Im looking at purchasing a new sound card to replace whatever it is that I have now (came with the mobo)....all I know about it is that its not that great (its a RealTek AC97 Audio). So I dont have a whole lot to spend, preferable not much over $100 or at all, and only have a 2.1 speaker setup. Would it even be worth it to upgrade my soundcard or would I need to upgrade my speakers as well if I decided on that?
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In the market for a new sound card
- Thread starter MainEvent
- Start date
MainEvent said:
this is a nice one for a little over 100
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16829102188
- Joined
- Oct 27, 2002
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- New York
what speakers do you have? the x-fi isn't worth the hype unless you're really into surround in games, but with 2.1, hell no, don't get the x-fi
if you plan on staying with 2.1 even if you get new speakers, the Chaintech AV-710 is about $25 and sounds better than any audigy2 card on its hi-sample rate mode (i have both, i tried, although the judgment of sound is subjective) although in hi-sample rate mode the mic-in and line-in are disabled, it's a card recommended by audiophiles all the time unlike the audigy series
if you plan on staying with 2.1 even if you get new speakers, the Chaintech AV-710 is about $25 and sounds better than any audigy2 card on its hi-sample rate mode (i have both, i tried, although the judgment of sound is subjective) although in hi-sample rate mode the mic-in and line-in are disabled, it's a card recommended by audiophiles all the time unlike the audigy series
- Thread Starter
- #5
Yeah im not too into surround on gaming, I would rather upgrade my surround sound system for my tv rather than my pc speakers. But thanks for that card reccomendation, sounds like a good buy. Mainly what I wanted is just improved sound quality for listening to music, not so much gamming surround sound.
But if you have a 7.1 card, does that mean its nessacary to have a 7.1 speaker setup for the card to operate or no?
But if you have a 7.1 card, does that mean its nessacary to have a 7.1 speaker setup for the card to operate or no?
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- Nov 26, 2005
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- Concord, NC
No, you just use 2.1 channels instead of 7.1. A 7.1 is more versatile because you can set it up to be anything from mono up to 7.1 (I have 14 choices with built-in AC'97 7.1). Go to Control Panel-->Sounds and Audio Devices-->Volume-->Advanced. Then set the option in each game to match that. Some games require you to modify the config script file to get certain speaker set-ups.
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- Oct 27, 2002
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- New York
MainEvent said:
If you don't use mic-in or line-in much, then the Chaintech AV-710 is the card for you.
- Joined
- Nov 10, 2005
If you want to do any serious gaming you're better off getting the audigy 2, but that chaintech card has better sound quality for music IMO.
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- May 31, 2005
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- California
I agree with getting a Chaintech AV-710, cheap and you won't regret it. Fantastic for music(Thought I have replaced it with an X-fi, this card flat out beats it, but I doubt it would be worth it if you're only using 2.1).
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