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Thread: Do you actually need a soundcard for decent gaming or nowadays is onboard sound ok?

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    Do you actually need a soundcard for decent gaming or nowadays is onboard sound ok?

    Just wondered, going to build a new pc so wasn't sure if I should plump for a s/c or not?

    thanks

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    HEXUS.social member Agent's Avatar
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    http://forums.hexus.net/showthread.php?t=114697

    Worth a read.
    It depends on the onboard sound, not all are equal.
    Quote Originally Posted by Saracen View Post
    And by trying to force me to like small pants, they've alienated me.

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    nice one, thanks was thinking of a mobo like this ....Asus Striker Extreme?

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    If you have a good motherboard, it should provide decent 5.1 or even 7.1 sound, but I love an excuse to spend money on gubbins, so I got the X-Fi. There are cheaper options that are just as good though.

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    Personally? Yes, a cheap-o SB Live! will set ya back £2.25 off eBay, and an X-Fi DOES sound better and get you (slightly) better fps, although it's up to you whether this is worth £50

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    I have a cheap Gigabyte P35 and it says it is capable of 7.1+2 Channel High Definition Output. The Striker Extreme should be even better I would imagine. Its certainly doing a nice job with my 5.1 speakers and I have no need for anything more. In fact I think its probably my speakers that are the limiting factor on the sound quality (and thats not a complaint about the speakers).

    Having said all that I should point out that I have never owned a high end soundcard, so maybe I dont know what Im missing. All Im saying is that Im perfectly satisfied with current onboard sound.
    Last edited by Lanky123; 04-08-2007 at 11:59 AM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Lanky123 View Post
    7.1+2 Channel
    What does that mean, 2 separate channels for headphones etc.?

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    If you have high quality headphones you can *REALLY* tell the difference between a software/onboard DSP and a proper DSP on a discreet soundcard. Speakers, less so, because of a number of different factors.
    Quote Originally Posted by Agent View Post
    ...every time Creative bring out a new card range their advertising makes it sound like they have discovered a way to insert a thousand Chuck Norris super dwarfs in your ears...

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    X-Fi ultra settings are finding there way into a lot of games now, worth noting as it takes the strain off the CPU as well..

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    Quote Originally Posted by chrismox View Post
    What does that mean, 2 separate channels for headphones etc.?
    I think it means that you can have 7.1 sound running at the same time as having an extra 2 channels of something else through the headphone jack. Im afraid I havent used it so I cant comment on how it works - not sure why anybody would want to play 7.1 surround sound with headphones playing something else simultaneously...

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    Quote Originally Posted by Lanky123 View Post
    I think it means that you can have 7.1 sound running at the same time as having an extra 2 channels of something else through the headphone jack. Im afraid I havent used it so I cant comment on how it works - not sure why anybody would want to play 7.1 surround sound with headphones playing something else simultaneously...
    It could actually be very useful for people using headphones for skype etc whilst playing a game. No idea how you'd set it up though.

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