XFi vs onboard w/ Win7

[PP Mguire]

Got an X-Fi Xtreme-Music and I've had it since when they came out. They were all the rage when XP was around and now I'm starting to wonder if there is a point to have hardware sound if games are getting so much better through software. What does TF think? Keep the X-Fi around and continue using Alchemy, or put it in my XP play thing machine and just use onboard in Windows 7 since there is no point?

Games I'm currently playing and wondering about are more modern.
Battlefield 3
Mafia 2
Metro2033
Dirt 3
And later Skyrim.

I know back in the day they were great to offload sound processing from the CPU, but now wondering if it matter anymore with such beefy CPU's.
Anybody else ditch their dedicated sound?

Forgot to mention, I'm currently using 3 different devices for sound.
Razer Orca for quiet gaming straight to sound card
Logitech 11 dollar cheapo speakers for background noise when in kitchen
EQ'd PA speakers for anything else.

 

[Yami]

The benefit of offloading from the CPU is basically nonexistent nowadays.
You could just try onboard for a week and see what you think. I'd wager it's definitely worth a try.

 

[PP Mguire]

I was going to mess around with Vista for a while and try my onboard then, but wanted to get some other opinions first. I paid top dollar on this card and it's kinda hard to let go, but just wondering if it's worth having the extra processes from the drivers going. (Yes, still a RAM *****)

 

[philbar71]

Keep the card. I had a Xtrememusic for a while. Loved the heck out of it. I upgraded to a Titanium HD and can never use anything else for music.

But for gaming, your not going to see much of a performance increase. The real advantage of the X-FI cards is that they do positional audio so well, and sometimes that can be a big advantage.

 

[PP Mguire]

Keep the card. I had a Xtrememusic for a while. Loved the heck out of it. I upgraded to a Titanium HD and can never use anything else for music.

But for gaming, your not going to see much of a performance increase. The real advantage of the X-FI cards is that they do positional audio so well, and sometimes that can be a big advantage.

Thing is, I'm not looking for a performance advantage. I want to know difference in quality of sound. I also don't have surround speakers anymore so that isn't a problem. If I wont notice a difference in sound between the 2 then I'm going to put this card in my XP machine.

 

[philbar71]

Even with a 2.1 setup or headphones, you will notice a vast difference in game audio quality. Try it with the onboard, I guarantee you will be begging for the X-Fi back

 

[PP Mguire]

We'll see. I'm still not ready for a format. I got a few games to finish and then on the 10th I'll be formatting.

 

[philbar71]

You dont have to reformat just to swap sound cards. Just take the X-Fi out

 

[Preacher]

I love the USB sound cards. I own a E-MU 0404, it can drive a bunch of devices at once and record MIDI.

 

[PP Mguire]

You dont have to reformat just to swap sound cards. Just take the X-Fi out

If I take the card out without formatting then I still have those services running which is the whole point of why I want to get rid of the card. I don't see the need to have those services when I'm not running Creative programs.