Looking for Sound Card advice

[Ozpa]

Hi people

I'm looking to buy an internal sound card (PCI/PCI-Express). I've had enough of the integrated Realtek sound card as it can't record sound, anything that involves microphone is impossible for that card to accomplish.
I need a low/mid budget card which I can rely on. I don't own a quality speaker setup so ultra crisp sound quality isn't a requirement, I just hope I'll be able to use that card in my systems for many years to come.

 

[InTeL-iNsIdE]

Asus Xonar range are good and not too pricey imo

 

[Ozpa]

I used to use a couple of Creative sound cards in the long distant past and was quite please with them. Can Asus be trusted with it's sound cards?

Oh I've forgot to mention that I need the sound card to work flawlessly with Fraps (recording the audio part) and voice com programs like Ventrilo, Skype, TeamSpeak etc.

 

[Deleted member 24505]

I'm using a xonar dx,it works fine on win7 and was relativley cheap at 50 quid.Screw creative,i've had enuff of them.

 

[Zubasa]

I used to use a couple of Creative sound cards in the long distant past and was quite please with them. Can Asus be trusted with it's sound cards?

Oh I've forgot to mention that I need the sound card to work flawlessly with Fraps (recording the audio part) and voice com programs like Ventrilo, Skype, TeamSpeak etc.

That will be the Xonars, if anything can go wrong with these programs, it is gona be creative
I can tell you any good sound cards can be trusted more than creative, their drivers and cards just sucks beyond XP.
Have you ever wondered why you don't see EAX on games anymore? Creative just sucks big time.

 

[Ozpa]

I've picked out 2 Xonar cards:

ASUS Xonar DX 7.1 Channels PCI Express Interface Sound Card - Retail
and
ASUS Xonar D1 7.1 Channels 24-bit 192KHz PCI Interface Sound Card - Retail

Their prices are virtually the same, can anyone comment on the differences between these cards? Which is recommended over the other and why?

 

[Cybrnook]

Just to add, Im also on the Asus Xonar D2X and I LOVE IT. Sound quality is superb (Best card I ever heard). I have it running at 192k and its super clean. Works great in Vista and Windows 7....

 

[DarkEgo]

Xonar DX, got it on the cheap and I love it. No complaints at all.

 

[Cybrnook]

Looks like the DX needs the floppy power and the D1 does not. Other than that I can't really tell. But the DX looks solid.

 

[Deleted member 24505]

I think they're both very similar except for one been pci and tother pci-e.

 

[Ozpa]

Oh boy... I've just found out some bad news. Apparently, Lithuania (where I live) and the whole Baltic states sound card market is held hostage by Creative lol.
I've emailed several companies and all said that their importers don't have any Asus sound cards. We've been using Creative cards for a decade here and consumers don't really know/want other alternatives so we're stuck with Creative only.

Oooookey... now if I have to chose a budget Creative card below 100$, what would be the best bang for the buck?

 

[kenkickr]

My recommendation would be the X-fi Xtreme Gamer. It is the lowest hardware driven sound card from Creative and actually doesn't sound to bad.

 

[jagd]

You can add x-fi titanium to list http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829102024 .Dont buy " xtreme audio " ,it has not got x-fi chip ,no eax 5.0

 

[Frederik S]

The Xonar sound the best, Creative has X-Fi. Best sound overall is probably one of the new Auzentech sound cards, but they cost an arm and a leg. Creative continues to use crappy components whereas ASUS has seen the light and are using semi high quality caps.

 

[FreedomEclipse]

If you want great sound & less agro due to driver issues = Asus Xonar
----
If you want great sound, Dying EAX support (5.0) & wasted hours spent troubleshooting/uninstalling/reinstalling/rollingback/testing & fuming over dodgy drivers straight from Creatives lovely L337 H4x0r driver/support team = pretty much any card with a Creative XFi brand on it will work wonders

-------------

if you cant buy an Asus Xonar in your country, theres always Ebay, all you need is a paypal account.

 

[KainXS]

Xonar DX, the last creative card I had gave me problems so I can only reccomend this card for cheap and I have had one and it sounds better than the X-Fi Gamer to me.

 

[LittleLizard]

didnt u notice guys he said HE CANT GET ANY ASUS SOUND CARD??


whatever, get xfi titanium

 

[erocker]

SB Xtreme Audio. It's cheap and it's loud, but only if you don't need the Xfi hardware options. ....Don't beat me, listening is believing!!

 

[FreedomEclipse]

didnt u notice guys he said HE CANT GET ANY ASUS SOUND CARD??


whatever, get xfi titanium

I didnt know EBAY was outlawed/banned in Lithuania.... in anycase - if hes got a friend or relative thats going out onf country for a few weeks - he could ask them to pick him one up.

Less attitude plzthx

.:EDIT:.

Im sure most sellers on Ebay are willing to send stuff overseas if your able to pay for it instantly (direct debit/banktransfer/paypal etc) but being so far away the item could get lost in transit - so thats another risk

 

[Ozpa]

I'm considering buying an Asus card visa ebay (though it's extra +35$ for shipping). But I would still like to know, just in case, what is the least troublesome and best Creative sound card below 100$.

 

[FreedomEclipse]

I'm considering buying an Asus card visa ebay (thought it's extra +35$ for shipping). But I would still like to know, just in case, what is the least troublesome and best Creative sound card below 100$.

lol theres no such thing as 'trouble free' for creative

theres the Xfi XtremeGamer that goes for under $100 (we talking in USD here??)

but if you can afford it an X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Pro for $140 has a lot more features & Is said to be the BEST XFi card released.

-----

seriously - a Asus Xonar is a better choice if you can get one. even though you pay a heavy price to have it deliverd overseas. you will be happy as a pig dipped in shitcakes. IMO all the good things about the Xonar outweigh the price your paying for it.

 

[Ozpa]

Ok guys. I've ordered an Asus Xonar D1, will take over a week to ship (plus 30$ for shipping). I really hope it's worth it.

I'll update you on the card when I get it

 

[Kei]

I'm really glad you found a way around the stronghold in your market. You won't be disappointed with the Xonar D1 in the least bit. I own one and it's been blowing my mind since the day I got it. I use my 650W home theater system with the SPDIF connection (optical cable), and also with my Razer Carcharias headset (3.5mm jack) and both sound absolutely fantastic.

Everything is so crisp and clean, volume is not a problem with the card in the least bit with either the home theater or headset. The car also stays nice and cool, and is really small....shockingly small I must say.

Enjoy it

Kei


(used with with Vista32 and Win7 64Bit)

 

[Ozpa]

Ok so I got my Asus Xonar D1 today (2 days earlier than expected)

Cool and sleek box, card is low profile (good).
Installed - no problems whatsoever, infact I forgot to uninstall my Realtek sound drivers before inserting the card. At the next reboot I just disabled Realtek in BIOS, booted to windows and then uninstalled - no problems.
Next reboot installed the latest Xonar D1 drivers from asus site.

Xonar D1 Audio Center - main software in controling the card. Has all the settings I wanted, very intuitive, easy to use.
Winamp sound quality - way up compared to onboard sound.
Tried recording game footage with Fraps - PERFECT, just what I wanted. Sound quality in recorded video is just like the real thing when I play + it records everything I hear at that moment (could be an MP3 playing on top of that game).

Yet to try - Skype, Ventrilo and other voice com programs, but I'm pretty sure they'll be flawless.

Best 100$ I've ever spent.

 

[MKmods]

Sorry I missed this as I am a HUGE Asus D1/DX fan (have them both).. best upgrade I ever bought for my comp.

(Its user panel is so much more Pro compared to the realtek one)