Wich PCI sound card .........?

[Redwine]

Hi all....

Please, can you tell wich PCI sound card are you using and if it works fine and with no sound bugs into SH3 ?

I was using an onboard SoundMax from my Asus motherboard, it works fine, no bugs, but it take too much CPU resourses.

Then i decide to back to my old Creative Sound Blaster 1024 Live! Gamer.
It works better because i have more FPS, but has some sound bugs, extremelly anoying sopunds, i was enforced to reduce hardware acelleration and change the default SB Live! Synthesizer by SB Live! SW Synthesizer into the settings.

The mnather is i understand SW means Soft Ware, then it not use sound board hardware acelleration and back to use my CPU resources.

Is there a good sound card to buy, PCI slot wich works fine with SH3, and if posible ready for DX 10 ?

Any help will be welcome....

Thanks in advance.


PD :

This is my card, i found this article on the web, aparently there was many people with problems with this card, due to it was an OEM and Creative DO NOT provide drivers for this card to end users....

Look how the autor tells "Drivers Hell"

http://www.nvnews.net/reviews/sblive/live_ct4830.shtml

I have another old one, wich do not use EAX (Enviromental Audio) instead it uses AVx (Aureal Vortex) wich in my opinion is so much better than EAX, but it is so old, only 324 voices.

I need to buy a new one but i need comments about the cards on stores and feedback from users confirming they works properly on SH3 .

Many thanks in advance....

[CWorth]

Well the one I am using is a Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS Gamers card and SH3 sounds awsome with it.Hooked up with a 5.1 speaker set and SH3 really comes to life.I personally have never had any problems with it.

http://us.creative.com/products/prod...4&product=4915

[Redwine]

Originally Posted by CWorth

Well the one I am using is a Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS Gamers card and SH3 sounds awsome with it.Hooked up with a 5.1 speaker set and SH3 really comes to life.I personally have never had any problems with it.

http://us.creative.com/products/prod...4&product=4915

Thanks a lot CWorth, i will take a look on it.

Let me to know... has it a dedicated headphone set connector ?

[DanCanovas]

im using a Creative SB Audigy 4 and it works fine.

[CWorth]

Originally Posted by Redwine

Thanks a lot CWorth, i will take a look on it.

Let me to know... has it a dedicated headphone set connector ?

Yes it does

[Redwine]

Originally Posted by DanCanovas

im using a Creative SB Audigy 4 and it works fine.

Many thanks for you data Dan canovas !

Originally Posted by CWorth

Yes it does

Why i ask.... my card has not, then i need to set it into 4 speakers and use the rear speekers to plug-in the headphones.

Previously when i was using my onboard SoundMax, there was not problem i link the motherboard conectors to my computer case conectors and i was able to have the headphones pluged-in at any time.

I need only to lower the volume and take the headphones.

I was looking you Audigy 2 ZS, looks fine, and has excellent comments, i was looking the manual graphics..... but i cant see any headphone connector at the board, it has only, if you made the trick to plug-in them into the rear speakers plugs.

But i lose my rear speakers in that way.

Can you teach me about this fact ?

[DanCanovas]

i forgot to add I use very expensive headphones too with that card. you cant beat the atmosphere on expensive headphones!

[Redwine]

Hi CWorth ....

May be the HeadPhone jack is the "Line Out 1 Jack", Point 4 in the following graphic ?

Do you use them, the central/front speakers to plug in the headphones ?

But you need to have the board set at 7.1 then ?

[CWorth]

It may not have one..Now that I looked I dont think it has a dedicated jack.I just assumed it did.You may be able to use both though by means of a splitter cable.I had to do that once on my old sound card and it worked like a charm.I will have to find my manual and see where it recommends using the headphones.

I never bothered to look as I use a seperate headphone jack on my speaker control box on my Altec Lansings.So when my headphones get plugged into the box it automatically cuts out my speakers so no sound comes through them.

These are the speakers I use
http://www.alteclansing.com/product_...scontinued.asp

[Redwine]

Beautiful Speakers, i use a combo from Creative.

I cant believe the sound cards builders dont think about to include a dedicated Headphone set jack.... unbeliable really.

I have the headphones working in the described way, i plug them into the rear speakers jack, but i lose my rear spekers set.

Thanks for help....

[spork542]

I use an X-Fi Fatal1ty. Yeah, it's a bit overkill for this game. I recommend an Audigy 4, it can't sound much worse than an X-Fi. If you don't have a stereo speaker system, I recommend getting stereo headphones. If you don't have stereo anything, the upgrade will not likely be very worth it.

[Redwine]

Originally Posted by spork542

I use an X-Fi Fatal1ty. Yeah, it's a bit overkill for this game. I recommend an Audigy 4, it can't sound much worse than an X-Fi. If you don't have a stereo speaker system, I recommend getting stereo headphones. If you don't have stereo anything, the upgrade will not likely be very worth it.

Many thanks Spork for data about the X-Fi, i will take a look to that card, the matter is i am not an audiophilo, play music and complex things about audio are not my behaviour, then i dont want a complex sound card with lot of Controllers and Drivers taking my CPU resources, any way i seen there is a satandar model of your card, the X-Fi Xtrememusic.
I have a quadraphoninc speaker set installed and an stero headset.

[Reece]

Hi Red, I have an Asus A7V600 with Soundmax & yes you are correct about it using too much resources, what I did was to run msconfig.exe - goto services - untick "Soundmax Agent sevices" then restart. If you have done this but still find it to be using too much resources then get a new card!:rotfl:

[Redwine]

Originally Posted by Reece

Hi Red, I have an Asus A7V600 with Soundmax & yes you are correct about it using too much resources, what I did was to run msconfig.exe - goto services - untick "Soundmax Agent sevices" then restart. If you have done this but still find it to be using too much resources then get a new card!:rotfl:

Many Thanks Reece , well, not exactly, i had disabled all realted with SoundMax but from Start Tab, not in Services, and in that condition, it take too much CPU resources.... look

[Reece]

Yes there are a lot of things in services that use resources & they do not apply to a lot of peoples needs such as "Uninteruptable power supply" or "wirless zero configuration", if I need them I will tick them!! Some others I have unticked:
Automatic updates.
Both Smart card resources.
I am running ATI card so have unticked:
ATI Hotkey poller.
I will have to download info later on the various resources to see what else I can untick!!
Let me know how you go!
Cheers.