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Good sound card?

PoWdA

PoWdA

New Member
Not even sure what slot I have open on my machine (PCI-e or just PCI) but looking for suggestions on a good sound card. I am having issues in game where sound cuts out. Basically all I can hear are explosions, it is pretty lame. Last night some of the guys were talking about having a sound card and they have no issues. Right now I am using the onboard on my ASUS P5Q Pro mobo and want to get a soundcard. Any suggestions?

I have never upgraded a sound card on any of my PC's before so this is new territory for me, figured this would be a good place to start asking questions.

Thanks!
 
What's your budget? Are you looking for one that will just get the job done or are you and audiophile?
 
Buy a Turtle Beach Riviera for about $30 and thank me later :) I have been recommending this card over expensive XFI cards on this site forever.
 
WATER3 said:
Buy a Turtle Beach Riviera for about $30 and thank me later :) I have been recommending this card over expensive XFI cards on this site forever.
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I will look into it.

Are you using one? Having any issues with sound cutting out in BF3?

Thanks!
 
PoWdA said:
I will look into it.

Are you using one? Having any issues with sound cutting out in BF3?

Thanks!
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Yes, I've tested the Turtle Beach Riviera and have used it for years. It is currently in another system of mine. I've also tested the Creative "Xtreme Gamer" XFI card, which was $70 more than the Turtle Beach Riviera. Both work exceptionally well and are indistinguishable in clarity/quality.

You could spend hours reading up on the difference between the C-Media and XFI chipsets, but there is no reason to. You're looking for sound that works well for gaming. These two chipsets are the most popular and most widely used. HT Omega, Turtle Beach (both C-Media chipset) and Creative (XFI chipset) make good cards. ASUS and a few others do their own thing and "brand" their own chipsets. I don't care for that and I don't use their products either.

It turns out that marketing drives price when it comes to sound cards. This is also true for most other computer products, but we're talking sound cards. Words like "Xtreme Gamer" and "SoundBlaster" are just marketing slogans. They're totally meaningless, and would be thought of as such if magazines/editors and tech companies weren't making money selling you those cool words. The reality is that most of these cards are made in the same factories with slightly different technical specifications. In example, think of the difference between "GMC" and "Chevrolet" trucks.

I hope to hear feedback on your sound card choice after use. Good luck.
 
Havoc.Sp said:
there a a lot of sound card sub-$100 that will get the job done.

I've heard some good thing about the Asus cards (Newegg.com - ASUS XONAR_DG 5.1 Channels PCI Interface Xonar DG Sound Card)
If you use headphones this card will do dolby headphone (virtual surround) and has a little amp built into it.

Head-Fi.org - Headphone forums and reviews for audiophiles is a good place to get info on anything audio related. go to the hardware>computer audio section of their forums
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I'd say i have to agree here... Unless you go for the version with the Headphone amp.
 
I think I will go for the Turtle Beach but not sure when. I will definitely update when I do though.

Thanks for the suggestions!
 
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