I would like to buy a sound card for the system shown in my sig below. I'm using Klipsch ProMedia 4.1 speakers and I never use headphones. My primary concern is gaming. I rarely use my computer for listening to music. I'm limiting my choices to the X-Fi ExtremeMusic and the Audigy2 ZS based on price. The higher end X-Fi's are more than I want to spend right now.
I read an article about the X-Fi stating that in a game with really good sound (World of Warcraft and F.E.A.R. as examples) something called Smart Volume Management (SVM) will adjust the volume automatically in various situations. From the description in the article, this is exactly what I need. If I turn up the volume to hear all the subtle sound effects, the big sound effects are too loud. Does the A2ZS have this feature? Is it hardware or software that does this?
I've been using the on-board sound on my old ASUS A7N8X for a couple years, so either card will be an improvement. The DFI LP Ultra-D may have decent on-board sound, but either of these cards must be an improvement.
Since the ExtremeMusic doesn't have the XRAM, it really just comes down to sound quality, doesn't it? Is the X-Fi a large jump ahead of the A2ZS?
I read an article about the X-Fi stating that in a game with really good sound (World of Warcraft and F.E.A.R. as examples) something called Smart Volume Management (SVM) will adjust the volume automatically in various situations. From the description in the article, this is exactly what I need. If I turn up the volume to hear all the subtle sound effects, the big sound effects are too loud. Does the A2ZS have this feature? Is it hardware or software that does this?
I've been using the on-board sound on my old ASUS A7N8X for a couple years, so either card will be an improvement. The DFI LP Ultra-D may have decent on-board sound, but either of these cards must be an improvement.
Since the ExtremeMusic doesn't have the XRAM, it really just comes down to sound quality, doesn't it? Is the X-Fi a large jump ahead of the A2ZS?