What do people think of SoundMax?

[jakobkraft]

I got a 6800 GT for free and the damn thing takes up two slots; with my vid. capture card, my modem, and my ethernet, I have no more slots. My mobo came with Soundmax onboard digital audio. I listened to a few songs and it seemed okay, like the sound itself was good, if nowhere near as strong as the Audigy 2ZS (time to grab DFX for a little boost).

But I know there are a few external soundcard options, I saw one from Creative at BestBuy the other day...but not sure if I want to spend more than a hundred, though I love quality sound for music and DVDs.
Basically, for music and DVDs - and games of course (surprisingly this thing has EAX support)
is SoundMax gonna cut it? Just interested in other user opinions, thanks...

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

So you're using digital out? If so, it should be fine as the quality of DACs will not be an issue.

What are you hooking them up to?

 

[the wombat]

I want a free 6800 GT too....Anyways I have SoundMax on my Intel Mobo. It's okay, but I dont really have anything to compare it to. (I come from a life where computers are bought fully assembled by your parents who dont know the difference between Intel Extreme Graphics and a GeForce 6800 Ultra...🙁) It's not terrible and I've had it for a year or so. I would only go for the external sound if you have a good set of speakers and some money that you don't like in your pocket.

Edit NVM

 

[jakobkraft]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
So you're using digital out? If so, it should be fine as the quality of DACs will not be an issue.

What are you hooking them up to?

A set of Altec Lansing VS2121, 2.1. Not bleeding edge at all, but very decent speakers that did well with my Audigy 2.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Oh, so analog hookup then....

Well.... I don't know then. I don't think I've ever heard a soundmax solution.

So you need a modem and ethernet at the same time?

If it sounds alright to you, don't waste your money on an external soundcard. You'd be better off buying a new motherboard with more PCI slots and using your audigy.

EDIT: whoops, dell motherboard, scratch that idea 😉

 

[Melchior]

a MODEM? *gasp

 

[jakobkraft]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
Oh, so analog hookup then....

Well.... I don't know then. I don't think I've ever heard a soundmax solution.

So you need a modem and ethernet at the same time?

If it sounds alright to you, don't waste your money on an external soundcard. You'd be better off buying a new motherboard with more PCI slots and using your audigy.

EDIT: whoops, dell motherboard, scratch that idea 😉

Actually, I've upgraded my mobo twice in this case - if you get rid of their sliding tray, you can pretty much put whatever you want in there...but I don't wanna buy a new mobo either, the free 6800 GT came with a mobo that supports PCI-E (though it has fewer slots than my last ASUS), so if I have to buy another mobo, it doesn't feel like a freebie anymore. I like freebies, I don't get them very often.

I'll just stick with SoundMax for now, see how it goes:roll:

Thanks...!

 

[jakobkraft]

Originally posted by: Melchior
a MODEM? *gasp

Yeah, I'm one of the dying few...but I get high speed access at work, don't really need it at home just yet. Computer's fast so browsing is not an issue, just large downloads, which I seldom do. Besides, I love paying 5.95 for unlimited dial-up access as opposed to $30.00 for DSL.

And I need the ethernet cause I'm networked with two other machines running Quickbooks, for freelance accounting stuff...