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Need help choosing a new soundcard!

N

nsweet

Member
I am currently looking to purchase a new sound card for my gaming / HTPC setup in my basement. Currently it has an onboard "Realtec HD" built in to the motherboard for audio.

The computer I am running this on is used for a lot of music playing, some movie watching, and a bit of gaming.

I just purchased Logitech Z-5500's to replace the aging 5.1 setup I had before, and while they where a massive improvement I have noticed a bit of noise at higher volumes that I do not hear in my living room setup, and figured this "noise" was due to my onboard audio. I have read this is a common issue with the cheaper onboard sound solutions motherboard manufacturers use.

So I figured since I just spent a bit of money on a decent 5.1 speaker setup that I should make it sound even better by pairing it with a nice higher end sound card. The Z-5500's sound very nice for the price, in some respects they actually sound pretty comparable to my much pricier setup in my living room, and if I could eliminate the noise at higher volume they would come very comparible sound wise to my $1000+ 5.1 setup in my living room.

This brings me to my current issue... which soundcard is the best for a HTPC / Gaming setup? And how would it be best hooked up?

I have heard all kinds of hype about EAX 5.0 and X-Fi, but have no idea how much of a difference either make on decent speakers. I have been looking at this card:

Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Platinum Fatal1ty Champion 70SB046A00003 7.1 Channels 24-bit 192KHz PCI Interface Sound Card - Retail
Which Newegg has on sale for $129.99 Shipped (After $50 MIR)

However I am reading a lot of people are having a lot of problems with this card's drivers.

Is there a better alternative that someone can suggest I consider?

My main goal is to have TRUE 5.1 surround in both games and movies, as well as making my MP3 collection sound as good as possible, without breaking the bank to do so (< $150 or so is my budget).

Also is TOSLINK the best option for hooking up the Z-5500's?

Thanks in advance for any advice that anyone might be able to give me!






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esquared
Anandtech Senior Moderator
 
Thanks, it just so happens I was just looking (and liking the reviews) on those cards.

And TOSLINK isn't any better than the standard analog connectors?
 
So a Claro with an analog connection is going to be that much better then a Striker connected via TOSLINK as to be worth paying nearly twice as much? I guess I was under the impression that a digital connection was better than an analog. Is this a misconception? Also can the Claro cards do true 5.1 in games as well as in movies?

Thanks again for your input. 🙂 There are so many options for sound cards, and I've been unhappy with my last couple of Creative Labs purchases, so I really want to find a viable alternative, and spend just as much as I need to, in order to get the results I am looking for.

Which is really as simple as getting rid of the noise I am hearing at higher volume, 5.1 surround in games and movies, and DTS/Dolby support on my Logitech Z-5500's without ruining the stability of my computer by running crappy software and drivers (read anything produced by Creative Labs in the past 5+ years).
 
Originally posted by: nsweet
So a Claro with an analog connection is going to be that much better then a Striker connected via TOSLINK as to be worth paying nearly twice as much? I guess I was under the impression that a digital connection was better than an analog. Is this a misconception? Also can the Claro cards do true 5.1 in games as well as in movies?

Thanks again for your input. 🙂 There are so many options for sound cards, and I've been unhappy with my last couple of Creative Labs purchases, so I really want to find a viable alternative, and spend just as much as I need to, in order to get the results I am looking for.

Which is really as simple as getting rid of the noise I am hearing at higher volume, 5.1 surround in games and movies, and DTS/Dolby support on my Logitech Z-5500's without ruining the stability of my computer by running crappy software and drivers (read anything produced by Creative Labs in the past 5+ years).
Click to expand...

The Claro will give you 5.1. You just run your Z-5500's in 6 CH direct mode and let the player software do the sound decoding.

Yes the assumption that digital is better is a misconception. What should be said is that it matters what device does a better digital to analog conversion. At some point, the signal will be analog. If you want your speakers system doing the conversion then use digital, if you want your sound card to do it, use analog.

There may be a cheaper way to get rid of the noise at high volume. Have you tried using a digital out from your computer? If this gets rid of it then the striker will most likely also get rid of it when connected via digital. However, the sound quality will not be to the same level. Whether or not you can hear the difference is entirely personal. I cannot tell you if you will or not.
 
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