Creative Titanium HD $83 BestBuy Instore Only....

[toyota]

so many ignorant comments here. there is no way in hell you could sit in front of me after going back and forth between onboard and sound card and not notice the massive difference in games. but yeah keep acting like people that can are somehow snobby audiophiles. again I don't know crap about technical details but only someone with a hearing impairment could not notice the difference for games.

 

[jacion]

When I first started to use Windows 7 beta, I was forced to use my onboard sound because of a driver issue. I was surprised my motherboard's sound was actually better then my previous PCI card. Most noticeably was a better low end, and listening to music was much fuller.

Nowadays I don't see how a soundcard can increase FPS, unless of course your running a older CPU. But if your willing to spend $100 on a sound card we know you must be running all the latest and greatest.

 

[toyota]

some older cards probably are no better than onboard. again though onboard just does not get very loud with headphones and does not offer a decent surround virtualization or enough thump with gun sounds in games. its too weak and cant separate the sounds properly and is more distorted. if it did a better job then I sure would not waste money on getting a sound card. I can fight it no longer with this new pc and am actually about to head to BB right now.

 

[saratoga172]

some older cards probably are no better than onboard. again though onboard just does not get very loud with headphones and does not offer a decent surround virtualization or enough thump with gun sounds in games. its too weak and cant separate the sounds properly and is more distorted. if it did a better job then I sure would not waste money on getting a sound card. I can fight it no longer with this new pc and am actually about to head to BB right now.

Just because you can tell a difference doesn't mean everyone can. Some of us could care less about a little better sound.

Good deal on that card but not really enough to justify it for me. Sounds a little better than my onboard but I have cheap headphones so its not a big difference. And there is definitely a difference between cheap onboard and expensive.

 

[shingletingle]

Just because you can tell a difference doesn't mean everyone can. Some of us could care less about a little better sound.

Good deal on that card but not really enough to justify it for me. Sounds a little better than my onboard but I have cheap headphones so its not a big difference. And there is definitely a difference between cheap onboard and expensive.

You mean COULDN'T care less. If you could care less, then you must care to some degree.

 

[DisgruntledVirus]

This is definitely a hot deal. It was even cheaper at my local BB.

 

[imported_Computer MAn]

I have a soundcard for the sole reason that I run my PC through a receiver and want DDL and DTS Connect.

 

[beergeek]

What some people don't seem to realize is that higher end motherboards actually come with decent onboard sound.

My Operton motherboard's onboard sound was terrible. Shortly after I upgraded to Core2 my sound card died so I tinkered with the onboard sound. I was surprised at how good it sounded and til this day still use it.

My ears are just fine, by the way.

Speakers: Klipsch 5.1

Klipsch 5.1s are good PC speakers (I use the 2.1s, but on my desk on a PC, not for my "real" sound system). For gaming, they are likely fine (I'm not a serious gamer). However, if you want to _really_ listen to music (or movies, I guess), they don't cut it. Nothing that size (or price level) will. If it is important to you for music to sound as it should and you have devoted a lot of effort and expense on your sound system to achieve quite high levels of sonic fidelity, it hardly makes sense to save just a few dollars (by comparison) to get "good enough" results from an input source. (Disclaimer: this argument is somewhat academic for me, as for stored digital audio files, I don't actually use a PC or its sound (DAC) support to drive anything in my "real" sound system - I just let my file server store things and let dedicated stuff in the sound system handle the conversion. I _do_ however, use things on the PC side for analog ripping (ADC) and for that, I consider quality _quite_ important...)

I guess what I am saying is that everyone has their own priorities and perceptions. For some people "decent onboard sound" and "good sounding" are going to be fine and completely meet their needs. For other people...

 

[SuPrEIVIE]

i earlier in the year tried out the Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Pro , audigy 2zs and the onboard sound (alc892) all at once using games music and movies and i could not tell the difference through 5.1 speakers at a semi loud volume. Also with headphones that are not highend i could not tell the difference. Never really tried louder volumes as i dont need to since this setup was for a room in the house. However i believe if your soundstage is going to be big or you are using very highend headphones then most likely you will see the benefit of a advanced sound solution. Other than that i don't really see the point and ended up selling my creative cards.

 

[Pariah]

Price dropped here too. This is one of the best deals you will find on a highend soundcard. Couldn't pass up on this one. One left at Crabtree Mall for those in the area looking for one.

 

[Pariah]

Not thread crapping, a plea for education on the benefits. The poster may not realize that a $100 sound card might increase their frames per second by a couple percent or more.

That was a text book definition of a thread crap. No factual information whatsoever. Just a meaningless opinion about a product he has obviously never used.

No one here has said anything at all about improving framerates. It's been over 10 years since a sound card could make a measurable difference in framerates. If you don't know that by now, that's your fault. Believe it or not some people use their computers for other things besides just playing games. If you think your Ipod with earbuds sounds awesome, then this card is clearly not for you. For those people who have been waiting for a deal on a higher end sound card, this is the deal they have been waiting for. You are unlikely to find something better than this any time soon.

 

[toyota]

i earlier in the year tried out the Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Pro , audigy 2zs and the onboard sound (alc892) all at once using games music and movies and i could not tell the difference through 5.1 speakers at a semi loud volume. Also with headphones that are not highend i could not tell the difference. Never really tried louder volumes as i dont need to since this setup was for a room in the house. However i believe if your soundstage is going to be big or you are using very highend headphones then most likely you will see the benefit of a advanced sound solution. Other than that i don't really see the point and ended up selling my creative cards.

then you are lucky to have poor hearing so you do not have to waste money on a sound card. I just installed mine a few minutes ago and fired up Just Cause 2 which sounds pretty weak on my onboard. it sounds fantastic on this new card and gunfire and explosions rock. also all the noises come from the right directions now and are easy to pick up. all that even on some crappy old cheap headphones.

 

[gevorg]

Might want to read the forums rules sticky at the top of the page:

No thread crapping. If the subject matter of a deal does not interest you, do not post negative comments about it, or about other members, in the thread.


If you have nothing constructive or relevant to add to the deal post, stay out of the thread.

You're the one who is thread crapping by acting like a mod. This is still a bad deal, equivalent to a minor discount on a overpriced Monster Cable.

#1 - No improvement in frame rates as you realized.
#2 - No or negligible improvement in sound quality. If you really care about sound quality, you can do much better for ~$100 from a Creative EMU line, M-Audio, Tascam, Behringer, etc. There are also USB DACs if your price range is higher.

Of course its up to potential buyers to decide what they want/etc, someone might get this just because it matches the "style" of their build, LOL.

 

[blackened23]

You're the one who is thread crapping by acting like a mod. This is still a bad deal, equivalent to a minor discount on a overpriced Monster Cable.

#1 - No improvement in frame rates as you realized.
#2 - No or negligible improvement in sound quality. If you really care about sound quality, you can do much better for ~$100 from a Creative EMU line, M-Audio, Tascam, Behringer, etc. There are also USB DACs if your price range is higher.

Of course its up to potential buyers to decide what they want/etc, someone might get this just because it matches the "style" of their build, LOL.

The hell is your problem?

If you're extolling the virtues of the shitty realtek integrated audio chip, excuse me while I laugh. I tried using onboard audio for a HPCT setup and the audio difference between that and an asus xonar was signifigant. With the integrated realtek chip there was a slight audible hiss at high volume levels (on an asus P6X58 premium), and also the highs and lows are nowhere near as crisp. The xonar soundcard can be turned up to ridiculously high volume levels with no distortion or hiss, and the high / low frequencies are much more crisp. Which is important for a good Home PC theater setup.

Now is this a good deal for a soundcard that sells normally for 179.99? And best buy has it for 50$? Absolutely it is. Is the realtek good enough for most users? Sure. It is not as good as the best soundcards, no it isn't. Whether you can discern the difference for your needs, who cares? A 179$ card selling for 49$ is certainly a good deal.

 

[HeXen]

i still use my xfi card that i've had for a long time. but i'll never buy card again. Onboard audio has come a looong way in recent years. The day/night difference is blurred enough that it doesnt really matter anymore. maybe some here have a crappy onboard, i usually buy high end mobo's so i guess thats what i'm referencing.

so many ignorant comments here. there is no way in hell you could sit in front of me after going back and forth between onboard and sound card and not notice the massive difference in games. but yeah keep acting like people that can are somehow snobby audiophiles. again I don't know crap about technical details but only someone with a hearing impairment could not notice the difference for games.

..psssst...your being bitter

 

[Gibson486]

On-board sound has gone a long way from the early days.

Whether this product sounds better, no idea. I have never heard this product. I did not even know Creative still existed. I had a external PMCIA sound card from Creative years ago. Yeah, it sounded better than the on board sound on the laptop (it was a Gateway series), but it was not miles better.

 

[gevorg]

The hell is your problem? There is a difference unless you are deaf. At this point you are trolling.

If you're extolling the virtues of the shitty realtek integrated audio chip, excuse me while I laugh. I tried using onboard audio for a HPCT setup and the audio difference between that and an asus xonar was signifigant. With the integrated realtek chip there was a slight audible hiss at high volume levels (on an asus P6X58 premium), and also the highs and lows are nowhere near as crisp.

Now is this a good deal for a soundcard that sells normally for 179.99? And best buy has it for 50$? Absolutely it is.

Start a new thread on computer audio in appropriate sub-forum, there is no point to continue this discussion in this "hot" deal.

Now go away.

Its hard to take you seriously when you speak like this.

 

[HeXen]

On-board sound has gone a long way from the early days.

Whether this product sounds better, no idea. I have never heard this product. I did not even know Creative still existed. I had a external PMCIA sound card from Creative years ago. Yeah, it sounded better than the on board sound on the laptop (it was a Gateway series), but it was not miles better.

$83 better would be the question. And likely very subjective. Though some people also think that cause their card colors the sound automatically instead of them tweaking a EQ, that its better.

reproducing the source accurately is what makes an audio product better. Not their Crystalizer..etc.
Then theres the issue of compression and your audio speakers...those 3" china speakers you got from HHgregg are not likely reproducing the full spectrum of sound accurately.

 

[mikeford]

Sound cards are the major road block to good sound out of a PC, which is best served as a digital signal, either Spdif or HDMI. The problem is as long as they can sell the cards it encourages crippling the onboard digital output, which is now wide spread with few motherboards enabling DDL or any other kind of encoding.

 

[arcenite]

Foxconn Blackops mobo w/ "Sonar" card (Realtek ALC885) sounded just like the X-Fi XtremeMusic that I pulled out. My Use: Gaming.

 

[cubeless]

2 on the shelf at waterford lakes for$70 apiece... i find it far superior to bargain board sound, no pops and hum...

 

[Pariah]

You're the one who is thread crapping by acting like a mod. This is still a bad deal, equivalent to a minor discount on a overpriced Monster Cable.

You're still missing the point. Nobody cares what you think, especially since you haven't even used the product, and how hot this deal is has no scale based on what you think. The OP posted this for people who are interested in this product, which obviously does not include you, so you have no place here. All you're doing is thread crapping. For interested people, depending on the price in your location, this is an extremely hot deal. There is no sound card in the $50 range anywhere close to this one for people who aren't deaf, and have the supporting audio hardware to enjoy it.

 

[bunnyfubbles]

got one for $47.99

the also had the vanilla X-Fi Titanium, it must be better because it was $69.99! :sneaky:

 

[toyota]

I actually picked up the X-Fi Titanium for $69.99. that was certainly not a great deal but its not much worse than the best prices I have ever seen for it online. the Titanium is a better card but it is not as suited to gaming and that is all I care about from a sound card.

 

[Nintendesert]

I paid 19.99 for a Xonar DG, it's way better sounding than my onboard, but that's about all I'd pay for better sound. To each their own however.