ISIK_Dark
Member
+0|6809|Pueblo
It would be appreciated if some of you guys can give me some Pros and Cons about sound cards.  Maybe even recommend a few.

I heard that it increases your frame rate in games.  Is this true?

Thanks in advance for any posts.
CackNBallz
Member
+45|6713|Toronto, Canada
I can tell you from firsthand experience that it increases your framerate.  Sound takes up a lot of processing resources away from the CPU, especially in this game when there are tons of voice-overs, preprogrammed voice communications, VoIP, and the normal sound effects from weapons, vehicles and area you're in (like in the docks where the boats are, or in warehouses you have an echo effect of everything outside.)

If you have a soundcard (or an above average onboard soundcard) you'll be better off anyways as you will get superior sound and better gameplay performance overall.

The only con I can think of is that you will have to buy it and install the hardware on your computer.  Difficulty for this is 0.5 out of a scale of 10.  Just plug the soundcard into a PCI slot, turn on the computer, install drivers.
RDMC_old
Member
+0|6706|Almere, Holland

CackNBallz wrote:

I can tell you from firsthand experience that it increases your framerate.  Sound takes up a lot of processing resources away from the CPU, especially in this game when there are tons of voice-overs, preprogrammed voice communications, VoIP, and the normal sound effects from weapons, vehicles and area you're in (like in the docks where the boats are, or in warehouses you have an echo effect of everything outside.)

If you have a soundcard (or an above average onboard soundcard) you'll be better off anyways as you will get superior sound and better gameplay performance overall.

The only con I can think of is that you will have to buy it and install the hardware on your computer.  Difficulty for this is 0.5 out of a scale of 10.  Just plug the soundcard into a PCI slot, turn on the computer, install drivers.
if have got a 7.1 surround sound cart.. :p dont know if it is any good because my graphics card sucks.. need to buy a new one..
chitlin
Banned
+36|6733
i have a soundblaster live 5.1 digital but when i turn the sound to hardware alot of the sounds are crackly and when i try to update the drivers it says soundblaster not installed...
Jeckelcopy
Ach du Sheisse!!!!
+2|6730
Ya, I have a Sound Blaster, 24-bit, it's pretty good, even when on high... but it gets scratchy on CoD2...
atlvolunteer
PKMMMMMMMMMM
+27|6741|Atlanta, GA USA
Using a sound card instead of onboard sound does help relieve the load on the CPU.
I use a Plantronics DSP500 Headset.  It plugs into a USB port and has its own sound processing chip.  It is great!  Sound and mic quality are really good.  Plus, it has positional sound, so you can tell what direction a sound is coming from.  Great for when you hear those approaching footsteps!  If you use a headset (which in my opinion is the way to go if you use VOIP), I would highly recommend it.  Since it uses USB, it eliminates the need for a sound card.
I have also read that the latest cards from Creative (X-FI) have tremendous positional sound.  They use something to convert 7.1 to work on a pair of headpones.  However, you're going to spend over $100 for one of these, pluse you'd need to get a good headset on top of that.
AD_Kensan
Member
+7|6755

atlvolunteer wrote:

[snip]
I have also read that the latest cards from Creative (X-FI) have tremendous positional sound.  They use something to convert 7.1 to work on a pair of headpones.  However, you're going to spend over $100 for one of these, pluse you'd need to get a good headset on top of that.
I have the "low-end" model of the new Creative X-FI Cards (the Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic) which cost me a little more than ~120$. I can tell you it makes a BIG difference to the onboard 5.1-Soundcard I was using before. I use regular headphones (some cheap Sony Headphones I bough for 15$) and the positinal sound etc is phenomenal.
It's because of the EAX 5.0 support this card has and that the card can render 128 Audiosources simultaneously. There's also models that have additional onboard memory (much like memory on your gfx card) which helps distribute the load the game puts on the system. I've read somewhere that a system with an X-FI card with 64 Megs of Ram had a 15% higher framerate than the same system using a Realtek-Onboard-Chip.

The only downside of this cards (and generally with Creative stuff) is that there are a couple creative programs running in the background.

If you don't bother about that and have the money I would seriously recommend getting a card of the X-FI series even if it's just the "low-end" model (as it is the one I have )

Hope this helps a bit

Last edited by AD_Kensan (2005-12-03 11:16:01)

Dopin_Nuts
Member
+1|6723
I also have an X-Fi ExtremeMusic...And boy is it a lot nicer than my old soundblaster.  It sounds great...everything just sounds crisper and nicer.  And you can now set your sound on BF2 to that elusive Ultra High .  But yeah...if you're gonna get a sound card you might as well get a nice one, and with the Creative Soundblaster X-Fi ExtremeMusic starting at $119.99 (at http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a … 6829102188) you really can't go wrong.
RDMC_old
Member
+0|6706|Almere, Holland
I found what for card i have: i have an Soundblaster live 24-bit! 7.1 surround:D.. but dont know if it is any good.. was a quiet cheap card:p
ISIK_Dark
Member
+0|6809|Pueblo
Thanks for all the Help.  I'm going to start shopping for my christmas present.
Duramen1
Member
+0|6721|wa,usa
ok i have one of the cheaper soundblasters but when i go to setting it won't run hardware only software. which do i need to run hardware and is it better?
kilroy0097
Kilroy Is Here!
+81|6814|Bryan/College Station, TX
Soundblaster Audigy 2 ZS is about $70 right now. It's also good for a later sound speaker upgrade if you want it or if you decide to get a surround sound headset like the Medusa.

I for one finally broke down and bought one to relieve the CPU some from onboard sound processing. Frame rates have increased and the sound is more vibrant than before. Combined with a Plantronic 100 Headset it's like a new game experience. Night and day. Have the Audio settings in the game on Hardware and on High with EAX and it sounds great!

I recommend getting a sound card even if it's only a Sound Blaster Live! which is only about $30 these days.
"When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross." - Sinclair Lewis
Duramen1
Member
+0|6721|wa,usa
yeah but the soundblaster live isn't supported for hardware use.     

unless i am wrong that makes it useless in BF2
kilroy0097
Kilroy Is Here!
+81|6814|Bryan/College Station, TX

Duramen1 wrote:

yeah but the soundblaster live isn't supported for hardware use.     

unless i am wrong that makes it useless in BF2
Ahh well I didn't know that much. Good thing I went with the Audigy 2 then.
"When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross." - Sinclair Lewis
ResDog1
Member
+51|6735|Netherlands
Soundblaster LIve is supported for HW use.

Don't forget to install the SB drivers (not the XP builtin drivers) because else you will have a lot off crackling going on.

I now have the X-fi with the medusa 5.1. Awesome sound if you set it up right.

Now I have to sort out some lagproblems with X-fi and BF2, but I thing a fresh windows install with the newest SB X-fi drivers will do the trick.
dunn2953
Member
+0|6693

chitlin wrote:

i have a soundblaster live 5.1 digital but when i turn the sound to hardware alot of the sounds are crackly and when i try to update the drivers it says soundblaster not installed...
its because thats an old peice of crap sound card

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