Can anyone recommend me a good sound card?

Funtoss · Mar 25, 2011, 11:02 PM

Hi, i currently have a Logitech 5.1 x530 Speakers

and i want to upgrade my sound card because its not giving me good sound bass :\
coz my friends bass is really loud and nice

i have a C-media 8738
and i was looking at this:

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Computers/C...-363324211.htm

is that a good sound card? and is it compatible with windows 7 64bit?
will my sound (bass) improve?

please help me find a nice sound card from the trademe.co.nz website
please thanks

hat · Mar 25, 2011, 11:13 PM

That card is very old, and your onboard sound is probably better. Does your friend have the same set of speakers as you? That would make a bigger difference than a new sound card would. If you're really hell bent on buying a new sound card, you won't get away with spending just $20. If you're only looking to spend that much, you might as well just keep your onboard sound.

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Computers/C...-362734578.htm

Funtoss · Mar 25, 2011, 11:53 PM

yeah he has the same speakers

Funtoss · Mar 25, 2011, 11:56 PM

thats too much for a sound card :\

Funtoss · Mar 26, 2011, 12:03 AM

just wondering if the creative sound blaster would work in windows 7 64 bit and is it better than my c media 8738? thanks

majestic12 · Mar 26, 2011, 12:07 AM

What does your friend have in the way of a sound card? You should be able to find cards like the X-fi extreme music for cheap on eBay that could make a difference, or if you have a stereo, hook the computer up to that instead.

erocker · Mar 26, 2011, 12:07 AM

Your onboard motherboard sound is most likely better.

majestic12 · Mar 26, 2011, 12:13 AM

^What erocker said. The Sound Blaster Live is ancient tech now -those things came out in the late 90s!

Funtoss · Mar 26, 2011, 12:33 AM

my mates has on board sound, i think i might just use my on board then.. but my on board sucks... sound max lol

can anyone find me a good sound max driver?

hat · Mar 26, 2011, 12:39 AM

Well, if you want high quality audio, you have to pay for it. I wouldn't recommend cheaping out on the sound card (or any other component for that matter)... you'll just be wasting your money.

If you want to gamble, try this:
http://www.trademe.co.nz/Computers/C...-363548770.htm

I heard somewhere that Creative finally fixed their memory leak issue brought on by using CMSS-3D and some other features, but I can't verify that.

Funtoss · Mar 26, 2011, 12:43 AM

is that a good sound card? will it improve my bass?

Funtoss · Mar 26, 2011, 12:53 AM

what is the creative memory leak?

hat · Mar 26, 2011, 02:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Funtoss

is that a good sound card? will it improve my bass?

It's alright. Better than onboard for sure. Your friend might have more bass than you simply because of a volume knob on the sub. I don't know if yours has that, though.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Funtoss

what is the creative memory leak?

I've pretty much explained all there is to it. There is (or was) an issue where Creative cards caused audiodg.exe to get a massive memory leak when you used features like CMSS-3D, and some others like the Equalizer. As I said, I'm not sure if they fixed it or not.

Jack Doph · Mar 26, 2011, 02:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hat

There is (or was) an issue where Creative cards caused audiodg.exe to get a massive memory leak when you used features like CMSS-3D, and some others like the Equalizer. As I said, I'm not sure if they fixed it or not.

This was fixed with a driver update back in late 2009

hat · Mar 26, 2011, 02:18 AM

You sure about that?

Jack Doph · Mar 26, 2011, 02:21 AM

I vaguely remember reading about it on the Creative forum quite a while back. It also only affected some of their X-Fi cards.
I'll see if I can find it

EDIT: OK, the bookmarked thread no longer exists, and I'm less than successful finding a clear answer anywhere really :/
I suspect, then, that this problem may well still exist, albeit on only some of the X-Fi models (my Elite Pro, for example, doesn't even use audiodg.exe, so was never affected to begin with).
I'm intrigued now! XD

Funtoss · Mar 26, 2011, 02:45 AM

yes i have that knob but my driver is the main thing holding back my bass

i used to have a lot of bass in windows 7 32 bit because of the driver (c media 8738 version 0639 )

but that driver isnt compatible with 64 bit so now i have to use the c media audio configuration version 7

this driver version doesnt provide much bass or anything

and also it doesnt have enough options for 16 bit and it doesnt have 24 bit as well

where as it used to have it in windows 7 32 bit

Jack Doph · Mar 26, 2011, 02:50 AM

What driver version are you using for the C-Media?

Funtoss · Mar 26, 2011, 02:55 AM

http://www.cmedia.com.tw/en/DownloadCenter_Detail2.aspx

the first one on this website

Funtoss · Mar 26, 2011, 03:01 AM

so do you know what the problem is? why am i not seeing 24bit anymore?

slyfox2151 · Mar 26, 2011, 03:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Funtoss

so do you know what the problem is? why am i not seeing 24bit anymore?

Driver issue IMO, also use EDIT, stop double posting.

Funtoss · Mar 26, 2011, 03:09 AM

oh sorry i m kinda new to forums and stuff, thanks for the tip though

and i'll see if its a driver issue, thanks.

i'll keep it in mind

Jack Doph · Mar 26, 2011, 03:09 AM

I cannot find anything on the web that explains why you cannot have the same functionality from the latest drivers, nor should there be a difference in functionality between the 32-bit & 64-bit versions of the software.. :/

Funtoss · Mar 26, 2011, 03:12 AM

oh okay, thanks for trying though

hat · Mar 26, 2011, 04:25 AM

Try the one from this page:
http://www.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=vh26TDbmym1cfFi7

Mar 25, 2011, 11:02 PM	#1
Funtoss Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: New Zealand Posts: 555 (0.68/day) Thanks: 278 Thanked 62 Times in 53 Posts System Specs	Can anyone recommend me a good sound card? Hi, i currently have a Logitech 5.1 x530 Speakers and i want to upgrade my sound card because its not giving me good sound bass :\ coz my friends bass is really loud and nice i have a C-media 8738 and i was looking at this: http://www.trademe.co.nz/Computers/C...-363324211.htm is that a good sound card? and is it compatible with windows 7 64bit? will my sound (bass) improve? please help me find a nice sound card from the trademe.co.nz website please thanks

System Name:	My Heater
Processor:	Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 @ 3.2ghz
Motherboard:	Asus P5B-E Plus
Cooling:	Zalman CNPS 9700 NT
Memory:	Patriot 4GB 800MHz DDR2
Video Card:	EVGA GTX 460 1GB
Hard Disk:	2x Western Digital 640GB (1.28TB)
Optical Drive:	LG DVD-RW DL
CRT/LCD Model:	Viewsonic VX2349wm 24"
Case:	Raidmax Hurricane
Sound Card:	C-Media 8738
PSU:	Aywun Megapower 650w 80+
Software:	Windows 7 64 Bit

Mar 25, 2011, 11:13 PM	#2
hat Maximum Overclocker Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Ohio Posts: 12,236 (5.15/day) Thanks: 2,054 Thanked 2,039 Times in 1,549 Posts System Specs	That card is very old, and your onboard sound is probably better. Does your friend have the same set of speakers as you? That would make a bigger difference than a new sound card would. If you're really hell bent on buying a new sound card, you won't get away with spending just $20. If you're only looking to spend that much, you might as well just keep your onboard sound. http://www.trademe.co.nz/Computers/C...-362734578.htm __________________ My Heatware “Inb4 smartphone LN2 overclocking.” -radrok

System Name:	Starlifter // Dragonfly
Processor:	(lapped) i7 920 4GHz 1.3v // 1090T 3.6GHz 1.3v
Motherboard:	Asus Rampage III // Gigabyte GA-770T-USB3
Cooling:	(lapped) Corsair H70 // (lapped) TT Big Typhoon
Memory:	3x2GB DDR3 1600 10-10-10-30-128-1T 1.5v // 2x2GB DDR3 1333 9-9-9-24-1T 1.5v
Video Card:	HIS Radeon 5870 // BFG Maxcore 55 GTX260
Hard Disk:	Plextor M5S 128GB + 512GB OCZ Agility 4 + 2TB WD20EARS // WDC Black 500GB
Optical Drive:	SATA DVD-RW // IDE CD-RW
CRT/LCD Model:	Dell/Alienware AW2310 + 19" HDTV // 19" HDTV
Case:	Antec SOHO 1030B // some really old white case... but it's decent
Sound Card:	Creative X-Fi Fatality Professional // onboard (disabled)
PSU:	Antec NeoHe 550W // Corsair CX600w
Software:	Windows 7 Home Premium x64 // Windows 7 Home Premium x64
Benchmarks:	zunn zunnzunn zunn zunn

System Name:	My Heater
Processor:	Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 @ 3.2ghz
Motherboard:	Asus P5B-E Plus
Cooling:	Zalman CNPS 9700 NT
Memory:	Patriot 4GB 800MHz DDR2
Video Card:	EVGA GTX 460 1GB
Hard Disk:	2x Western Digital 640GB (1.28TB)
Optical Drive:	LG DVD-RW DL
CRT/LCD Model:	Viewsonic VX2349wm 24"
Case:	Raidmax Hurricane
Sound Card:	C-Media 8738
PSU:	Aywun Megapower 650w 80+
Software:	Windows 7 64 Bit

Mar 25, 2011, 11:53 PM	#3
Funtoss Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: New Zealand Posts: 555 (0.68/day) Thanks: 278 Thanked 62 Times in 53 Posts System Specs	yeah he has the same speakers

Mar 25, 2011, 11:56 PM	#4
Funtoss Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: New Zealand Posts: 555 (0.68/day) Thanks: 278 Thanked 62 Times in 53 Posts System Specs	thats too much for a sound card :\

Mar 26, 2011, 12:03 AM	#5
Funtoss Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: New Zealand Posts: 555 (0.68/day) Thanks: 278 Thanked 62 Times in 53 Posts System Specs	just wondering if the creative sound blaster would work in windows 7 64 bit and is it better than my c media 8738? thanks

Mar 26, 2011, 12:07 AM	#6
majestic12 Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: boondocks, Michigan Posts: 455 (0.37/day) Thanks: 112 Thanked 144 Times in 113 Posts System Specs	What does your friend have in the way of a sound card? You should be able to find cards like the X-fi extreme music for cheap on eBay that could make a difference, or if you have a stereo, hook the computer up to that instead.

System Name:	Majestic Command (ver. 2.1)
Processor:	Intel Core i7 920 @ 3.50Ghz
Motherboard:	MSI X58M
Cooling:	Scythe Apsalus 90 92mm water loop
Memory:	3 x 2gigs OCZ Gold PC3 12800 @ 1060 Mhz /1.65v
Video Card:	Asus GTX 560ti Direct cu II
Hard Disk:	Kingston V+100 64gig SSD/ Hitachi Deskstar 2 terabyte
Optical Drive:	Lite-On 20x DVD burner
CRT/LCD Model:	Acer 23" LED backlit
Case:	NZXT Vulcan
Sound Card:	X-Fi Titanium>AT-HA25D>ATH-AD1000/ESW9
PSU:	Kingwin Mach-1 700 watt modular
Software:	Windows 7 Ultimate (64bit)

Mar 26, 2011, 12:07 AM	#7
erocker Senior Moderator Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Milwaukee, WI. Posts: 31,958 (12.78/day) Thanks: 2,793 Thanked 12,320 Times in 7,832 Posts System Specs	Your onboard motherboard sound is most likely better.

Processor:	Intel i7 3770K @ 4.6ghz 1.256v
Motherboard:	Asus Maximus V Formula
Cooling:	Water
Memory:	2x4gb Patriot Viper 2133mhz 10-11-10-25 2T 1.55v
Video Card:	Sapphire HD 7970 1125/1575 1.14v
Hard Disk:	Crucial M4 128Gb / Corsair Force 3 120Gb / Samsung 240Gb / 2Tb Seagate
Optical Drive:	None
CRT/LCD Model:	Acheiva Shimian 27" IPS 2560x1440
Case:	Corsair 500R White
Sound Card:	Onboard
PSU:	NZXT Hale90 1Kw
Software:	Windows 8 x64

Mar 26, 2011, 12:13 AM	#8
majestic12 Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: boondocks, Michigan Posts: 455 (0.37/day) Thanks: 112 Thanked 144 Times in 113 Posts System Specs	^What erocker said. The Sound Blaster Live is ancient tech now -those things came out in the late 90s!

Mar 26, 2011, 12:33 AM	#9
Funtoss Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: New Zealand Posts: 555 (0.68/day) Thanks: 278 Thanked 62 Times in 53 Posts System Specs	my mates has on board sound, i think i might just use my on board then.. but my on board sucks... sound max lol can anyone find me a good sound max driver?

Mar 26, 2011, 12:39 AM	#10
hat Maximum Overclocker Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Ohio Posts: 12,236 (5.15/day) Thanks: 2,054 Thanked 2,039 Times in 1,549 Posts System Specs	Well, if you want high quality audio, you have to pay for it. I wouldn't recommend cheaping out on the sound card (or any other component for that matter)... you'll just be wasting your money. If you want to gamble, try this: http://www.trademe.co.nz/Computers/C...-363548770.htm I heard somewhere that Creative finally fixed their memory leak issue brought on by using CMSS-3D and some other features, but I can't verify that. __________________ My Heatware “Inb4 smartphone LN2 overclocking.” -radrok

Mar 26, 2011, 12:43 AM	#11
Funtoss Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: New Zealand Posts: 555 (0.68/day) Thanks: 278 Thanked 62 Times in 53 Posts System Specs	is that a good sound card? will it improve my bass?

Mar 26, 2011, 12:53 AM	#12
Funtoss Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: New Zealand Posts: 555 (0.68/day) Thanks: 278 Thanked 62 Times in 53 Posts System Specs	what is the creative memory leak?

System Name:	Frankenstein v7
Processor:	Intel i7 2600K (@ 4.6GHz/1.32v)
Motherboard:	Asus P8Z68-V
Cooling:	Corsair H100
Memory:	Corsair Vengeance 4x4GB DDR3 @ 1866MHz
Video Card:	Powercolor HD5850 PCS+
Hard Disk:	Crucial M4-64GB SSD (for Intel's SRT) + Samsung F3 1TB HDD + Seagate 1TB HDD
Optical Drive:	Asus DVD-RW (SATA)
CRT/LCD Model:	Samsung B2230 LCD P.O.S.
Case:	Antec P280
Sound Card:	Creative Labs X-Fi Elite Pro
PSU:	Corsair HX850
Software:	Windows 7 Pro - 64-bit

Mar 26, 2011, 02:18 AM	#15
hat Maximum Overclocker Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Ohio Posts: 12,236 (5.15/day) Thanks: 2,054 Thanked 2,039 Times in 1,549 Posts System Specs	You sure about that? __________________ My Heatware “Inb4 smartphone LN2 overclocking.” -radrok

Mar 26, 2011, 02:21 AM	#16
Jack Doph Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Upright down-under (Brisbane, Australia) Posts: 468 (0.55/day) Thanks: 835 Thanked 110 Times in 97 Posts System Specs	I vaguely remember reading about it on the Creative forum quite a while back. It also only affected some of their X-Fi cards. I'll see if I can find it EDIT: OK, the bookmarked thread no longer exists, and I'm less than successful finding a clear answer anywhere really :/ I suspect, then, that this problem may well still exist, albeit on only some of the X-Fi models (my Elite Pro, for example, doesn't even use audiodg.exe, so was never affected to begin with). I'm intrigued now! XD Last edited by Jack Doph; Mar 26, 2011 at 02:33 AM.

Mar 26, 2011, 02:45 AM	#17
Funtoss Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: New Zealand Posts: 555 (0.68/day) Thanks: 278 Thanked 62 Times in 53 Posts System Specs	yes i have that knob but my driver is the main thing holding back my bass i used to have a lot of bass in windows 7 32 bit because of the driver (c media 8738 version 0639 ) but that driver isnt compatible with 64 bit so now i have to use the c media audio configuration version 7 this driver version doesnt provide much bass or anything and also it doesnt have enough options for 16 bit and it doesnt have 24 bit as well where as it used to have it in windows 7 32 bit

Mar 26, 2011, 02:50 AM	#18
Jack Doph Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Upright down-under (Brisbane, Australia) Posts: 468 (0.55/day) Thanks: 835 Thanked 110 Times in 97 Posts System Specs	What driver version are you using for the C-Media?

Mar 26, 2011, 02:55 AM	#19
Funtoss Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: New Zealand Posts: 555 (0.68/day) Thanks: 278 Thanked 62 Times in 53 Posts System Specs	http://www.cmedia.com.tw/en/DownloadCenter_Detail2.aspx the first one on this website

Mar 26, 2011, 03:01 AM	#20
Funtoss Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: New Zealand Posts: 555 (0.68/day) Thanks: 278 Thanked 62 Times in 53 Posts System Specs	so do you know what the problem is? why am i not seeing 24bit anymore?

System Name:	MRCOMP!
Processor:	Amd 1090T @ 4200 mhz
Motherboard:	Gigabyte 890FX UD5
Cooling:	CNPS Extreme
Memory:	OCZ Reapers 1600mhz 6-8-6-24 1.65v
Video Card:	GTX560 TI 26% overclock
Hard Disk:	60GB OCZ vertex 3, 2x1TB Raid 0
Optical Drive:	NONE FTW LOL!
CRT/LCD Model:	30" LG lcd
Case:	No Case... just sitting on cardboard :D
Sound Card:	Nvida HDMI - Sony MU TE KE 7.2 1695Rms
PSU:	Silverstone 700watts.

Mar 26, 2011, 03:09 AM	#22
Funtoss Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: New Zealand Posts: 555 (0.68/day) Thanks: 278 Thanked 62 Times in 53 Posts System Specs	oh sorry i m kinda new to forums and stuff, thanks for the tip though and i'll see if its a driver issue, thanks. i'll keep it in mind

Mar 26, 2011, 03:12 AM	#24
Funtoss Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: New Zealand Posts: 555 (0.68/day) Thanks: 278 Thanked 62 Times in 53 Posts System Specs	oh okay, thanks for trying though

Mar 26, 2011, 04:25 AM	#25
hat Maximum Overclocker Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Ohio Posts: 12,236 (5.15/day) Thanks: 2,054 Thanked 2,039 Times in 1,549 Posts System Specs	Try the one from this page: http://www.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=vh26TDbmym1cfFi7 __________________ My Heatware “Inb4 smartphone LN2 overclocking.” -radrok

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