Sound Cards, to buy or not to buy?

[akasixcon]

I have a few questions on sound cards mainly because they vary greatly on price and features.

Does the output (SPDIF Coaxial/ Digital vs Regular Line In) really matter that much or does the internal matter more? I've seen many "Professional Xi-Fi" soundcards without any SPDIF Coaxial or Digital outs but instead only the regular Line In.

Second what is X-Ram? Does it really matter?

Third should I be buying a sound card or should I be not? Is a sound card something you should be upgrading? Will it make a noticeable difference in watching movies or playing games?

 

[j12]

It really depends on what you are going to use the card for. Yes, you will notice a difference from onboard sound when you upgrade to an actual soundcard, so I do recommend for you to upgrade your soundcard. An all around good gaming/music/movie soundcard would be the Creative Audigy @ ZS. A step up from that would be the Creative X-fi. I would recommend the x-fi platnium. But if you wanted to get a cheaper sound card go for the Audigy se, which is just a step up from onboard audio.

 

[Sora]

I have a few questions on sound cards mainly because they vary greatly on price and features.

Does the output (SPDIF Coaxial/ Digital vs Regular Line In) really matter that much or does the internal matter more? I've seen many "Professional Xi-Fi" soundcards without any SPDIF Coaxial or Digital outs but instead only the regular Line In.

Second what is X-Ram? Does it really matter?

Third should I be buying a sound card or should I be not? Is a sound card something you should be upgrading? Will it make a noticeable difference in watching movies or playing games?

I'm not too sure about the first question but heres the other two.

2. The V-Ram is where all the sounds are stored in ram to help boost FSP in games, however it is not really worth the money as it's very very minimal increase.

3. It all depends on how good you want it to sound. Many will say onboard sound is just "fine" and I thought that too until I noticed that my onboard sound was nothing even CLOSE to my old 28 buck Audigy SE in my old computer. I figured sound would have improved by then and my onboard would be on par but no it is a large difference. An X-fi Extremegamer card will give you a few extra FPS 1-3 or so while sounding awesome for movies and games as well. If you don't want to break the wallet then the Sound Blaster Audigy SE is what I have and they can be had for like 28 bucks. It is a noticeable upgrade from onboard really and it's EAX 4.0 will help slightly for games as well.

I suggest unless your on a budget then grab an Audigy SE to sound a good bit better than onboard, or spend 50 more or so for the extremegamer which sounds even better and helps your gaming out a few. The only people who say onboard is "good" are the ones who don't have a half-decent soundcard.

 

[akasixcon]

The first question refers to the original cable that you connect to your PC. Like you know the the thing that connects to ANY MP3 player headphones. Then there are other cables used for Home Theater systems sometimes called Fiber Optic Cables or SPDIF DIGITAL. There is also a SPDIF Coaxial which is a little bit less but pars up to the digital.

Do these cables really matter? I heard analog connections have some interferences and stuff so yeah thats my only question.

 

[akasixcon]

The cable is called 3.5mm connector.

My problem is whether or not I connect my home theater system into my computer would still be able to produce 5.1 Surround sound. Meaning should I get the 3.5mm connector or the SPDIF Coaxial or Optical.

More description
The only problem is that in order for me to connect my DVD Home Theater system to my computer I will need a normal Analog (red and white) Jacks connected into my Home Theater and then an output of the 3.5mm Jack. Doesn't this make me lose quality? Will my Home Theater system still be able to produce 5.1 surround sound?

cliff

- wonders if normal 3.5mm jacks can produce 5.1 surround sound.
- Will the analog (red/white) connectors into the home theater system and its output is the 3.5mm affect quality at all?

 

[kobe24]

i have an xfi xtremegamer and its sound its out the building