Shall I go for on-board or X-Fi sound?

[nLinked]

I'm building a new PC. I want to use on-board sound since it supports HD audio and 7.1 surround, but I already have an X-Fi soundcard.

I am running Windows Vista and I know about current driver issues and Creative's ALchemy.

But what do I really lose if I go to on-board sound apart from hardware acceleration? Yes onboard will use more CPU usage but with quad-core processors it doesn't really matter. And I will lose the latest EAX. But will games still work in surround without the EAX effects?

 

[thatguy82]

I used to get surround in games when I was using the on board audio, so you wouldn't loose that. You might loose some sound quality since supposedly the X-FI will output better analog, but I'm not sure how true that is or if you will even tell a difference.

 

[stoneysilence]

MSI has a new 680i based board coming out soon that has a X-Fi built into the mb. That's the MB I am waiting for.
MSI P6N Diamond: Baked Alaska (weird name if you ask me)
http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/02/22/...therboard_comparison_part_2/page6.html

 

[Ichigo]

EAX is broken in Vista anyways, stick with onboard.

 

[PianoMan]

In theory, an outboard card can potentially deliver higher sound quality since it most likely is detached from the electrical noise present on a mainboard. The output stage is also designed on its own as a sound card, without having to work around the architecture of a mobo.

But along with what Ichigo said, given that you're going Vista and its current driver issues, I'd stick with onboard for now.

PM

 

[imported_Imp]

I switched from Onboard to an X-fi last summer. If I were to do it again, I probably wouldn't. The drivers/compatibility and price alone aren't worth it. All those extra features (i.e. Crystalization, CMSS3D, mode switching, etc.) are garbage. I started with everything on then slowly turned them off one by one due to sound distortion and popping noises. Now, I'm just using the base card, switching modes (which is more of a hassle, but each one is just off 'center' that you can't stay on just one). Too bad I can't really compare the X-fi with onboard as I had crap speakers hooked up to those and home theater grade up now. So in short, stick to onboard.

 

[guptasa1]

Hmmm. I'm in the same dilemma. Was thinking X-Fi was all that (once they get the issues sorted out in Vista) and much better than onboard sound. I was assuming EAX would be eventually fixed in Vista too...

 

[nLinked]

On a dual/quad core system, am I really going to be hit with less framerates in demanding games if I use onboard sound?

I have experienced the framerate difference between soundcard and onboard and it is significant. But I don't know how much of an impact this is with a dual/quad core system.

 

[ViRGE]

On-board is a CPU-expensive mess that ultimately runs through noisy, inferior DACs. Get an X-Fi.

 

[Ika]

Originally posted by: ViRGE
On-board is a CPU-expensive mess that ultimately runs through noisy, inferior DACs. Get an X-Fi.

Doesn't have to be an X-Fi... you could always go with an AV-710.

 

[hardcandy2]

Wait until they get the drivers straightened out with Vista. A newer MB with a HD audio chip will sound fine, a lot better than than a sound card not working properly.