What are the differences between Hercules Game Theater XP, 6.1 & 7.1?

[GustySoul]

Hey all,

I haven't been able to find a good answer to this seemingly simple question,
and was hoping someone here might be in the know.

I've seen the Hercules Game Theater XP sound card marketed as

1) Game Theater XP
2) Game Theater XP 6.1
3) Game Theater XP 7.1

From what I understand, 1 & 2 above are the exact same sound card, the only difference is updated drivers.
(i.e. Game Theater XP + New Drivers = Game Theater XP 6.1)

Now, from what I have read, the Game Theater XP / 6.1 can again be updated with new drivers to support 7.1 audio channels. This would seem to indicate that the Game Theater XP 7.1 is the exact same hardware as well.

However, on Hercules' website, they list that the 7.1 has a Crystal CS4624 audio processor, while the 6.1 has a Crystal CS4630. Is this just a mistake? Is one somewhat better then the other? Does anyone know if there are any other differences (connections in break-out box etc.)

Thanks in advance - and all coments apprciated.

 

[sandorski]

Don't know a lot about the different cards, but yes 1 and 2 are essentially the same, except that 1 started out as a 5.1 card but was upgradeable to 6.1 with drivers. Also, yes the 7.1s use an older chipset, however I don't know if that makes it worse or better, you could probably find out more about the differences at the message board located here.

 

[Naythn]

With the latest driver update, what I bought as a 6.1 has suddenly had the option for 7.1 sound.

 

[clicknext]

No, the different processors aren't a mistake. The newer processor is supposed to be more powerful, but since my 6.1 works fine as a 7.1 (drivers), I would assume that they're all the same. I have heard that you can update a normal XP with 7.1 drivers and turn it into that too.

 

[GustySoul]

Thanks for the responses guys - they were very helpful.

sandorski : I had never been to that website before - lots of good info there - thanks

I've determined that both the GTXP & GTXP 6.1 (being the exact same hardware) can be upgraded to support 7.1 audio channels simply by downloading the latest drivers.

For the GXTP 7.1, I checked out the Cirrus Logic / Crystal Semiconductor website and they list that the CS4630 (From the Older GTXP & 6.1) is actually a higher end version of the CS4624 (From the GTXP 7.1). I don't really understand why the newer 7.1 would use the lower end varient of the chip though.

 

[Johnbear007]

Originally posted by: obispo21
Thanks for the responses guys - they were very helpful.

sandorski : I had never been to that website before - lots of good info there - thanks

I've determined that both the GTXP & GTXP 6.1 (being the exact same hardware) can be upgraded to support 7.1 audio channels simply by downloading the latest drivers.

For the GXTP 7.1, I checked out the Cirrus Logic / Crystal Semiconductor website and they list that the CS4630 (From the Older GTXP & 6.1) is actually a higher end version of the CS4624 (From the GTXP 7.1). I don't really understand why the newer 7.1 would use the lower end varient of the chip though.

yeah hercules confirmed that for me.. im not sure etierh why they would do that.. its stupid

 

[Brian48]

I read this somewhere before. I think it might have been a response from Herc. Anyway, reasons given for the "downgrade" of the DSP was:

1. Ability to unify the drivers for all their mid to high end audio cards.
2. Their software solution for creating the additional channels for 7.1 is more flexible with the CS4624.
3. Hardware .mp3 acceleration has been dropped anyway - a dead fad.
4. Costs (obviously).

Since multi-channel support (meaning more than 4.1) and .mp3 HW acceleration was the only two significant advantages the CS4630 held over the CS4624, they figured no one was really losing much by going with the "lower-end" chipset.