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Audigy 2 "upgrade" from Audigy 1 or RealtekALC850 8-channel?

K

killer8

Member
I've had an Audigy 1 Gamer for almost 3 years and wonder if the Audigy 2 is much better. I see that the Audigy 1 still sells for $40-$50 while the Audigy 2 is $70-$90.

I have Creative "Deskop Theater 5.1" speakers (DTT2200), which are also 3+ years old.

On Monday I've an Asus A8V coming in which has Realtek ALC850 (7.1 system) sound built-in-- do the newest AC'97s match or even exceed the original Audigy 1?

Pretty much my only concern is getting good sound for games, with a mind also to CPU utilization. My understanding is that CPU utilization isn't nearly as bad as it use to be with the on-board sound, but I don't know if that holds true with high level 3D effects.

Is the Audigy 2 worth the $70-$90 over the original Audigy 1 or the latest motherboard sound solutions?
Does one need 7.1 speakers (8 speakers) to make it worth getting the Audigy 2-- if one just has 5.1 speakers, how does this affect the value equation?

Thanks for the opinions...
 
Not to offend, but your speakers really aren't going to show an appreciable difference between any of the sources you've named.

The Audigy 1 should still hold some CPU utilization ground over the onboard audio though.
 
Thanks yeah.. the speakers may be a weak spot. Is it that they're 5.1 or just crap?

I probably have to spend some time investigating that too, but any input on a reasonable
speaker upgrade (say $150 or under) welcome too 😀
 
Originally posted by: killer8
Thanks yeah.. the speakers may be a weak spot. Is it that they're 5.1 or just crap?

I probably have to spend some time investigating that too, but any input on a reasonable
speaker upgrade (say $150 or under) welcome too 😀
Click to expand...

If surround sound is important to you, then it would be hard to move up to a better 5.1 system in your budget. You could get some quality 2.1 speakers for $150 though. Of course, then you'd want a nicer sound card, and you'd have spent your money. 😉

Unless you're actually dissatisfied with your speakers (as I am with mine...) then there's really no reason to buy new ones.
 
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