Creative releasing new soundcards/headsets

Skizzy said:
$_$


$$_$$
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Well, you've got to figure that with even budget motherboards putting 7.1 multi-channel and digital outs for audio; there's not much room for a budget sound card. If you're going to go for a discreet, internal sound card, you better produce something people will take notice of.
 
I'll have to see how well it does with enthusiast reviewers. I have the Titanium HD, so I'll need to weigh my options before I splurge on another sound card again.
 
Is there even a point to gaming-specific soundcards when even the best sounding games like BC2 and BF3 don't even support audio hardware?
 
Plague_Injected said:
Is there even a point to gaming-specific soundcards when even the best sounding games like BC2 and BF3 don't even support audio hardware?
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Why do people always assume that not having EAX support in Windows means that onboard sound chips aren't utter shit? Even a cheap dedicated card will beat any onboard solution.
 
Derangel said:
Why do people always assume that not having EAX support in Windows means that onboard sound chips aren't utter shit? Even a cheap dedicated card will beat any onboard solution.
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I don't assume that, I'm just wondering. I'm not that knowledgeable about it to be honest.
 
Plague_Injected said:
I don't assume that, I'm just wondering. I'm not that knowledgeable about it to be honest.
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Read all the audio reviews Earl has done here. Should give you an idea of why people still like audio cards. There is a huge difference between onboard and dedicated. I have my headset hooked up to a fairly low end dedicated card (it was free, I'm not complaining) and even with that it sounds better than it would on the USB sound card it came with and my onboard audio.
 
Admittedly I know sweet FA about audio technology, but a quad core soundcard? Isnt that a bit overkill?
 
mr_zen256 said:
Admittedly I know sweet FA about audio technology, but a quad core soundcard? Isnt that a bit overkill?
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When you play BF2/BF3 in Wartapes mode. You'll appreciate just how good a good sound card can be.

You can literally close your eyes, and the action around you can make your knees weak with explosions, voices, the whistle of a bullet passing by you. Its simply amazing. I have used CL's X-Fi series of cards and currently use Corsair headset with 7.1 integrated.

The CL had better audio quality in games. But I ran out of space so I had to abandon it completely.

$139 might seem steep, but thats MSRP. I expect them to get closer to 109 street
 
I've been using the Auzentech X-Fi Prelude 7.1 for years now...have no interest in onboard...dedicated sound card will always be my preference until they stop making them
 
polonyc2 said:
...have no interest in onboard...dedicated sound card will always be my preference until they stop making them
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Same here. I've been using dedicated sound cards since the Sound Blaster 1.

It will definitely be interesting to hear what reviews say about these new cards. I guess you'd have to invest in new high range speakers to really get the most out of them though?

I've been using the trusty ol' z5500's for years, not exactly an audiophile setup, but they be loud :D
 
After recently purchasing a Creative Titanium I can definitely tell the difference in sound quality vs. onboard. I had bought a 2.1 klipsch system a few months prior and while it sounded much better than the old 5.1 system I was using before it always sounded 'muffled'. After upgrading to a sound card everything is much clearer - bass doesn't get distorted anymore and I can now hear instruments I couldn't. I also was able to drop the system volume from 50% to 25% to get the same level of 'loudness' from the speakers.

I also make use of the fact that Creative cards have Soundfont banks. I loaded up a bank that emulates the 90's sound cards. I frequently play older games that rely on MIDIs for their music and it makes a huge difference vs. the standard Windows synth.
 
The 3-Cross-Platform 3D Surround Sound Processor product got a nice write up and review in the latest issue of Maximum PC. 9/10 but a dedicated sound card still has more going for it at least according to them and as best I can tell.
 
Took one soundcard to realize that getting a DAC is a far better idea.. So much electrical noise
 
It looks like this new chip is really aimed at onboard. More or less looks like X-Fi dsp with build in DAC, ADC, and lower power consumption.

The chip's DAC shows 102db SNR. Even the cheapest X-FI card has a CS4382 DAC which is much better. The PCM1794 in the Titanium HD makes these new cards laughable.
 
jamesrb said:
It looks like this new chip is really aimed at onboard. More or less looks like X-Fi dsp with build in DAC, ADC, and lower power consumption.

The chip's DAC shows 102db SNR. Even the cheapest X-FI card has a CS4382 DAC which is much better. The PCM1794 in the Titanium HD makes these new cards laughable.
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I appreciate your insight into the hardware. I'll be keeping my Titanium HD for the long run & I wouldn't be surprised if there's way to get the extras from the new card to work with it.
 
Meh. Still rocking my SB X-Fi Elite Pro that I got back in 2005; it's probably the oldest part running in my main system now. :p None of the newer X-Fi's has shown me any incentive to upgrade (except maybe the Titanium HD), given that most of them are equipped with inferior DACs (Elite Pro uses CS4398); these newer Sound Blasters seem to continue the trend.

I guess I'll continue sticking with the Elite Pro for now.
 
wow, first new sound card in ages from them.

Still have my X-fi fatality pciE card and I only have that because my pci x-fi was giving me latency issues with SLI and would start crapping out in games with all sorts of weirdness or blue screening.
 
I am really happy with my Titanium Fatal1ty Pro. It uses up the 1 x pciE slot on my motherboard and works like a charm. I also never have any issues with it, including some of the static and "popping" issues that plagued my Audigy cards in the past.
 
I paid $90 for my Zero DAC, I wouldn't even consider trading it for a sound card.
 
mr_zen256 said:
Admittedly I know sweet FA about audio technology, but a quad core soundcard? Isnt that a bit overkill?
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seems like marketing lingo.

i'm interested in reading Earl's review of these cards once they're released. Earl, are these on the docket?
 
Just saw the headsets. Im sure they will be the usual junk marketed to gamers and none of them will perform anywhere near Sennheiser PC350s or Audio Technica 700s.
 
Still rockin my X-Fi Xtreme Music pci from Oct 05. Was gonna pick up a Titanium until I saw this. Looking forward to the reviews!
 
Sipster said:
Still rockin my X-Fi Xtreme Music pci from Oct 05. Was gonna pick up a Titanium until I saw this. Looking forward to the reviews!
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Had one and had a warranty replacement of xtremegamer, pci, but same otherwise.May snag a pcie version in case a future mobo I get lacks pci. Been using mine since 2005 or so too.
 
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