Sound card advise needed

[troyds]

I play a good bit of BF2 and CS Source. Sound is really important to playing. Many of the guys I play with can hear the rush coming long before me. They all tell me it is cause I use onboard sound and that if I were to get a real sound card it would be much better. So here I am. Most of the guys have new x-fi sound cards. I really don't want to spend that much on a card unless it is really worth it. I have noticed that even the guys with audigy 2 cards can hear the sounds better than me. So after typing all of that out, my questoin is this. Will and x-fi card out perform an Audigy 2 by leaps and bounds in games or is it just a small upgrade? Can you suggest a card I should get?

Thanks for any replys

 

[PurdueRy]

First question you need to answer:

What speakers/Headphones do you own?

 

[troyds]

Logitech® Precision PC Gaming Headset

http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/produ...details/US/EN,CRID=2272,CONTENTID=9523

 

[PurdueRy]

Originally posted by: troyds
Logitech® Precision PC Gaming Headset

http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/produ...details/US/EN,CRID=2272,CONTENTID=9523

Audigy 2 ZS at the most is all I can recommend for that quality of headset. Try to get it on a rebate. Look in the hot deals section for a good deal.

 

[troyds]

would it make a difference if I was using this headset? It will be a while but I am looking at maybe getting this set later on.

Sennheiser PC160 Pro-Gaming Stereo Multimedia Headset w/Microphone
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=286031

 

[PurdueRy]

Originally posted by: troyds
would it make a difference if I was using this headset? It will be a while but I am looking at maybe getting this set later on.

Sennheiser PC160 Pro-Gaming Stereo Multimedia Headset w/Microphone
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=286031

It's better, but I still don't think it warrants a X-fi sound card. Your headphones/speakers should be more expensive than the sound card generally

 

[troyds]

rgr that. looks like it will be an audigy 2 ZS. I just can't spend too much money on my rig. Thanks for the help PurdueRy

 

[Ultralight]

I suggest checking out M-Audio sound cards. ZipZoomFly has good deals on their 5.1 Revolution and their 7.1 Revolution offerings. Do a Google search and read the reviews on both and you won't be disappointed. There are alternatives to Creative.

 

[PurdueRy]

Originally posted by: troyds
rgr that. looks like it will be an audigy 2 ZS. I just can't spend too much money on my rig. Thanks for the help PurdueRy

No Problem

 

[PurdueRy]

Originally posted by: Ultralight
I suggest checking out M-Audio sound cards. ZipZoomFly has good deals on their 5.1 Revolution and their 7.1 Revolution offerings. Do a Google search and read the reviews on both and you won't be disappointed. There are alternatives to Creative.

He is mainly gaming which is a big + in the catagory for Creative. EAX is used in both of his main games. Plus it will take more load off his CPU. Creative's offerings is the best for his situation.

 

[Edzard]

Here's a potential no-cost solution.

If you loaded the drivers for your sound card from a CD that came with your motherboard, or worse, you are using drivers supplied by your OS (Operating System - Win2K, WinXP, etc. - these drivers would likely be REALLY old), then it is possible that newer drivers just might give you adequate performance (no guarantees).

Therefore, if you haven't already done this, I suggest you:

(1) Identify the sound chip used by your motherboard. It should be identified in the documentation for your motherboard, or the driver documentation for your motherboard, or at the motherboard manufacturer's website, or by the Device Manager for your OS. If all else fails, then just look for the sound chip on your motherboard (its location should be indicated by a schematic drawing or labeled photo in your motherboard documentation) and get the model designation directly from the chip (youl may need a magnifying glass of some kind to read the model designation on the chip).

and

(2) Go to the sound chip manufacturer's website and see if there aren't more recent drivers for the chip. If you install those drivers (if you do this, of course remove your current sound driver first) and if the sound quits working or degrades after these (newer) drivers are installed, then remove those drivers and go to the motherbard maker's site and see if there aren't more recent drivers (than you are using right now) at that location. If there are, then remove whatever sound drivers you are using at that point, install the newer drivers, and test.

Another possibilty (in fact, you should probably try this first if you haven't already done so):

If there is a sound configuration utility for your sound chip, then make sure your sound is set for "headphones", and try tweaking the "headphones" sound using that utility. Maybe you'll get lucky.

I hope none of my suggestions insult your intelligence but I have no way of knowing how knowledgeable you are about PCs.

Good luck.

Edzard

 

[jesusfr3ak4evr]

If you ever want to purchase nice headphones(all around good) really cheap (well, compared to what u COULD spend on them), I suggest u go to the Head-Fi for sale / trade forums, or any for sale / trade forums, and purchase Sennheiser HD 555 headphones. I've seen them run as low as $70 shipped. You can also find them new on-line for $90 shipped. You could probably get a great deal on a refurbished set on eBay. Personally I use Sennheiser HD 595s, but the 555s are good if you're on a budget. Also, you should probably purchase a microphone on like newegg. They're cheap, and the quality is probably better than your headset.

I'd suggest the Audigy 2 ZS. Again, you can find them on for sale / trade forums for as low as $50 shipped for just the card. You could purchase a X-Fi for about $80 shipped though. Personally, I have an Audigy 2 ZS.

 

[003]

yes, go to head-fi if you are looking for new headphones. 99.92% of the people here don't know squat about quality headphones, and no, you don't always have to spend $300 for quality. There are very great budget headphones. I personally use a sennheiser HD650 with a portable amp (I have a better one on preorder), and they are great. I also recommend you get the X-fi x-music, you will kick yourself later down the road when games start fully taking advantage of eax 5.0 and all the new x-fi features. There is already bf2, quake 4, doom 3 (with a patch), oblivion and fear. My guess is that the next major game that will fully take advantage of it is ut2007, which I read is due out in november. That also means anything with the unreal 3 engine.