New Sound Card - Club CDFreaks

mrloren · 09-01-2005

Hello,

I am thinking about getting a new sound card!! how much better is the SB Audigy 2 zs Gamer than my current sound card? would I notice the difference? I have an Hercules Fortissmi III

crustyteacup · 09-01-2005

you'd probably notice the difference, i just had a quick look at your card on google, looks quite good. Supports DTS, 7.1 etc, the only small difference i can think of is that when enabling EAX you will get more FPS in games, so less slow down with the SB as it has EAX 4.0 and its a better card.

*DiiZzY* · 09-01-2005

It's usually a few fps, nothing much.
//Danne

crustyteacup · 09-01-2005

yeah, i was going to put a couple of fps, but then i thought somebody would correct me and say no its lots.

*boobytrap* · 29-01-2005

go with the SB its better

*Maelstrom* · 29-01-2005

depends whats importand for you
if you're into gaming SB card is prolly the better choise with hardware DSP and EAX HD support.
but if gaming isnt that importand any Envy24HT based soundcard will beat the Audigy 2 ZS big time when it comes to music/movie playback and sound quality. and perosnally i dont like the huge and buggy creative drivers

i have a SMP system so i cant use a creative card (creative cards are like a virus for SMP systems). now using M-Audio Revolution 7.1 and the system runs rocksolid.
must say that i dont really hear much difference while gaming between an Audigy 2 or M-Audio both do theire job just fine.

*drpino* · 29-01-2005

he won't notice ANY diff whatsoever upgrading from the Hercules (which is a good card already) to a SB Audigy Gamer edition. save your money and put it into a vid card, HD, new mouse or something.

**xtacydima** · 29-01-2005

Maelstrom said it best for useage based on personal needs, for gaming SB tweaks its cards for optimal performance, but if you just listen to music, mpe's, cd's, and even minor music editing, SB is unecessary.

*DiiZzY* · 30-01-2005

If you're looking at SB Live! I'd highly suggest you to take a look at the kX Project which offers free alternative drivers that are by far superior to Creative Labs drivers.
//Danne

*Maelstrom* · 30-01-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by DiiZzY

If you're looking at SB Live! I'd highly suggest you to take a look at the kX Project which offers free alternative drivers that are by far superior to Creative Labs drivers.
//Danne

the last time i checked those drivers (while ago) they didnt support EAX 3.0 the reason why you even want to try a SB card is for the EAX 3.0 support. without the EAX support you only have the cons of a SB card without any pro's

*DiiZzY* · 30-01-2005

ASIO compatible (low latency), support for large soundfonts, DSP (which even hi-end cards may lack) for instance so yeah, it really sucks...
//Danne

mrloren · 31-01-2005

I got the Audigy 2zs! Is it better? YES! was it worth the $89? YES! My games sound better music better. It also might be the Logitech Z5300e I have with them. but now my PC is a game and music machine. My neighbors are a little pissed! Wounder how pissed they will be this summer when the windows come open?

09-01-2005	#1 (permalink)
mrloren CD Freaks Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Chula Juna CA Posts: 129	New Sound Card <a href='http://adstats.cdfreaks.com/www/delivery/ck.php?n=a13febf7&cb=INSERT_RANDOM_NUMBER_HERE' target='_blank'><img src='http://adstats.cdfreaks.com/www/delivery/avw.php?zoneid=30&cb=INSERT_RANDOM_NUMBER_HERE&n=a13febf7' border='0' alt='' /></a> Hello, I am thinking about getting a new sound card!! how much better is the SB Audigy 2 zs Gamer than my current sound card? would I notice the difference? I have an Hercules Fortissmi III __________________ Gigabyte GA-P35-DQ6, Intel E6850, 4X1g OCZ DDR1066, Soundblaster Audigy 2zs. Logitech Z5300e. Samsung SH-S183L, Lite-On SH-16A7S-05, BenQ1640, BenQ 1655, Pioner 109BK, Toshiba M1712. eVGA8800GTX Viewsonic 22" LCD Antec 900 OCZ GameXtream 700w

09-01-2005	#2 (permalink)
crustyteacup CD Freaks Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Newcastle, UK Posts: 281	Re: New Sound Card you'd probably notice the difference, i just had a quick look at your card on google, looks quite good. Supports DTS, 7.1 etc, the only small difference i can think of is that when enabling EAX you will get more FPS in games, so less slow down with the SB as it has EAX 4.0 and its a better card.

09-01-2005	#3 (permalink)
DiiZzY CDFreaks Resident Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Nordic Region, Sweden Posts: 2,859	Re: New Sound Card It's usually a few fps, nothing much. //Danne

09-01-2005	#4 (permalink)
crustyteacup CD Freaks Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Newcastle, UK Posts: 281	Re: New Sound Card yeah, i was going to put a couple of fps, but then i thought somebody would correct me and say no its lots.

29-01-2005	#5 (permalink)
boobytrap CDFreaks Resident Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 566	Re: New Sound Card go with the SB its better

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29-01-2005	#6 (permalink)
Maelstrom CDFreaks Resident Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Behind Enemy Lines Posts: 746	Re: New Sound Card depends whats importand for you if you're into gaming SB card is prolly the better choise with hardware DSP and EAX HD support. but if gaming isnt that importand any Envy24HT based soundcard will beat the Audigy 2 ZS big time when it comes to music/movie playback and sound quality. and perosnally i dont like the huge and buggy creative drivers i have a SMP system so i cant use a creative card (creative cards are like a virus for SMP systems). now using M-Audio Revolution 7.1 and the system runs rocksolid. must say that i dont really hear much difference while gaming between an Audigy 2 or M-Audio both do theire job just fine. __________________ The sound of thousand warriors The fields of thousand battles Still, in our hearts we can hear the great hymn of Karelia.

29-01-2005	#7 (permalink)
drpino CDFreaks Resident Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: nYc Posts: 4,891	Re: New Sound Card he won't notice ANY diff whatsoever upgrading from the Hercules (which is a good card already) to a SB Audigy Gamer edition. save your money and put it into a vid card, HD, new mouse or something. __________________ AMD A64 Clawhammer 3200+ / TT Venus 7+ / ASUS K8V Dlx / Corsair TwinX 4000PRO (2x512) WD360GD 236GB Raptor (RAID0) / WD800JB 80GB PATA / IBM Deskstar 25.4GB PATA ASUS R9800XT / VX900 19"CRT / Boston Acoustics BA7500 4.1 Plextor PX-716A / Plextor PX-Premium / Samsung SD-816B ROM / OCZ 520ADJ PowerStream / Kingwin KT424SWM AMD A64 Winchester 3200+ / Thermalright XP-90 / ASUS A8V Dlx r2 / OCZ PlatR2 (2x512) WD740GD 274GB Raptor (RAID0) / WD2500SD/JD 2250GB SATA / Seagate 2160GB PATA / Maxtor OneTouchII 300GB Ext (Firewire) ATI X800XL / Viewsonic VP201s 20.1"LCD / Creative SBAudigy2ZS Plat / Klipsch ProMedia Ultra 5.1 Plextor PX-716A / Plextor PX-708UF / BenQ 1640 / OCZ 520ADJ PowerStream / Lian-Li V1000B

29-01-2005	#8 (permalink)
xtacydima Moderator Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Brooklyn, NY, USA Posts: 3,848	Re: New Sound Card Maelstrom said it best for useage based on personal needs, for gaming SB tweaks its cards for optimal performance, but if you just listen to music, mpe's, cd's, and even minor music editing, SB is unecessary. __________________ My Rig: Antec P160 P4 3.0E GHz running WinXP w/SP2 Scythe SCMN-1000 Heatsink w/Arctic Silver 5 Antec TruePower 2.0 TP2-550 (550W power supply) ASUS P4C800 Deluxe Motherboard 2GB RAM - Corsair XMS TWINX2048 (2x1GB) 3200C2Pro CL2.0 ATI RADEON X850XT AGP 2 - WD 37GB Raptor's (in RAID 0) via onboard Promise controller Western Digital 250GB SATA HDD on Primary SATA channel Western Digital 150GB SATA HDD on Secondary SATA channel Lite-On LTR-52246S 6S0F (IDE1 Master) Lite-On JLMS XJ-HD166S DS1C (IDE1 Slave) *NEC 3500AG 2.TC Quiet* (IDE2 Master) Lite-On SOHW 1673S JS07 (via USB 2.0 to IDE & set to Master)** Found a Solution here helpful? Like the forum's? Well then, what are you waiting for JOIN NOW!!!

30-01-2005	#9 (permalink)
DiiZzY CDFreaks Resident Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Nordic Region, Sweden Posts: 2,859	Re: New Sound Card If you're looking at SB Live! I'd highly suggest you to take a look at the kX Project which offers free alternative drivers that are by far superior to Creative Labs drivers. //Danne

30-01-2005	#11 (permalink)
DiiZzY CDFreaks Resident Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Nordic Region, Sweden Posts: 2,859	Re: New Sound Card ASIO compatible (low latency), support for large soundfonts, DSP (which even hi-end cards may lack) for instance so yeah, it really sucks... //Danne

31-01-2005	#12 (permalink)
mrloren CD Freaks Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Chula Juna CA Posts: 129	Re: New Sound Card I got the Audigy 2zs! Is it better? YES! was it worth the $89? YES! My games sound better music better. It also might be the Logitech Z5300e I have with them. but now my PC is a game and music machine. My neighbors are a little pissed! Wounder how pissed they will be this summer when the windows come open? __________________ Gigabyte GA-P35-DQ6, Intel E6850, 4X1g OCZ DDR1066, Soundblaster Audigy 2zs. Logitech Z5300e. Samsung SH-S183L, Lite-On SH-16A7S-05, BenQ1640, BenQ 1655, Pioner 109BK, Toshiba M1712. eVGA8800GTX Viewsonic 22" LCD Antec 900 OCZ GameXtream 700w

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