• We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.

nForce2 Users: Sound Card or Not?

S

SkyDiver

Senior member
I'm looking at upgrading to an nForce2 (from a KT133 !). I've got a SB Audigy which works well. However, I noticed the Asus A7N8X Deluxe has some sort of super on-board sound system.

Is this better than an Audigy? You nForce2 users: In practice, are you using on-board sound or a card? What about drivers and software for the on-board option?

Thanks.
 
I don't have the 6-channel sound on my board, so I still use my Santa Cruz.

Using onboard will probably chew up a little more CPU time than having a separate card.

I have heard that the quality is pretty good, though.

You should be able to get drivers through the motherboard manuf. website.

amish
 
Using onboard will probably chew up a little more CPU time than having a separate card.
Click to expand...
Actually the nForce's Audio uses less CPU then an traditional sound card.

Edit: Additionally see zephyrprime's reply below.

Thorin
 
Using onboard will probably chew up a little more CPU time than having a separate card.
Click to expand...
Actually, testing shows that it uses a little less if the nforce2 mcp is used: link. But not all nforce2 boards use the nforce2 mcp so be careful.
 
Sound wise it's great. CPU wise it uses about half as much under load (I'll see if I can dig up the linkage).

Thorin
 
Thorin,

Thanks for looking for that link, but Zephyr posted a link to Tom's Hardware. Is that what you were looking for? (Just tryin' to save you some time.)
 
I guess I was thinking of this page which is nForce and SB Live but I'm sure the nForce2 is still better then the current TBs and Audigy's.

Thorin
 
FiringSquad had an article up comparing the nForce2's APU to the Audigy2 and they were neck and neck, with the nF2 winning if you were hooking it up to an external DD audio setup(the NF2 MCP-T can encode any existing game to a DolbyDigital sound stream, it does not require developer support). I don't have the link handy, but it broke it all down and mentioned that either of them were quite a bit better then any of the other boards IIRC(including both being better then the Audigy1 if memory serves).

My board doesn't have the full SoundStorm setup(yours does) and while I'm currently using an add in board(Philips Seismic Edge) I'm likely going to pull it out as even the low end sound solution for nForce2s seems to be better overall then the sound board I have at the moment.
 
if you are a gamer, i would stick with the Audigy. a friend of mine just got an nForce 2 and he was going to sell his audigy. however, when he came to my place and heard Unreal2 on my Audigy he changed his mind. the nforce2 sound is really nice, but it doesn't have some of the effects that the audigy/audigy2 have.
 
Thanks for the info, everybody. Since I have the option, I guess I'll try it both ways.
EdipisReks: I was just playing Unreal2 last night and have to say that the sound is really cool. Especially the lightning and thunder.
 
if u care about signal to noise etc, soundcard is the way to go. basic sound for email system with 5 dollar speakers?? then it doesn't matter.
 
I'd have to agree; if your main concern is gaming, you still can't beat the Audigy or Audigy 2. Positional sound is going to be far superior with an Audigy/2 with a surround set-up but is also excellent if you use headphones. The improvements of the A2 over the original (I never owned the original) seem to be centered around sound quality, clarity and reproduction in the areas of weakness exhibited by the original. The Audigy 2 has bridged many of the gaps which have constantly been a knock on Creative products when compared to prosumer/audiophile cards.

The nForce2 onboard is the best integrated solution I've used or know of. Its pretty close to the A2 in music and movies (when not using s/pdif passthrough), however, EAX HD gives the A2 the edge when it comes to games and upmixed surround from a stereo or analog source. The only area where I would give SoundStorm a clear advantage over the A2 is with LFE separation, clarity, and volume.

The SoundStorm drivers have improved since the nForce2's initial release (at least on my board), and are all but mature at this point. There were some fixes and feature implementation required through driver updates, and some people still seem to have software/driver problems on boards that don't have dedicated analog outputs for 5.1 (using mic or line in as the 3rd output). The Audigy 2 drivers have been flawless since I installed it back in November. There have been 2 major driver updates, but they only fixed minor .dll issues that did not in any way affect the stability or performance of the card. Creative drivers have advanced considerably, which is why its unfortunate many have sworn off Creative b/c of past driver issues. If you have access to both, definitely give them both a try and see which one suits your needs the best.

Chiz
 
Originally posted by: SkyDiver
Thanks for the info, everybody. Since I have the option, I guess I'll try it both ways.
EdipisReks: I was just playing Unreal2 last night and have to say that the sound is really cool. Especially the lightning and thunder.
Click to expand...

the sound is definitely awesome in that game. i personally think the game is a blast, but i had been hankering for blast 'em up first person shooter for a while, so it fits my needs perfectly.
 
Is this better than an Audigy? You nForce2 users: In practice, are you using on-board sound or a card?
Click to expand...

I prefer the Soundstorm's audio to my SBLive 5.1, but I do miss the connectivity using the Livedrive.
 
The SB audigy is probably better than Nvidia Soundstorm. Note that not all boards come with Soundstorm Asus Deluxe does for instance.
 
Actually, most think that the Soundstorm is on par or slightly better then the Audigy, but Audigy2 is the clear winner.
 
I think the 2 are very close but isnt it mostly down to the speakers after all they are whats producing the sound
put £10 mercury speakers on both the nforce and the audigy and they will sound crap lmao ..

Kevstir
 
here's my $.02:

the onboard audio from my Asus A7N8X-Deluxe motherboard is my personal favorite "sound card" when compared with all the others I've had in the past (SB16, Aureal Vortex2, Audigy, and Philips Acoustic Edge). it's the main reason I bought this specific motherboard. being able to output all audio into DD5.1 is simply awesome.
 
crapito,
I don't know much about sound. I've got Soundworks 4.1 analog speakers. DD5.1 won't benefit me unless I get some digital speakers, right?
 
Crapito, can you tell me a little more about DD5.1 becuase I just ordered this motherboard Asus Deluxe version.
Thanks,
Don
 
I use the Soundstorm APU an my A7N8X Deluxe and see no need for me to go blow a lot of money on a fancy soundcard. 6-channel sound that sounds pretty darn good IMO. Although I don't have much to compare it to.

You really can't beat saving so much by getting good onboard sound as well as NIC...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top