as u have decent speakers
U can't compare the performance of and audigy versus and ac97 onboard sound

Last time I changed soundcards I went from an ancient Aureal Vortex2 to a Hercules Games Fortissimo2 (Yeah I have a thing about sequel cards :haha: ) and the clarity of the sound (which all comes down to the actual quality of the sounds in the games that the card is reproducing the sound from) is quite a bit superior. I also have onboard sound on my A7M266 Asus motherboard but with the chip being mounted on the motherboard with all the other circuitry I tended to get significant interference and rubbish clarity. I would never go back to onboard sound ever again unless I had an nForce board with Dolby Digital onboard sound output

Arris, u r used to rough changes ain't ya?

Originally posted by Federelli
Arris, u r used to rough changes ain't ya?

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What rough change? The fortissimo2 isn't that far away from Game Theatre quality. Its on par with a SB Live anyway aside from only have 4 speaker output. And since I use high quality Sony headphones I don't really require a 5.1 output, and I have a Home Theatre setup for DVD...

i mean from the vortex to the forissimo and from the tnt to the g3!

I get ya
Doh, Got the wrong end of the stick there :haha:
Saying that the Vortex2 wasn't that bad a card.
Certainly better than 80% of the onboard sound available out there...

I have never been a big fan of onboard audio. I read awhile back that onboard audio used CPU cycles that games could be using and therefore slowdown occured. Every motherboard I have ever purchased always had on board audio and I never used it becasue of this myth.

Originally posted by svtcobra
I have never been a big fan of onboard audio. I read awhile back that onboard audio used CPU cycles that games could be using and therefore slowdown occured. Every motherboard I have ever purchased always had on board audio and I never used it becasue of this myth.

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Applies to all Soundcards BTW

Is it NECESSARY? No, it is not.

But I would advice getting a "real" soundcard because you'd very, very surprised by the immense CPU usage a poor sound chip can cause. Once you hit 12-16 voices at once (Your typical game), CPU usage can be as high as 30% on a 1ghz+ machine, where it may only be something like 6% with an old Soundblaster Live.

Also, you should notice a very obvious increse in sound quality, even with crap speakers. There are some good onboard sound chips, but I think yours is the VIA '97 audio crap which isn't exactly top of the line. At the same time, it isn't that bad either for onboard.. But you will probably notice a slight sound difference at least with a better sound card (Even on whimpy speakers). You'll also get the bonus of EAX or a similar technology which enhances spacial effects and makes things sound neato.

Thirdly, driver support is an important factor. Gaming compatiblity and support for "real" soundcards is almost always better than onbaord sound chips.

But do you need it? Nah. I'd save your money for something that will make more of a difference (If you need it). If there is nothing else you need, then by all means get a soundcard.

i went from a sb pci128 to and live! 5.1 mp3+ and i coudn't belive how much better it was... i can't imagine how "bad" and onboard chip must be compared to an audigy

ello ello . . .

i carefully read all the responses . . . and each supported their ideas very well . . .

i did a little market research . . . and i find that w/ a little money you can get very good value . . . and good sound . . . and i guess its not a nessary need . . . but =/ hey !! im not really a big sound biggy . . . i still need to keep my wallet w/ $$ . . . b/c recently i bought some parts . . . well . . . i'm still young . . . and a can always find ways to increase my wallet money . . .


as for sound card . . . i really never had a "real one" i guess . . . RICK is right . . . i have asked several people . . . sound card does not affect a big impact performance . . . i need ram . . . and i need to take one module out of this machine and bring it to a new one !! =( . . .

and i know ram really increases performance . . .

maybe in the future i will upgrade sound . . .

has anyone heard of polka speakers ? a friend might be giving me a set . . . i hope i find it in use =)

as for pc specs . . . here are my specs:

Computer #1: Application PC

Intel P3 clocked @ 550mhz
20GB hdd @ 5400RPM
48x CDrom, 4x4x32x CDRW, 1.44 FDD
128 SDRam pc133
nVIDIA TNT2 M64 32mbram
17'' Monitor
OS= Windows XP Pro

-------

Computer #2: Gaming PC

Duron Morgan clocked @ 1200 mhz
13GB hdd @ 5400rpm
8x DVD rom drive
128 SDRam pc133
nVIDIA TNT2 M64 32mbram TVOUT
Primary Viewing Device = 32'' Television Set
OS= Windows 98se

That's true, cpu ram mobo and video r much more important than sound, so try to upgrade them first if u can, if u can't dont'
Heh... The last time i upgraded my pc was when i got my new mobo and cpu... imagine how long ago that was

check out this thread to get an idea on a few different sound cards.

http://www.3dspotlight.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=162

Cobra, and rest of team, thie might not be the place to, but i must congratulate u on the writing of those articles, they've been very usefull and i've read em all congrats!
(Love the gaming tweaks)

Originally posted by Federelli
Cobra, and rest of team, thie might not be the place to, but i must congratulate u on the writing of those articles, they've been very usefull and i've read em all congrats!
(Love the gaming tweaks)

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You gotta thank Thomas for the majority of them (if not all of them!). The Voodoo 3/4/5 tweak guide he wrote awhile back is a gem. I used that tweak guide religiously when I had my V5.

hehe i did too and i still have my v5 and each day i learn more about it and i've had it since 2000

That card is so awesome...Did you catch the aritcle in Maximum PC last month about the Voodoo 6000? It was also in our news section awhile back. The Voodoo 6000 was 128mb card with 6(?) vsa-100 processors. It would have been the most powerful card ever, if 3Dfx stuck around. When they closed it was a real heartbreaker.

If u want, i can upload around 50 pics, i can choose the 5 wich look the best and upload em in a new post to show it
it has 4 vsa chips, and i've seen it i'm the only argentinian to have ever seen a v6!!!

Originally posted by Federelli
If u want, i can upload around 50 pics, i can choose the 5 wich look the best and upload em in a new post to show it
it has 4 vsa chips, and i've seen it i'm the only argentinian to have ever seen a v6!!!

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Well, its been talked about quite a bit around here. I think it has been exhausted a bit. That is quite the achievement btw, the only argentenian to see a V5 6000!