Nforce2 Sound!

[McMullet2]

Hey guys, time to upgrade, going with Nforce2 based Asus A7N8X non deluxe. Now my decision is between going with the on board sound or purchasing a new Sound Blaster Audigy2 card. I can save myself 100$ (canadian) if I just go with the onboard sound. Now I am an avid gamer mostly, FPS, would spending the extra 100$ be worth it? I always use heaphones as well, no 5.1 speakers here

A kinda off topic question... with my system now I have an A7M266 with SBLIVE! X-Gamer, to get most performance from my games should I be using EAX, DirectSound software or DirectSound Hardware? or just switch to onboard sound? Thanks

McMullet

 

[mechBgon]

I used the similar A7N8X-X recently and played some UT2003 Demo with the Hardware EAX option. Despite not having the MCP-T southbridge with the fancy audio processor, it sounded very good.

The A7N8X-X doesn't have the dual-channel memory controller, but might be worth a look as a way to save a little more on your new rig. The dual-channel memory controller's main benefit is that it has extra bandwidth available for those boards that feature onboard video.

Also, if you're not happy with the onboard audio, you can always go buy the Audigy 2 later. So my counsel is to start with the onboard audio and see if you like it

 

[pelikan]

The onboard sound is very good. I use high-quality headphones and have no need for better sound. Also, for gaming, the onboard sound is more efficient cpu-wise than any soundcard.