Best soundcard for Z-560's?

[LuDaCriS66]

I'm tired of having to screw around with the Creative software everytime I bootup just so I can set it to 4 speakers so I want to get rid of my SB live! value. Since my speakers aren't digital I guess my best bet would be the Santa Cruz? I was thinking of just getting a whole new mobo like the Asus A7N8X and use the onboard audio but I've heard that analog out on the Soundstorm sucks. So I guess it wouldnt be a good option for my z-560's. Am I making the right assumption here?
Another reason I'd want to get that mobo is cuz I currently have a Gigabyte GA-7VAXP. While it's very stable and has some nice features, it doesn't overclock at all.

The thing is, I live in Ontario so it's hard as hell to find a place that sells the Santa Cruz here and I don't want to have to get it online.

 

[tbates757]

SoundStorm onboard sound doesn't suck, its quite good. I would say go ahead and get the Asus NF2 motherboard

 

[LuDaCriS66]

Originally posted by: tbates757
SoundStorm onboard sound doesn't suck, its quite good. I would say go ahead and get the Asus NF2 motherboard

I know that it's definatly better than my SB Live!.. I'm just saying I've heard that it's only good if you're using digital speakers.

 

[ctk1981]

Hercules Gamesurround Fortissimo III. Ive used Audigy (blew it up), Philips Acoustic Edge 706 (DVD playback went to crap), and now the Fortissimo III.

On my gaming computer I will be using the onboard nForce2 soundstorm.

 

[gtd2000]

I'm tired of having to screw around with the Creative software everytime I bootup just so I can set it to 4 speakers so I want to get rid of my SB live! value.

Why do u need to set it each time you re-boot?

The setting should remain each and everytime you restart the PC - unless you change the settings?

I have been using SBLives since around 1999 and never had the problem you are describing?

 

[LuDaCriS66]

Originally posted by: gtd 2000

I'm tired of having to screw around with the Creative software everytime I bootup just so I can set it to 4 speakers so I want to get rid of my SB live! value.

Why do u need to set it each time you re-boot?

The setting should remain each and everytime you restart the PC - unless you change the settings?

I have been using SBLives since around 1999 and never had the problem you are describing?

In my case, the settings don't stay the same. It always reverts back to the 2 speaker setup everytime I reboot. I'm using the latest drivers and software off of Creative's site and I've re-installed several times but with the same result under WinXP.

 

[gtd2000]

LuDaCriS66
Are you setting the speakers up and doing a full test?

I am at the office right now and cannot remember the exact steps to do this - however, once you set up the speakers and then apply the settings I'm sure that it asks you to re-start the system?

One of the problems with Win XP and SBLives is that you cannot fully utilise the card . I have Win XP on my main system - which will be reverting to Win ME shortly.

As far as I am aware you still cannot use Liveware with my SBLive 5.1 and Win XP. My Creative DTT2000's only operate as 4.1's generally, but can be installed as 5.1's when using the Win 9x series of OS's then all the functions are fully functional (I may be out of date on this?)

For me XP is a great OS for general use, however, I'm not at all convinced of it's abilities when doing anything more advanced. This is not only my opinion - there area good number of people that I know personally that find XP very limited. Then again the vast majority of people would say that Win ME is the worst OS from M$ ever too. For me and others it seems like the best yet. If you are a gamer, take digital photos, and copy CD's, rip and convert DVD's etc., Win ME is very hard to beat in a multimedia function.

In summary, if you want the full functionality of Liveware - then Win XP is not for you - HOWEVER - the speakers should remain set at whatever configuration you choose each and everytime you start or re-boot.

Did you download the Win XP drivers for your SBLive?