Need a Sound Card - Kind of Tricky...

hondaf17

Senior member
Sep 25, 2005
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I'm getting my new rig ready...built primarily for playing the new Ghost Recon when it comes out. I will be hooking up my PC to my tuner and home theater surround system and the only input I have left on my tuner is SPDIF optical in. I'm getting the Epox NP4Ultra Mobo which has SPDIF optical out, so I could always use that, but I surmise that a dedicated sound card would be a worthy upgrade.

That said, what sound cards would work for me? I want something that has full capabilities of EAX 3.0 or 4.0 HD (for gaming), and SPDIF optial out on the REAR of the sound card. Some of the expensive gaming cards have front panel where the SPDIF optical out is, but this does me no good as my case has a door and I don't want the case door open 24/7 just to have my audio hooked up to my tuner.

You guys have some advice for me??? I have yet to find something reasonable!

TYIA!
 

secretanchitman

Diamond Member
Apr 11, 2001
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either an audigy 2 ZS or an x-fi (your choice of models)? those are the ones that everyone has!

btw, when does GRAW come out?
 

InlineFour

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Nov 1, 2005
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Text

SPDIF on your motherboard is the same as SPDIF on a sound card. both outputs are digital so the quality is the same. however, EAX is only compatible with analog connections so you'll need a sound card that will output EAX through SPDIF. the card in the link is the one you'll need.
 

hondaf17

Senior member
Sep 25, 2005
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Originally posted by: secretanchitman
either an audigy 2 ZS or an x-fi (your choice of models)? those are the ones that everyone has!

btw, when does GRAW come out?

GR:AW comes out in the States May 5th - UK May 3rd I believe!!!

Also, I don't think the Audigy 2 ZS has SPDIF out in optical format.

 

hondaf17

Senior member
Sep 25, 2005
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Originally posted by: InlineFour
Text

SPDIF on your motherboard is the same as SPDIF on a sound card. both outputs are digital so the quality is the same. however, EAX is only compatible with analog connections so you'll need a sound card that will output EAX through SPDIF. the card in the link is the one you'll need.

Awesome response inline, kind of suggestion I needed! Question for you, will this card perform the same as the one you linked? (i.e DTS and Dolby Digital for all my games)? I ask because my sound card is on a bit of a budget since I'm dropping $350 on a video card so if I can save $40 it'd be great.

Thanks again.

 

InlineFour

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Nov 1, 2005
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yeah, that one will work too. :thumbsup:

the difference between the xmystique and the xplosion is that the xplosion supports DD/DTS live and the xmystique only supports DD live.
 

hondaf17

Senior member
Sep 25, 2005
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Originally posted by: InlineFour
yeah, that one will work too. :thumbsup:

the difference between the xmystique and the xplosion is that the xplosion supports DD/DTS live and the xmystique only supports DD live.


Yes, I was just looking into that further and noticed the same thing. In that case I'll be paying the extra $40 for DTS as I can easily notice a difference in movies with DTS compared to DD, so I reckon I'll be able to with my gaming as well!

Thanks for your help.
 

Pariah

Elite Member
Apr 16, 2000
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There are no cards that fit all your requests. The only cards on the market that support above EAX 2 are Creative cards, and no Creative card has a TOS connector on the back plate. The closest you are going to get is the Audigy 4 Pro or X-Fi Elite Pro which both have break out boxes that connect to the back plate but are also both quite expensive, especially the X-Fi. EAX does work through a SPDIF connector, but only in stereo format which sort of defeats the purpose of using EAX.
 

Pariah

Elite Member
Apr 16, 2000
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Actually, I take back what I said in the last post. I forgot that Creative has released an I/O expansion hub that is compatible with most of their cards. It's only $15, but not currently available, which is a slight problem:

Sound Blaster Digital I/O Module
 

hondaf17

Senior member
Sep 25, 2005
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Originally posted by: Pariah
Actually, I take back what I said in the last post. I forgot that Creative has released an I/O expansion hub that is compatible with most of their cards. It's only $15, but not currently available, which is a slight problem:

Sound Blaster Digital I/O Module


Ahhh, good option - thanks for that. Question - the AuzenTech cards seemlingly convert anything to DD live or DTS live - so all my games would be in DTS format. Wouldn't this be much better than getting a creative card just to have EAX? Let me know your thoughts on that one. Thanks.
 
Dec 30, 2004
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Hm, if you want a good gamer card just stay away from the Chaintech AV710. I've had to wrestle with it a lot to get it to work in games. Bad drivers and such.
 

Accord99

Platinum Member
Jul 2, 2001
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Originally posted by: hondaf17
Ahhh, good option - thanks for that. Question - the AuzenTech cards seemlingly convert anything to DD live or DTS live - so all my games would be in DTS format. Wouldn't this be much better than getting a creative card just to have EAX? Let me know your thoughts on that one. Thanks.
No, the X-Plosion just compresses the EAX2 game audio into DTS, while the X-Fi will give you EAX3+ game audio uncompressed over analog.
 

hondaf17

Senior member
Sep 25, 2005
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Originally posted by: Accord99
Originally posted by: hondaf17
Ahhh, good option - thanks for that. Question - the AuzenTech cards seemlingly convert anything to DD live or DTS live - so all my games would be in DTS format. Wouldn't this be much better than getting a creative card just to have EAX? Let me know your thoughts on that one. Thanks.
No, the X-Plosion just compresses the EAX2 game audio into DTS, while the X-Fi will give you EAX3+ game audio uncompressed over analog.


Cripes this is getting complicated. So to get best audio for my games, I need a soundcard that can do EAX 3.0 and/or 4.0, which means I need to go Creative. Which means since they don't have optical out on the rear panel I need to get an extension thing that was linked above. Is that correct?

If so, this is getting complicated for what I think would be a simple and fairly common request. I should start producing sound cards.
 

McPudd

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Jul 10, 2005
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Hi:

I gave up on trying to use Creative cards.
I don't care for all the extra wiring just to have EAX.
I have 2 systems in my living room by the TV:
MCE2005 rig: ATI X1800XT 512MB PCI-E S-video to 36" Sony Wega XBR-400 NTSC TV| Hauppauge WinTV-PVR-USB2 MCE | Athlon64 X2 4800+/Zalman CNPS9500| Asus A8N32-SLI Deluxe| 2GB Corsair XMS-3500LL PRO| 2x500GB Seagate 7200.9 SATA2.5 HDDs| BenQ DW1655 Lightscribe DL DVD burner| FDD| TB Montego DDL 7.1 sound card to Denon AVR-3802 7x110W based HT System| Enermax Liberty modular 620W| Antec P180 case| Thermaltake Hardcano13 fan controller| Microsoft Remote Control| Microsoft Remote Keyboard for WindowsXP MCE| Logitech DiNovo Bluetooth Media Desktop| Microsoft Media Center 2005 OEM etc.

... and the main box in my sig.

The TB Montego is inexpensive, has S/PDIF optical IN and OUT and suits my needs.
http://www.turtlebeach.com/site/products/soundcards/mtgoddl/

When gaming, if you might be bothered by the by the difference between EAX and DDL,
then it could be the gameplay isn't grabbing enough of your focus/attention and you should try a different game.

Its nice just having one sound cable.

Happy trailz,
 
Dec 30, 2004
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On second thought I _would_ recommend that AV710. Just try different driver versions until you find the one that suits your games best. The worst problem I had was with it having a quarter second delay before the sound that happened came out (ie firing a gun had sound lag). After trying different driver versions (I think I'm on 3.24) I don't have that problem anymore. It passes DTS and DD 5.1 through my optical cable. So for 25$ you really can't beat it. I guess the only thing I can think of that I don't like about it is how you can't get EAX/Dolby by going through the optical/coax/SPDIF. But thats the game's fault, not the sound card's. So go ahead and grab the Chaintech AV710; its a real bargain.
 

DaveSimmons

Elite Member
Aug 12, 2001
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Originally posted by: hondaf17
Cripes this is getting complicated. So to get best audio for my games, I need a soundcard that can do EAX 3.0 and/or 4.0, which means I need to go Creative. Which means since they don't have optical out on the rear panel I need to get an extension thing that was linked above. Is that correct?

If so, this is getting complicated for what I think would be a simple and fairly common request. I should start producing sound cards.
The expansion thing just adds optical / coax out ports it does not let the creative cards send 5.1 EAX over those ports.

Games will still only be 2-channel stereo if you use a Creative card unless you use analog cables.
 

hondaf17

Senior member
Sep 25, 2005
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Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
Originally posted by: hondaf17
Cripes this is getting complicated. So to get best audio for my games, I need a soundcard that can do EAX 3.0 and/or 4.0, which means I need to go Creative. Which means since they don't have optical out on the rear panel I need to get an extension thing that was linked above. Is that correct?

If so, this is getting complicated for what I think would be a simple and fairly common request. I should start producing sound cards.
The expansion thing just adds optical / coax out ports it does not let the creative cards send 5.1 EAX over those ports.

Games will still only be 2-channel stereo if you use a Creative card unless you use analog cables.

Ok...stupid question, but I guess I don't know. What are analog cables? The input on my tuner for my home theater system is optical, so is it not possible to get 5.1 EAX on my home theater, through that optical port?

Thanks for the continued help/suggestions.

 

PurdueRy

Lifer
Nov 12, 2004
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Originally posted by: hondaf17
Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
Originally posted by: hondaf17
Cripes this is getting complicated. So to get best audio for my games, I need a soundcard that can do EAX 3.0 and/or 4.0, which means I need to go Creative. Which means since they don't have optical out on the rear panel I need to get an extension thing that was linked above. Is that correct?

If so, this is getting complicated for what I think would be a simple and fairly common request. I should start producing sound cards.
The expansion thing just adds optical / coax out ports it does not let the creative cards send 5.1 EAX over those ports.

Games will still only be 2-channel stereo if you use a Creative card unless you use analog cables.

Ok...stupid question, but I guess I don't know. What are analog cables? The input on my tuner for my home theater system is optical, so is it not possible to get 5.1 EAX on my home theater, through that optical port?

Thanks for the continued help/suggestions.

"Analog cables" Are just a normal copper cable that carries an analog signal. They are no different from digital coax cables. The only thing that qualifies them as analog is the signal they are carrying.

What receiver do you have? If it has 5/6/7.1 analog ins then you can connect via an direct analog connection and still use EAX.
 

hondaf17

Senior member
Sep 25, 2005
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My receiver has two digital optical ins and one digital coaxial in. I'm currently using the digital coaxial in to hook up my DVD player, but I can use optical from DVD to tuner, and coaxial from sound card on PC to tuner. Would this give me surround sound EAX for all my games? If so, then that is I think a more viable solution since more sound cards seem to have coaxial output on the rear panel, rather than optical.

Thanks.
 

PurdueRy

Lifer
Nov 12, 2004
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Originally posted by: hondaf17
My received has two digital optical ins and one digital coaxial in. I'm currently using the digital coaxial in to hook up my DVD player, but I can use optical from DVD to tuner, and coaxial from sound card on PC to tuner. Would this give me surround sound EAX for all my games? If so, then that is I think a more viable solution since more sound cards seem to have coaxial output on the rear panel, rather than optical.

Thanks.

Can you please provide me with the model and brand of your receiver. I will be able to better help you then.
 

DaveSimmons

Elite Member
Aug 12, 2001
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No, no digital connection (optical or coax) will give you surround sound in games from a Creative card.

If your receiver has a group of 6 plugs (front L,R center, rear L,R, subwoofer) for hooking up DVD-Audio -that- is what you need to use.

Your receiver manual should have a picture of hooking up a DVD player to it with 6 analog plugs instead of 1 digital cable. Pretend your computer is that DVD player.

Your soundcard should a similar picture, showing 3 stereo minijacks going to speakers or a receiver, it's the same idea.

3 stereo miniplugs to 6 analog RCA plugs to the 5.1 analog input on your receiver. that is the only way you will get surround sound using a Creative card
 

hondaf17

Senior member
Sep 25, 2005
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Originally posted by: PurdueRy
Originally posted by: hondaf17
My received has two digital optical ins and one digital coaxial in. I'm currently using the digital coaxial in to hook up my DVD player, but I can use optical from DVD to tuner, and coaxial from sound card on PC to tuner. Would this give me surround sound EAX for all my games? If so, then that is I think a more viable solution since more sound cards seem to have coaxial output on the rear panel, rather than optical.

Thanks.

Can you please provide me with the model and brand of your receiver. I will be able to better help you then.


My tuner is the Panasonic SC-HT15. This link will take you to the "support and resources" page where you can download the "operating instructions" manual. If you download that manual and look at page 9 of 28 of the pdf, it'll give you a picture of what the back of my tuner looks like (not many inputs, hence the problem). Thanks very much for your willingness to help - it is appreciated that I have someone helping me make the right purchasing decision for my specific needs.
 

PurdueRy

Lifer
Nov 12, 2004
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Originally posted by: hondaf17
Originally posted by: PurdueRy
Originally posted by: hondaf17
My received has two digital optical ins and one digital coaxial in. I'm currently using the digital coaxial in to hook up my DVD player, but I can use optical from DVD to tuner, and coaxial from sound card on PC to tuner. Would this give me surround sound EAX for all my games? If so, then that is I think a more viable solution since more sound cards seem to have coaxial output on the rear panel, rather than optical.

Thanks.

Can you please provide me with the model and brand of your receiver. I will be able to better help you then.


My tuner is the Panasonic SC-HT15. This link will take you to the "support and resources" page where you can download the "operating instructions" manual. If you download that manual and look at page 9 of 28 of the pdf, it'll give you a picture of what the back of my tuner looks like (not many inputs, hence the problem). Thanks very much for your willingness to help - it is appreciated that I have someone helping me make the right purchasing decision for my specific needs.

Alright, thank you that helps a lot. What you are going to want to do is purchase this or similar when you buy the sound card. This will allow you to connect the sound card to the DVD/6ch in on the back of the receiver. This will allow for use of EAX and full surround sound in games.

Hope this helps.

P.S. You can "Make your own cable" by using a couple adapters if you have a long run to make.