On board, Audigy 1, or X-Fi?!?!

K

Kong

Limp Gawd
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Jun 30, 2003
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I just built a new rig, see Sig (and thanks to those who previously gave recc's). I was going to get the Creative X-Fi XtremeGamer but it was out-of-stock when I bought everything else. I thought I would try the on-board audio which is ALC889A Realtek. I also have a Audigy 1 card in my old rig that I could drop in to my new rig.

Just wondering what people's opinions were on my choices. I'm not an audiophile but do want decent sound. I game casually but not hard core. Course I say that and there is a slew of games that are out now or coming that I am interested in. I guess what I'm wondering is if it is worth it to drop $80 on the X-Fi or will the old Audigy 1 get 'er done?
 
crappy headphones/speakers, use the audigy......expensive headphones/speakers...X-fi. I notice a diffrence between the 2, but its because i use the boseheadphones and listen nice and loud :)
 
an audigy1 will work for games MUCH better than the realtek- will also sound much cleaner than the vast majority of onboard sound cdoecs. will work fine for light gaming
 
Yeah I think the Audigy is probably your best bet too.
Any chance you can borrow a X-Fi (not Extreme Audio) from a friend and let us know your appraisal.
It would be good to hear what differences you perceive and it will help you make the right decision.
 
Im in a similar boat but the realtek on my DFI Expert is supposed to be pretty good.

What I don't understand is the lack of inputs on the X-Fi's

My Onboard as Optical Output. S/PDIF In and Out. a 3.5mm for front, rear, and subwoofer; a headphone jack; then internaly there are pins for the headphone jack in the front of the case. So I can hookup 2 pairs of headphones, and a bunch of other recievers or computer speakers to these outputs.

And yes I use the second headphone jack in the back of the case with a headphone to RCA adapter which plugs into my westinghouse.

If I "Upgrade" from my realtek, It looks like I will lose a huge number of connections, and would also no longer have both headphone jacks, in which case I would constantly have to swap between headphones and monitor speakers, which seems to be more of a downgrade to me and a huge pain in the arse to swap devices :(
 
true-the x-fi has limited inputs- i use a y cable for frt speakers and headphones. i also have realtek hd on my mobo.
if u play games the difference is night and day! the realtek sounds absolutely horrible compared to the x-fi in games that have 3d sound. the more modern the game the bigger the disparity
 
I might have to pick one up then see if I can tell a diff on the AD700's or z5500's if they ever get here.

Tempted to just buy the prelude to avoid the creative software/drivers.
 
Even the prelude is using creative drivers atm, although it's very slightly modified I believe.
 
One important question has not been asked yet. What OS are you using? If you are using XP (and plan on staying with it), the X-Fi is probably your best choice.

If you are using Vista, or plan on upgrading to it, forget the Audigy. Drivers plain suck, if you can even get them toi work.

X-Fi drivers are supposedly better now, but it still seems to be a lottery if you can get them actually work properly in Vista.

I'm using an on-board Realtek atm, since my trustly ole Audigy 2 ZS didn't work so well in Vista. The Realtek actually seems to sound just fine to me, but then I don't turn up the volume very often.
 
I'm using audigy 2 zs on vista ultimate 32bit and everything's fine. The odd thing is, before I upgraded all my other parts, the cmss wouldn't work - but now for some reason it's working. o_O
 
enyceexdanny said:
Even the prelude is using creative drivers atm, although it's very slightly modified I believe.
Click to expand...

You they are supposedly noticable better, but still have some bugs in vista.

I can definately say my Realtek with Karajan Audio Module sounds excelent compared to the dell at work
 
Yea sorry about the OS, should have added that. XP for as long as possible, IMO not sure if there is ever going to be full migration to Vista, from what I've been reading it looks like MS is focusing on their next OS. I know that Vista adoption is very very slow, and does anyone remember people loading 98/ME after using XP/2000?? Right, no one did because XP/2000 was much better and stable. Vista is prettier, and has some cool new features, but it is not passing the better and more stable test at this point.

I just bought D/L'ed Bioshock, gonna try it using the onboard, then try it using the Audigy. If I can find the X-FI where I can return it no problem (Wal-mart?, for the record I despise Walhell) then I'll evaluate it let ya'll know my opinion.
 
Kong said:
Yea sorry about the OS, should have added that. XP for as long as possible, IMO not sure if there is ever going to be full migration to Vista, from what I've been reading it looks like MS is focusing on their next OS. I know that Vista adoption is very very slow, and does anyone remember people loading 98/ME after using XP/2000?? Right, no one did because XP/2000 was much better and stable. Vista is prettier, and has some cool new features, but it is not passing the better and more stable test at this point.

I just bought D/L'ed Bioshock, gonna try it using the onboard, then try it using the Audigy. If I can find the X-FI where I can return it no problem (Wal-mart?, for the record I despise Walhell) then I'll evaluate it let ya'll know my opinion.
Click to expand...

The Realtek 'on board" on my motherboard is actualy a seperate small board that attaches to a plug in the MB (Karajan Module?). Just wondering if your is similar or if it is actualy just onboard. I would hate to buy an X-fi and up with a bunch of driver issues for something like 5% improvement in sound. I think my MB has one of the most advanced onboard solutions created at this point as I have never sceen anything like it. This board has similar sound and has a picture of all the connections (except for the internal ones) it does have a small amplifier for headphones as well, perhpas why I notice such a huge improvement over the machine at work.

http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=2337&p=2

Does the X-Fi provide an amplifier?

Does my Karajan / Realtek support EAX? If not, would I even notice a difference in getting a card that supports EAX?
 
the realtek supports eax- only up to version2. x-fi supports up to version5. in eax games the realtek sound like hell- its really bad -the newer the game the worse it sounds. whoever wrote the eax driver for realtek should be flogged

i believe the x-fi is a 2v source- it pushes my 100ohm senn hd525 very well-enough to vibrate my head
 
ourfpshero said:
the realtek supports eax- only up to version2. x-fi supports up to version5. in eax games the realtek sound like hell- its really bad -the newer the game the worse it sounds. whoever wrote the eax driver for realtek should be flogged

i believe the x-fi is a 2v source- it pushes my 100ohm senn hd525 very well-enough to vibrate my head
Click to expand...

Thanks for the help and information. I guess I don't know what I am missing out on, I thought bioshock sounded pretty good, made me jump a few times, but I also do not know what EAX 5 would sound like as opposed to what I have now.
 
Sorry, been a bit under the weather (cold/flu + allergies) I have played Bioshock using the Onboard Realtek ALC889A audio. I tried it without EAX and with EAX. There definetely was better, fuller, and better 'positional' sound with EAX. The ALC889A supports EAX 1 & 2. I did some research

EAX 1 - 8 simultaneous sounds/voices
EAX 2 - 32 (SB Live)
EAX 3 - 64 (Audigy 1)
EAX 4 - 64 (Audigy 2)
EAX 5 - 128 (X-Fi)

EAX 3 was a big step up in technology, to that I can attest. It appears EAX 4 was an improvement/refinement of EAX 3. From Creative's website EAX 4 should be supported by Audigy 1 cards.

I'll drop in my Audigy 1 and see how it sounds. I figure I'll be satisfied with the Audigy 1 but I'm still gonna try the X-Fi.
 
u will like it. the biggest improvement- game wise- that the x-fi has over the audigy is that now above and below sound sources are easily picked out. the audigy will sound much better than the realtek on eax games- creative just has better 3d effects (the y have all the patents from sensaura and aureal who they bought out so the competition is dead)
 
If you don't really want to get an X-Fi an Audigy is way better than onboard audio.
I would go X-Fi though... Just got a prelude and it kicks ass :D
 
I'm tempted to get the X-fi myself or prelude myself. While I NEED a GTX it does not seem like a good time to buy one. However I don't really want to support creative :( I also don't want to have to install a bunch of apps and have them running to use the card. (I have enough stuff open!)

DO any of the X-fi cards have an internal plug that I can use to wire up my headphone jack on the front of my case?

I can plug my headphones into the z5500 unit, but I would definately prefer to use the jack on the front of the case instead. Thats one thi9ng I love about my onboard sound right now.

If only I could figure out how to get the digital coax connection to work (Never get any output from it), then I could hookup my TV, 2 sets of headphones and the z5500's. I feel like I am downgrading if I cannot get all these outputs (most importantly I need the internal jack to run to 3.5 jack in the front of my case)
 
the x-fi extremegamer has a HD headphone/mic plug on it. some of the higher models have a front bay with lots of hookups. in have used the digital out on mine no problem
 
ourfpshero said:
the x-fi extremegamer has a HD headphone/mic plug on it. some of the higher models have a front bay with lots of hookups. in have used the digital out on mine no problem
Click to expand...

It has a plug on back? or internal? I need one for the front and I dont want to use up my last available panel when I already have a space for a headphone plug on the front of my stacker.

is there any sound card that can do this or do I need to stick with onboard sound? As much as i would like to upgrade for better SQ I just as much don't want creative drivers to worry about or to lose my headphone jack.
 
its an internal plug meant for computer case front headphone/mic plugs.
i've tried mine- the headphone works fine but i cant get the mic to work (it works fine hooked up to the back/outside plug)
 
Some models of the X-fi have a module that installs in a 5 1/4" bay, among other things it has a mic connection.

I have the fatal1ty edition and it has one.
 
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