A7N8X - Integrated NIC/Sound or Not?

[HowAboutBob]

I just bought an ASUS A7N8X deluxe.
512 MB Ram. Athalon 2100 XP.
The only card I have in there is Winfast geForce 256.

1. Should I put my "SB Live" back in or use the integrated sound?
I have a Jenson 2 speaker set, and a Labtec 3 speaker set (2 satellites and a subwoofer).
Don't laugh about the Labtec... it was rated highly by Maximum PC, most bang for the buck!
I use the speakers for games, and my PC is in basement where I can crank up a little when kids are asleep.

2. Should I put my 3Com NIC (3c905-tx, I think) or use integrated NIC?
3. And which integrated NIC, 3COM's or Nividia's?
I am using this just for broadband.... cable modem access.

4. Do integrated components use up CPU cycles?

Thanks for your comments!
Bob

 

[chizow]

Originally posted by: HowAboutBob
I just bought an ASUS A7N8X deluxe.
512 MB Ram. Athalon 2100 XP.
The only card I have in there is Winfast geForce 256.

1. Should I put my "SB Live" back in or use the integrated sound?
I have a Jenson 2 speaker set, and a Labtec 3 speaker set (2 satellites and a subwoofer).
Don't laugh about the Labtec... it was rated highly by Maximum PC, most bang for the buck!
I use the speakers for games, and my PC is in basement where I can crank up a little when kids are asleep.

2. Should I put my 3Com NIC (3c905-tx, I think) or use integrated NIC?
3. And which integrated NIC, 3COM's or Nividia's?
I am using this just for broadband.... cable modem access.

4. Do integrated components use up CPU cycles?

Thanks for your comments!
Bob

1. I would use the DLX soundstorm over your SB Live. It'll be much better..if you had an Audigy or Audigy 2 I'd say probably not, as the Soundstorm drivers and control panel aren't quite there yet.

2,3. Use the integrated Nvidia MAC as your first choice, then use the integrated 3COM MAC for ICS. Freeing up slots is a good thing and the integrated Nvidia MAC gives excellent performance on par with $50 Intel Gigabyte cards. The 3COM MAC has gotten better, but uses more cycles and doesn't give full throughput. You probably won't notice a difference with just broadband internet usage.

4. Yes, but typically no more than any other PCI component nowadays. Unless there is a dedicated hardware function on a PCI card that needs to be emulated by software for an integrated function, the stress to the CPU isn't much different. Given these integrated components have their own controllers onboard or are integrated into the South Bridge, they shouldn't stress your CPU any more than any PCI device through the South Bridge.

Chiz

 

[dmhinz]

I found the onboard Soundstorm to be very good and also liked the onboard 3com NIC. How your audio sounds is really a matter of personal opinion. You have an XP 2100, I wouldn't be to worried about wasted cpu cycles.

-D

 

[KingNine]

Originally posted by: HowAboutBob
I just bought an ASUS A7N8X deluxe.
512 MB Ram. Athalon 2100 XP.
The only card I have in there is Winfast geForce 256.

1. Should I put my "SB Live" back in or use the integrated sound?
I have a Jenson 2 speaker set, and a Labtec 3 speaker set (2 satellites and a subwoofer).
Don't laugh about the Labtec... it was rated highly by Maximum PC, most bang for the buck!
I use the speakers for games, and my PC is in basement where I can crank up a little when kids are asleep.

2. Should I put my 3Com NIC (3c905-tx, I think) or use integrated NIC?
3. And which integrated NIC, 3COM's or Nividia's?
I am using this just for broadband.... cable modem access.

4. Do integrated components use up CPU cycles?

Thanks for your comments!
Bob

Dont put the SBLive back in! I couldn't wait to get rid of mine and then I bought this mobo. The sound is awsome and I don't have the SBLive "popping" I was having before. I'm using the Nvidia Nic and it works well. The other post seems to articulate why very nicely. I had read it earlier so I just disabled the 3Com.

 

[HowAboutBob]

Thanks for the advice!
Bob