I'm just asking because out of all the components that's in my rig, my sound card is a SoundBlaster Live that I've had since 2000. It's capable of running EAX 2.0 and I have no real use for anything above 2 speakers so do you think I should even considering upgrading this component?

nope.

Don't bother. Sound has never been important to me, and usually a set of headphones void the need for perfect sound quality. But then again, I only care about sound for videogames and movies, and pretty much anything works for them. I've never been a stickler for sound, though.

Eh. I'll upgrade when I can't hear music in these newer games, if I'm buying new speakers, or if it fails.

My soundcard has been the only hardware that I have not upgraded in the last four years. I have an SB Audigy which does me justice. I really can't tell the differences in sound quality. To me, MP3s and CDs sound just the same.

The SB Live sucks for both gaming and sound quality. If you want a non-gaming card for stereo, you cannot go wrong with the Chaintech AV-710. You can get it for 25 bucks from newegg. The DACs on the first two channels are like, really good. Better than any Audigy card, save maybe the Audigy 4 and the X-Fi. If you do want gaming, get with an Audigy 2 or Audigy 2 Value. They're the same thing. The ZS just has more inputs and outputs, which as you've noted you don't need. Just get whichever is cheaper. The Audigy 4 is the same gaming wise as the Audigy 2, perhaps with an improvement in sound quality. The X-Fi is an overpriced, overhyped load of crap, I wouldn't touch it just yet...

I was like the lot of you until I picked up a Audigy 2 Value. . If your running a old card or using built in sound from your mobo, I suggest that you upgrade. If you have a decent set of speakers or some good headphones. You WILL notice the difference.

I can now pin point the exact location of a Merc sneaking through the grass in Farcry, I can feel the belows of Hell in Diablo 2, nail down that sucker in UT2004, and I can now feel nearly 100% immersed in HL2 and Doom3. It's WELL worth it!! I got my card for 100 bucks. Heck, it made my 6 year old Yamaha 2.1s sound decent again.

Unless you're getting an XF-i, it's pointless.

Emon--they're coming out with cheaper versions, but overhyped I wouldn't say so much. If everything CGW said is possible, the card is an amazing thing. In fact, they're coming out with a 129 version, which I see being in most gaming PC's soon.

actually it's the DAC on the rear outputs that is good...

and even at $129 the X-Fi is overpriced...

[QUOTE=Dj Yoshi]Unless you're getting an XF-i, it's pointless.[/QUOTE]

Why is getting better sound in your games and media, pointless?

The improvements in sound quality are, for the most part, negligible. Between my onboard sound and my friend's Audigy 2 I heard little difference between games and music. The XF-i brings some really interesting things to the mix though.

all the interesting thing's in the X-Fi (get it right noob) are not in the cheaper models (like the X-RAM)

[QUOTE=Dj Yoshi]The improvements in sound quality are, for the most part, negligible. Between my onboard sound and my friend's Audigy 2 I heard little difference between games and music. The XF-i brings some really interesting things to the mix though.[/QUOTE]

Depends on the board. My mobo uses the outdated AC'97 codec which has been around since the stone age. Comparing the two (IMO, of course, audio quality is subjective) my Audigy 2 blows it out of the water and then shoots it down.

I kill you. And what difference will the X-RAM make? Honestly. I'm not talking about hardware, I'm talking about what the card can supposedly do (make 128kbps mp3's sound a lot better, forget how). My friend showed me an article from either PC Gamer or CGW about it. And I just saw the specs between the different versions--the only thing the cheapest one doesn't come with are the little things that get stuck in the bay (can't think of the word right now) and the X-RAM. Otherwise it's all pretty much just useless filler.

COULD. MAYBE. Keywords. And it's not crap and it uses a new process. Read up, Jim, instead of just dismissing it without knowing what it does. Trust me, I thought the same thing at first. I was wrong.

dude i've read about it... new process? doubtful... ever hear of marketing BS? i say wait until the thing comes out and is reviewed by some sites that review audio equipment (i don't trust gaming sites/magazines when it comes to sound quality)


then we'll find out just how ovepriced (or not) it is

I've been running a Turtle Beach Santa Cruz for years..from what I recall, it was quite a card in its time. It still works great for me

sorry but this "make mp3s sound better" is really a load of crap... it most likely uses old tricks that have been around for a long time to do it.... so it's really a useless feature

X-RAM actually seems to be something that COULD affect game performance

[QUOTE=Dj Yoshi]The improvements in sound quality are, for the most part, negligible. Between my onboard sound and my friend's Audigy 2 I heard little difference between games and music.[/QUOTE]
That is most likely because the rest of your sound equipment is inferior. Yes, that includes your valued Logitech speakers. Logitech speakers are not great for music. You can buy a cheap set of bookshelves for less that would blow them away in sound quality.

I'm with DrkJedi82 on this one. NEVER go to PC or gaming sites for audio hardware reviews. They don't know what they're talking about. Similiarly, stay away from hardcore audiophile sites because they ALSO don't know what they're talking about. Well, moreso that they're filled up to the neck with placebo effects in audio and such. They'll also probably bash the hell out of anything that's a PC gaming soundcard.

Frankly, I can hear the difference, but I don't care. It's not worth the cash or effort for the slight improvement in audio quality for me. I'll stick with my bleh Philips speakers and SB Live.

Wow, sorry I don't have the money to invest like 300 in a sound system. For the average gamer, it doesn't matter, and that's why you SHOULD go to hardware sites to review it, unless you're just stupid about sound and all that. My equipment may be inferior, but I can still pick out a terrorist from anywhere around me, I can still tell my base up top, not on the bottom, is being attacked in Warcraft 3, and I can still enjoy my music. To your average gamer, it doesn't really matter what the **** kind of speakers or soundcard you have, except the X-Fi (and you still haven't provided conclusive proof about the mp3's sounding better stuff Jim except it "sounds like bs")

My Logitech speakers (Z560) are up with my Kenwood home theater system, as far as I can tell..and actually have significantly better midrange. Retail? Z560s: $199.95-ish. Kenwood HTB-503 system: $499.99.

I don't have a gaming sound card, either. :p

I notice a huge difference between my onboard sound and my Audigy. However, with my onboard sound, I can hear hard drive accessing and mouse movement in my headphones.

If you do the right codes you can get the z-5500's and a free printer for 208$. I'm very very tempted right now.

http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=940006

[QUOTE=Dj Yoshi] (and you still haven't provided conclusive proof about the mp3's sounding better stuff Jim except it "sounds like bs")[/QUOTE]

ok they are claiming a 128kbps mp3 can be made to sound AS GOOD AS THE MASTER RECORDING that is just complete marketing bull... you can make the sound seem like it is of a higher quality through various means (adding some noise in the upper frequencies to try to add some "air" maybe have something that "guesses" at some of the missing frequencies) but lossy encoding is lossy encoding... the lost audio is lost FOREVER and in the case of 128kbps mp3 that means everything above 16-17KHz

I'm sure as hell not saying as good as the Master recording, I know that's bs, but make it sound better at least. A lot better.

[QUOTE=Dj Yoshi]Wow, sorry I don't have the money to invest like 300 in a sound system. For the average gamer, it doesn't matter[/QUOTE]
And when did I say that you SHOULD invest 300 dollars in a sound system? All I'm saying is that if your hardware is inferior, don't make judgements. If you said "I can't tell with _whatever_ hardware I use" is one thing. However you straight out said that there would be no difference. Does SavageX have sound hardware that's good enough to bring out the difference? Perhaps not, but you don't know that. Other people will also read your post and start thinking that there is no difference in sound quality between soundcards, which is a load of crap.

Also, on a tangent, I'd like to point out that those of us who do invest a lot of money in our sound systems only do it once or very seldom (the smart ones anyway). It's a FAR better investment than buying a $300 video card every year or two. Audio equipment doesn't become obsolete and doesn't degrade over time.

And you use it far less often. And it doesn't do jack for performance. Trying to compare buying a video card to buying a soundcard or speakers doesn't work. The latter are purely for enjoyment, and can be enjoyed equally well on a 500MHz Celeron as on the most beastly of systems. The former is purely for one thing and one thing only--frames (okay, I lied, and pretty effects).

Upgrading a sound card is only important if you plan on using your computer as a digital recording station. Otherwise, pretty much any soundcard made after 2000 should be gravy for games.

[QUOTE=Dj Yoshi]And you use it far less often. And it doesn't do jack for performance. Trying to compare buying a video card to buying a soundcard or speakers doesn't work. The latter are purely for enjoyment, and can be enjoyed equally well on a 500MHz Celeron as on the most beastly of systems. The former is purely for one thing and one thing only--frames (okay, I lied, and pretty effects).[/QUOTE]

Use it far less often? My computer is the main (& best) sound system in the house now..lol..

With 2 speakers its no big deal. And even if you wanted a nice surround sound system with very nice 5.1 capablilites then it still wouldnt be that expensive (with the exception of the speakers) to buy a nice decent sound card. Like stated above by Schming: Its only important if your doing a lot of nice recording.

I have a £25 SB Live! 5.1 and a £45 set of 5.1 hercules (rebranded Guillemot) speakers and they do the job fine. I can't notice any real problems. The rear speakers are a bit weak but I really don't care. I'm usually playing 192k mp3s. I'd notice no difference at all on the most expensive speakers I can find & an X-Fi. Games I may notice a slight difference. (surround surround wise). But not one that warrants me spending any more than I have. I plan to use this soundcard and speakers combo in my next computer (unless I find a real bargain ;))

Yeah, don't upgrade, and if you do, don't waste cash on stupid **** like Audigy UltraGamerDeluxeSupra 4, you're getting ripped off.

[QUOTE=Dj Yoshi]And you use it far less often. And it doesn't do jack for performance. Trying to compare buying a video card to buying a soundcard or speakers doesn't work. The latter are purely for enjoyment, and can be enjoyed equally well on a 500MHz Celeron as on the most beastly of systems. The former is purely for one thing and one thing only--frames (okay, I lied, and pretty effects).[/QUOTE]
And why do you want frames and pretty effects? For enjoyment. Why do you need high resolutions and graphic detail? For enjoyment. They look cool and provide atmosphere, which make the game more enjoyable. People invest in audio systems because they make their music sound better, which makes it more enjoyable. Music doesn't get old and boring like games either. Not unless you have a very small and very poor music collection. And if you're talking about people who don't listen to music often, um, well yeah, of course they wouldn't be investing in a sound system, the same way people who don't play games don't invest in gaming hardware...so that argument is moot.

You buy a video card so you can enjoy your games more. You buy audio equipment so you can enjoy your music, movies, and sometimes games more. So yes, you can compare them as investments. The sound equipment doesn't get old or wear out (at least not for 30-50 years), unlike other hardware which is obsolete within a year or two. And if you wish to continue enjoying your games with pretty graphics and smooth gameplay, you are forced to buy new hardware. Your audio rig won't sound any worse 20 years from now...

Good point. However, there's also the functionality. Music doesn't change, isn't dynamic in the pitch range, volume levels (for the most part) etc. You don't have to buy new music hardware to enjoy new music. The same cannot be said with games. Not onlyt hat, but sound hardware won't give you better performance in just a computing environment. But I think how you say music doesn't get old and tired...well neither do games, for me. I still play the games that I like on a constant basis (granted they're not always on my computer, but then again, neither is all the music I like.)

cognitive dissonance

[QUOTE=Dj Yoshi]Good point. However, there's also the functionality. Music doesn't change, isn't dynamic in the pitch range, volume levels (for the most part) etc. You don't have to buy new music hardware to enjoy new music. The same cannot be said with games. Not onlyt hat, but sound hardware won't give you better performance in just a computing environment. But I think how you say music doesn't get old and tired...well neither do games, for me. I still play the games that I like on a constant basis (granted they're not always on my computer, but then again, neither is all the music I like.)[/QUOTE]

True. However, you can play new music on old hardware..can't say the same of games.

I've never upgraded my sound card. to me, having decent speakers is far more important than having a good soundcard.

I think I actually said that :p

£20 SBLive 5.1, a £20 set of 4.1 speakers. Fine for everything I want to do on my PC.

If I want to play music, I go downstairs and use the £6k Naim audio equipment.