Whats the best sound card for Vista 64bit?

[SinfulWeeper]

I was looking for some x-fi sound cards but seen the stickied thread up top regarding sound on Vista. I must say I am shocked that only 2D will work smoothly and X-Fi's dont work good with Vista.

So are there any good sound cards out there right now for a gamer? My son will be upset if he gets no sound upgrades for his built in audio and 2.1 speaker system, I mean heck.... I am about to throw some money in on a 5.1 surround sound speaker system.
He is a heavy gamer and I am a moderate gamer, but I mostly use my computer for watching movies when not playing.

Thanks in advance 🙂

 

[NewMaxx]

One option might be the Razer Barracuda AC-1, in fact I saw a new Vista x86/x64 driver for it come out last week, although I know it had problems with Vista upon the OS's release.

 

[SinfulWeeper]

I am a little hesitant on that card from the newegg reviews and doing a google search. Seems like Razer dont put out drivers often if ever. One review there on egg says the card is not even compatable with BF2. That game is one of my personal favorites.
Not to mention their 2.20b drivers have been in Beta since May... seems like a big risk for a $179 price tag.

 

[Mem]

Most users don't have any problems with X-FI and Vista,I'm using an Audigy 4 and that's working fine in Vista x64,a lot of users are also using their onboard sound ie.. Realtek etc...

 

[SinfulWeeper]

Okay lemme update on the games I play.
Far Cry - all versions to date 🙂
HL2
Unreal Tournament (I own them all on PC except the newest one)
BF2
The occasional EQ.... that is not sound card intensive tho, more CPU/Video.
Every now and then Star Wars Rebellion and Starcraft (both expansions and many 3rd part stuffs).
How will vista perform sound wise for the games I play with the X-Fi? My son is a major fan of oblivion and many other newer titles. While the games i play are not too sound related, a lot of what he plays depends greatly on sound volume being able to tell where his enemies are coming from. From my enderstanding that is a EAX feature and EAX is no longer officially supported in Vista although it can use its own version of it.

My main concern is movies/music with light gaming for my use. My son can live tight for another school year unless he pulls his GPA up another .3 from 3.6. I am wanting something that will satisfy my needs for now and future as well as something that will keep him off my back of "this person has XXX and I only have X" typa deal. And yes, do not lecture me of maybe he should be playing less games to raise his GPA. I tried the taking away deal unless he does better, but oddly after 3 months with a massive drop, I decided it is best if I give his stuff back :|

 

[Mem]

For older EAX games you can install Alchemy (optional install)for free for the X-FI,info here.


As I said I'm using Audigy 4 sound card so can only speak from experience with that,I don't have any problems at all with any of my 30 plus games installed,games like Oblivion,KOTOR,KOTOR2,Prey,UT2004,Stalker,Morrowind,WoW,SWG,UFO-Extraterrestrials,Space Force to name a few.


Hopefully somebody with a X-FI card will chime in and give you more info from their experience with Vista and gaming.


Btw there's Alchemy download for Audigy cards too,official version you have to pay for,unofficial version is free which you can find here. .

 

[imported_djnes]

I'm currently using an Audigy 2 ZS under Vista x64. What does this ALchemy software give me? As far as I can tell, I already have 5.1 surround in my games.

 

[Mem]

Originally posted by: djnes
I'm currently using an Audigy 2 ZS under Vista x64. What does this ALchemy software give me? As far as I can tell, I already have 5.1 surround in my games.

See below.

Features:

1. Enables DirectSound3D game's audio to be processed by your Sound Blaster Audigy to deliver EAX effects, 3D audio, sampling rate conversion and hardware audio mixing on Windows VISTA.
2. Software update feature to download latest list of games supported by Creative ALchemy.

In Windows Vista, Microsoft removed the Vendor Extension mechanism from Vista's DirectSound implementation. With previous Windows Operating Systems, the Vendor Extension enabled the Sound Blaster Audigy to provide accelerated audio for DirectSound3D games.

Without Creative ALchemy,most DirectSound games running in Vista will be reduced to stereo output without any EAX effects.

Creative ALchemy (Audigy Edition) restores your Sound Blaster Audigy's ability to process EAX effects, 3D surround sound, sampling rate conversion and hardware audio mixing for DirectSound3D games in Windows Vista.

Link.

 

[manowar821]

ALchemy is great, for the games it supports... I have not had a single problem with sound on the games it fixes.

 

[gizbug]

Anything from the monopoly known as creative sucks. XFI with 4gig and vista doesn't work right. Just go read the bashing over on their forums. Hope another company comes along and brushes creative under the rug.