cmedia 6.1 onboard vs sblive!

[Crappopotamus]

i just bought a msi kt4 [the lady sold me a "kt3"... ] and it comes with onboard cmedia 6.1. i have the z560s, so i dont really need the 5.1... so which one should i use, the sblive or the onboard? which is better sound quality wise? processor usage wise?

btw, i dunno if this is the right forum. dargh. it doesnt really fit anywhere!

 

[Vette73]

If it is just for games and some MP3 music then use the C-Media and sell the sound card. If you are recording sound files from the input and need a little better stream then go with the sblive.

I have had several computers with C-Media and it did all I needed and more.

 

[Crappopotamus]

well the sblive isnt worth all that much money... if its better, ill keep it. so it DOES have better sound quality? cause im buying a pair of nice headphones... i dont wanna screw up at the source.

and do ya know anything about the cpu usage?

 

[orion7144]

The only thing I don't like about the Cmedia sound is that when you double click on the speaker Icon you don't have the option to control the bass and treble. I just put in an Audigy and the sound quality to me is better.

 

[Vette73]

Originally posted by: orion7144
The only thing I don't like about the Cmedia sound is that when you double click on the speaker Icon you don't have the option to control the bass and treble. I just put in an Audigy and the sound quality to me is better.

When I was using C-Media you could adjust a pile of things. So I don't think you were clickign the right thing. You could also reprogram where the inputs and outputs were on the back..

Like I said go with the C-Media

 

[sygyzy]

I have a CMedia on my Soyo Dragon and everything is fine in terms of sound quality, cpu usage, etc. However, paired with my Z-560's, there is no distinct rear output. The rears just take the front signal and repeats it. I know this because if I use the mixer tool and change the front volume to zero, all speakers shut off.

So that was a mini review and a request for help. Any ideas?

 

[Kingofcomputer]

The EMU2K DSP should be more powerful than CMI 8738.
Price difference is $10 (or $0 from onboard) vs $30.

 

[Peter]

Careful there folks, there are two breeds of C-Media chips. The 8738 series are PCI chips, doing the exact same thing as a PCI sound card would. The 973x chips are merely codecs, driven by the chipset integrated sound engine. The latter method creates no PCI load.

CPU load and analog output quality are nothing to do with this choice - the answer to the former lies in how good the PCI or chipset sound engine is, and the latter is decided by mainboard design care or lack thereof.

 

[Dulanic]

Originally posted by: sygyzy
I have a CMedia on my Soyo Dragon and everything is fine in terms of sound quality, cpu usage, etc. However, paired with my Z-560's, there is no distinct rear output. The rears just take the front signal and repeats it. I know this because if I use the mixer tool and change the front volume to zero, all speakers shut off.

So that was a mini review and a request for help. Any ideas?

Are you sure you have your speakers set right? I know with my Altec Lansing 641s there are 3 modes... stereo which is front only.... stereo x2 which is surround but the front sounds are just repeated in the rear.... and gaming, which is surround with seperate front and rear sounds.

 

[Nats]

I've tried both and if your just playing games & mp3s then just use the
cmedia chip. Cmedia is compatible w/ eax and even a3d.

 

[Mikki]

I have both and play minimal games, listen to a lot of music, dabble in music editing and recording, and I don't use my SBLive. The C-Media chip sounds just as good if not better TO ME. I've the the Klipsch Pro Media, tho, and they'll make anything sound good....hehe

 

[KiltedFool]

I have a set of Altec digital 4.1s that I really enjoy and am debating the same question on my soon to be purchased 8RDA+, will I be able to program an SPDIF for true digital sound out to my speakers with the onboard chip? Currently I have the SBLive! 5.1 in my current setup working fine, debating whether or not I'll need the IRQ hassles in the new setup.

KF

 

[sygyzy]

Originally posted by: Dulanic

Originally posted by: sygyzy
I have a CMedia on my Soyo Dragon and everything is fine in terms of sound quality, cpu usage, etc. However, paired with my Z-560's, there is no distinct rear output. The rears just take the front signal and repeats it. I know this because if I use the mixer tool and change the front volume to zero, all speakers shut off.

So that was a mini review and a request for help. Any ideas?

Are you sure you have your speakers set right? I know with my Altec Lansing 641s there are 3 modes... stereo which is front only.... stereo x2 which is surround but the front sounds are just repeated in the rear.... and gaming, which is surround with seperate front and rear sounds.

Yes I am sure since there is no place to set stereo, stereo 2x, surround.