What is the best sound chip on motherboards?

[postmortemIA]

EAX 2.0? hahah I have to laugh on that one.

Even if it supports it it means it is gonna emulate it in software.

Either way, don't expect much from $2 chip.

Why are people willing to pay for 3D video hardware, but not for audio?

 

[Synomenon]

Because the onboard audio is good enough for most things, but the onboard video isn't (if you have onboard video).

 

[postmortemIA]

I can see how good it is "EAX still broken in Realtek audio drivers", EAX 2.0 from 1998.

 

[j0j081]

Originally posted by: postmortemIA
EAX 2.0? hahah I have to laugh on that one.

Even if it supports it it means it is gonna emulate it in software.

Either way, don't expect much from $2 chip.

Why are people willing to pay for 3D video hardware, but not for audio?

well I don't know about the original OP but I already have an A2ZS but was jw how the newer onboard solutions perform. I thought maybe they'd be better or at least equal to the Audigy. If I'm going to be buying a new mobo anyway might as well find out what the capabilities are.

 

[chizow]

Onboard sound is definitely better now, but I tend to agree that a Creative card/chip is still going to sound better in games by far. Its not even close really. The Azalia HD (RLT888 I think) on my current board is very good, best onboard I've had since NF2 SoundStorm. Outside of games I'm sure its very close to an add-in-card but the difference in games is what made me endure the horror that was X-Fi drivers + Vista 64 + 4GB for so long.

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: postmortemIA
Why are people willing to pay for 3D video hardware, but not for audio?

Because "3D" sound from two speakers sounds kinda crappy to my ears.

At LAN parties we all have to use headphones. At home I use a stereo pair because the room layout won't allow for rear speakers, plus can't play loud anyways or the neighbors across the wall will complain.

 

[postmortemIA]

Originally posted by: Zap

Originally posted by: postmortemIA
Why are people willing to pay for 3D video hardware, but not for audio?

Because "3D" sound from two speakers sounds kinda crappy to my ears.

At LAN parties we all have to use headphones. At home I use a stereo pair because the room layout won't allow for rear speakers, plus can't play loud anyways or the neighbors across the wall will complain.

With good sound setup, there's more to enjoy, both in games, and movies, tv shows, etc.

 

[Synomenon]

sparks, if you're going to be using onboard audio look for a motherboard that has Realtek 883, 888 or 889 audio chips.

 

[j0j081]

Originally posted by: IsLNdbOi
sparks, if you're going to be using onboard audio look for a motherboard that has Realtek 883, 888 or 889 audio chips.

but I thought it was just determined the ADI one is better...

 

[hans007]

my last 2-3 boards have been intel retail board...

ive found that though you give up overclockign and such, the intel retail boards really put a lot of attention to the onboard peripherals. 2d quality on analog video and the sound quality on the azalia hd audio are always perfect.

no distortions or wierd snaps and crackles on the audio at all unlike some other boards. a lot of boards i've had that werent intel made, such as foxconn or asus seems to be more likely to have lower quality analog filters and would leave things like distortion on the outputs

 

[TemjinGold]

This is probably a dumb question but if I get a mobo with onboard X-Fi, will that support everything the "actual" X-Fi supports (such as EAX 5.0 and the like)? I was under the assumption that an onboard X-Fi is no different from an actual card but with you guys saying "onboard isn't even close to actual card in games" I can't be too sure now...

 

[NoelS]

I've had 3 ASUS mobos with the ADI sound on them and I think it's pretty decent, as good to my ears as some Creative cards I've had in the past.

BTW, the ASUS solution isn't always just an on-board chip - my Crosshair mobo comes with a SupremeFX 1x audio card that plugs into the mobo and also uses the SoundMax ADI 1988B chip, so with that combo you could almost say it's not on-board sound... My ASUS P5K-E has the on-board audio chip for SoundMax, but doesn't have a separate card like the Crosshair.

Noel

 

[darkxknight]

Originally posted by: NoelS
I've had 3 ASUS mobos with the ADI sound on them and I think it's pretty decent, as good to my ears as some Creative cards I've had in the past.

BTW, the ASUS solution isn't always just an on-board chip - my Crosshair mobo comes with a SupremeFX 1x audio card that plugs into the mobo and also uses the SoundMax ADI 1988B chip, so with that combo you could almost say it's not on-board sound... My ASUS P5K-E has the on-board audio chip for SoundMax, but doesn't have a separate card like the Crosshair.

Noel

hows the supreme fx audio card? comparable to non-onboard sound cards?

 

[NoelS]

Originally posted by: darkxknight

Originally posted by: NoelS
I've had 3 ASUS mobos with the ADI sound on them and I think it's pretty decent, as good to my ears as some Creative cards I've had in the past.

BTW, the ASUS solution isn't always just an on-board chip - my Crosshair mobo comes with a SupremeFX 1x audio card that plugs into the mobo and also uses the SoundMax ADI 1988B chip, so with that combo you could almost say it's not on-board sound... My ASUS P5K-E has the on-board audio chip for SoundMax, but doesn't have a separate card like the Crosshair.

Noel

hows the supreme fx audio card? comparable to non-onboard sound cards?

darkxknight,

I'm sure there are better cards than the Creative Audigy and other lower cost Creative cards (I've had two others, don't remember their names), but I'm perfectly satisfied with the SupremeFx card, especially since it's free in that it comes with the mobo package...

If you're not sure whether you'd like it, you can always start out with it if you plan to buy one of the ASUS mobos that has it, then if you don't like it, add in a card of your liking. That way you have an option...

Noel

 

[chizow]

Originally posted by: TemjinGold
This is probably a dumb question but if I get a mobo with onboard X-Fi, will that support everything the "actual" X-Fi supports (such as EAX 5.0 and the like)? I was under the assumption that an onboard X-Fi is no different from an actual card but with you guys saying "onboard isn't even close to actual card in games" I can't be too sure now...

I haven't really looked into the onboard X-Fi solutions, but I wouldn't assume its a full-featured X-Fi based on the size of the add-in cards vs. the space typically allocated for onboard sound solutions. It should support EAX 5.0 for sure, but extra stuff found on some of the higher-end cards like ASIO etc. might not be included. I seriously doubt X-RAM is included but its a pretty useless feature anyways.

Also, depends a lot on who is providing/supporting the drivers for the onboard X-Fi, the mobo maker or Creative. I know a lot here think Creative's drivers are less than stellar, and they could certainly be quicker with updates, but if you need to rely on the board-maker for driver support that'll generally mean slower/worst driver support. If you can use either Creative's drivers or the board-makers drivers you should be in pretty good shape here.

Lastly, for the sound you actually hear in games. Again, can't safely assume it'll sound as good as an add-in X-Fi for many of the reasons listed above. Shielding, quality of components used, etc. will all factor in. Your DSP will be the same, which will enable EAX 5.0 and the spatialization/game effects, but the DAC, other onboard components and speakers will determine how that translates into what you hear. The one nice thing though is that you should be able to safely assume your onboard X-Fi won't run into the crackling/popping some complain about with various South Bridge chipsets since that's something Q&A should ensure against.