Recommend me a Sound Card (Windows 10)

Slizzo · Jul 31, 2015

With the release of Windows 10 I have finally come to the realization that my old Soundblaster X-Fi XtremeGamer PCI is inadequate, due to not having official drivers available.

Been out of the game in this regard for a long time, obviously. What do you guys recommend for a sound card? Budget will be, I suppose, $130 or less.

Thanks

rooivalk · Jul 31, 2015

I use Xonar DG and it's running in Win10 using Uni Xonar driver (unofficial driver, but most people use it rather than official driver anyway).
Uni Xonar itself would release Win10 driver in the next few months.

http://maxedtech.com/asus-xonar-unified-drivers/

AlienIsGOD · Jul 31, 2015

rooivalk said:
I use Xonar DG and it's running in Win10 using Uni Xonar driver (unofficial driver, but most people use it rather than official driver anyway).
Uni Xonar itself would release Win10 driver in the next few months.

I have the DSX with Uni drivers and the work perfect in 10 already, but i agree they will come out with 10 drivers rather quickly i assume

FreedomEclipse · Jul 31, 2015

try this driver for your XFi http://www.hardwareheaven.com/downl...LL OS Stable Drivers Default Tweak Edition.7z

kiddagoat · Jul 31, 2015

Your card appears to be getting a Windows 10 Driver....

Look here:
http://support.creative.com/kb/ShowArticle.aspx?sid=126331

I have a Sound Blaster Zx and it is getting support sometime in August, your card is getting it in October.

It just depends on how well Creative is going to support their hardware... I have found certain series of their cards are hit or miss for them... loving my Z series, they supported Audigys well... with the X-Fi I found they dropped the ball, the support was very model specific......

ASUS cards are good when they work..... if you ever need to get support from ASUS on it... good luck..... *cries a bit* I miss my Xense *sniffle* *sniffle*

Jetster · Jul 31, 2015

I have the ASUS Xonar DGX and it works great even with the stock drivers

Slizzo · Jul 31, 2015

kiddagoat said:
Your card appears to be getting a Windows 10 Driver....

Look here:
http://support.creative.com/kb/ShowArticle.aspx?sid=126331

I have a Sound Blaster Zx and it is getting support sometime in August, your card is getting it in October.

It just depends on how well Creative is going to support their hardware... I have found certain series of their cards are hit or miss for them... loving my Z series, they supported Audigys well... with the X-Fi I found they dropped the ball, the support was very model specific......

ASUS cards are good when they work..... if you ever need to get support from ASUS on it... good luck..... *cries a bit* I miss my Xense *sniffle* *sniffle*

I did look at that while I was looking around for Win10 support, but honestly, the sound card is probably getting close to 10 years old. It's been through a few builds already, and I need to let go of the PCI interface.

Also, can't wait until October for a maybe working driver. I remember it too a bit for them to bake in Win 8 support, and even then it wasn't excellent.

I was looking at the ASUS cards, I have a Klipsch Promedia 5.1 Ultra set that I'll be plugging into the card, what do you all think of the DSX? And thanks Freedom, I'll try that driver.

To be honest, the sound card works, it's just I have no control over it now, and it's hit or miss. Sometimes I have sound when I boot, sometimes I don't.

btarunr · Jul 31, 2015

Realtek is the only audio chip-maker with stable Windows 10 drivers right now. Creative W10 drivers come out only in August. ASUS as usual is screwing people over with drivers.

Ferrum Master · Jul 31, 2015

FreedomEclipse said:
try this driver for your XFi http://www.hardwareheaven.com/downloads/PAX//PAX MASTER PCI XFI Driver Suite 2015V 1.15 ALL OS Stable Drivers Default Tweak Edition.7z

I can't recommend PAX drivers... due to their mindless tweaks. Seconds they do not work actualy, the installer isn't patched for Win10.

Use the ones provided by oldest Creative driver modder Daniel K. He's disassembled every creative dll and knows the stuff for real.

Enable Test Mode. And install there on, albeit you may have no sound using an SSD after first reboot. Just disable and enable the device, put the PC to sleep and wake up, the right registry entries will be created... a derp from Creative as always...

http://forums.creative.com/showthread.php?t=720562

EDIT.

He uses the gamer edition, that's something alien... Indeed... no support I guess.

RejZoR · Jul 31, 2015

Windows 8.1 drivers seem to work perfectly fine under Windows 10 for Sound Blaster Z (vanilla model).

Ferrum Master · Jul 31, 2015

RejZoR said:
Windows 8.1 drivers seem to work perfectly fine under Windows 10 for Sound Blaster Z (vanilla model).

Z, Zx and ZxR has Windows 10 WHQL drivers already.

natr0n · Jul 31, 2015

Ferrum Master said:
I can't recommend PAX drivers... due to their mindless tweaks. Seconds they do not work actualy, the installer isn't patched for Win10.

Use the ones provided by oldest Creative driver modder Daniel K. He's disassembled every creative dll and knows the stuff for real.

Enable Test Mode. And install there on, albeit you may have no sound using an SSD after first reboot. Just disable and enable the device, put the PC to sleep and wake up, the right registry entries will be created... a derp from Creative as always...

http://forums.creative.com/showthread.php?t=720562

EDIT.

He uses the gamer edition, that's something alien... Indeed... no support I guess.

Thanks, I was unaware you had to go to sleep and wake, now my system has sound on reboot =D

RejZoR · Jul 31, 2015

Ferrum Master said:
Z, Zx and ZxR has Windows 10 WHQL drivers already.

No they don't... Go to Creative webpage and there are drivers from 2014... The Win10 drivers are scheduled for August (at least for SB Z series). Though to my suprise, the old ones work fine. I think they'll just make the same shit they did for Windows 8.x. They simply renamed the driver and updated the date...

Frick · Jul 31, 2015

Slizzo said:
It's been through a few builds already, and I need to let go of the PCI interface.

That is probably the only reason to replace it as it's still a good sound card.

rtwjunkie · Jul 31, 2015

Slizzo said:
I did look at that while I was looking around for Win10 support, but honestly, the sound card is probably getting close to 10 years old. It's been through a few builds already, and I need to let go of the PCI interface.

Also, can't wait until October for a maybe working driver. I remember it too a bit for them to bake in Win 8 support, and even then it wasn't excellent.

I was looking at the ASUS cards, I have a Klipsch Promedia 5.1 Ultra set that I'll be plugging into the card, what do you all think of the DSX? And thanks Freedom, I'll try that driver.

To be honest, the sound card works, it's just I have no control over it now, and it's hit or miss. Sometimes I have sound when I boot, sometimes I don't.

Or in the alternative you could wait for that driver support before upgrading, since W10 isn't that crucial to have right now? Just because the Extreme Gamer is PCI doesn't mean anything if you still have a PCI slot. I used mine up until ten months ago, when I finally jumped on the Z.

Slizzo · Jul 31, 2015

Or, you could read my posts and see I'm on Windows 10 right now. Honestly I have no desire to support Creative anymore. They've had me as a customer for quite long enough.

I have a PCI slot now, but I do not plan on having a PCI slot forever.

FreedomEclipse · Jul 31, 2015

Slizzo said:
Or, you could read my posts and see I'm on Windows 10 right now. Honestly I have no desire to support Creative anymore. They've had me as a customer for quite long enough.

I have a PCI slot now, but I do not plan on having a PCI slot forever.

well.... each to their own but ive had a lot of issues with Asus soundcards, thats why i eventually went full circle and came back to Creative a year ago and i havent had half as many problems. Im only on windows 7 mind you but the same issues might be able to be replicated on other operating systems as none of the Windows operating systems have had DirectSound/Hardware Acceleration since Vista.

I still get a little clipping in older games but its not too bad compared to Asus cards which would cause all sorts of random glitches, anomalies and CTDs.

Unless Asus really step up their driver support then I will stay with creative.

Slizzo · Jul 31, 2015

Laughable. Creative has sucked for many years now on the driver side, getting something that would work with 7 and 8 took a long time, and it was touch and go for a very long time when those OSes released. I have a sour taste in my mouth from them, so I won't be going Creative again any time soon. They've largely abandoned their PC sound market.

Everything I have read so far points to the UNi drivers for ASUS as being very good, which is acceptable.

In the end I suppose arguments can be made either way about driver support from Creative and ASUS.

AsRock · Jul 31, 2015

btarunr said:
Realtek is the only audio chip-maker with stable Windows 10 drivers right now. Creative W10 drivers come out only in August. ASUS as usual is screwing people over with drivers.

Well that aint true, your forgetting sound though HDMI.

FreedomEclipse · Jul 31, 2015

Slizzo said:
Laughable. Creative has sucked for many years now on the driver side, getting something that would work with 7 and 8 took a long time, and it was touch and go for a very long time when those OSes released. I have a sour taste in my mouth from them, so I won't be going Creative again any time soon. They've largely abandoned their PC sound market.

Everything I have read so far points to the UNi drivers for ASUS as being very good, which is acceptable.

In the end I suppose arguments can be made either way about driver support from Creative and ASUS.

well......

Whatever floats your boat, It fixed my problems, Some of the anomalies/glitches and other issues actually broke a few of my games. rendered them totally unplayable. Im not the only one here who had problems with Asus Soundcards either, @RejZoR had problems too.

The days when creative were synonymous with the phrase 'bad drivers' are long gone and the water has been safe to have a dip in for a long time now. Not had any problems with creative when it comes to Win 7, Havent used windows 8 yet so cant comment.

The problems i experienced were using UNi drivers.

rtwjunkie · Jul 31, 2015

Slizzo said:
Or, you could read my posts and see I'm on Windows 10 right now. Honestly I have no desire to support Creative anymore. They've had me as a customer for quite long enough.

I have a PCI slot now, but I do not plan on having a PCI slot forever.

Your initial post nor the subsequent post (nor your system specs) do not state you are on W10 now. But that's ok, keep shitting on people just because YOU didn't make yourself clear. It's always easier to blame others for your own inadequacies.

droopyRO · Jul 31, 2015

What about a DAC ? i had an XFI XtremeGamer with plenty of problems in Win 8.1 i got a http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LP3AMC2/?tag=tec06d-20 completly plug and play, no drivers needed(i have not tested it on Windows 10 yet, but i dont think it will be a problem).

hat · Jul 31, 2015

I'm using onboard until my x-fi gets support.

kn00tcn · Aug 1, 2015

high impedance headphones aside, is it still worth it to have a sound card? i want to reduce cpu usage (more game fps) and/or latency (potentially improves music production)

i have read that usb dacs INCREASE cpu usage, a bad idea for anything realtime, but great for isolating noise to listen to music or movies

sound cards... people say late 90s had better positional sound than vista onward, i dont have surround but i was really hoping truaudio took off to have headphone based algorithms

EDIT: maybe i can disable all sound drivers to see if there is any change in cpu load or fps?

EDIT2: i think this was my 1,000th post

FreedomEclipse · Aug 1, 2015

kn00tcn said:
high impedance headphones aside, is it still worth it to have a sound card? i want to reduce cpu usage (more game fps) and/or latency (potentially improves music production)

i have read that usb dacs INCREASE cpu usage, a bad idea for anything realtime, but great for isolating noise to listen to music or movies

sound cards... people say late 90s had better positional sound than vista onward, i dont have surround but i was really hoping truaudio took off to have headphone based algorithms

EDIT: maybe i can disable all sound drivers to see if there is any change in cpu load or fps?

I dont think CPU usage matters much these days, Not when most people are rolling with quads whats an extra 0.5-0.10% CPU usage to 4 very fast cores?

Processor	Ryzen 9 7950X3D
Motherboard	MSI X670E MPG Carbon Wifi
Cooling	Custom loop, 2x360mm radiator,Lian Li UNI, EK XRes140,EK Velocity2
Memory	2x16GB G.Skill DDR5-6400 @ 6400MHz C32
Video Card(s)	EVGA RTX 3080 Ti FTW3 Ultra OC Scanner core +750 mem
Storage	MP600 2TB,960 EVO 1TB,XPG SX8200 Pro 1TB,Micron 1100 2TB,1.5TB Caviar Green
Display(s)	Acer X34S, Acer XB270HU
Case	LianLi O11 Dynamic White
Audio Device(s)	Logitech G-Pro X Wireless
Power Supply	EVGA P3 1200W
Mouse	Logitech G502 Lightspeed
Keyboard	Logitech G512 Carbon w/ GX Brown
VR HMD	HP Reverb G2 (V2)
Software	Win 11

Processor	Ryzen 3600
Motherboard	B450
Cooling	Scythe Ashura
Memory	Team Dark Z 3200 8GB x2
Video Card(s)	MSI 390
Storage	WD 2TB + WD Green 640GB
Display(s)	Samsung 40JU6600 @ 200% scaling
Case	Coolermaster CM 690 II
Audio Device(s)	Fiio E10K, Graham Slee Solo II SRG, Sennheiser HD6XX, AKG K7XX, ATH WS1100is
Power Supply	Corsair HX650
Mouse	Rival 700
Keyboard	Corsair K70, Razer Tarantula

System Name	Aliens Ryzen Rig \| 2nd Hand Omen
Processor	Ryzen R5 5600 \| Ryzen R5 3600
Motherboard	Gigabyte B450 Aorus Elite (F61 BIOS) \| B450 matx
Cooling	DeepCool Castle EX V2 240mm AIO\| stock for now
Memory	8GB X 2 DDR4 3000mhz Team Group Vulcan \| 16GB DDR4
Video Card(s)	Sapphire Pulse RX 5700 8GB \| GTX 1650 4GB
Storage	Adata XPG 8200 PRO 512GB SSD OS / 240 SSD + 2TB M.2 SSD Games / 1000 GB Data \| SSD + HDD
Display(s)	Acer ED273 27" VA 144hz Freesync \|TCL 32" 1080P w/ HDR
Case	NZXT H500 Black \| HP Omen Obelisk
Audio Device(s)	Onboard Realtek \| Onboard Realtek
Power Supply	EVGA SuperNOVA G3 650w 80+ Gold \| 500w
Mouse	Steelseries Rival 500 15 button mouse w/ Razor Goliathus Chroma XL mousemat \| Logitech G502
Keyboard	Logitech G910 Orion Spark RGB w/ Romer G tactile keys \| Logitech G513 Carbon w/ Romer G tactile keys
Software	Windows 10 Pro \| Windows 10 Pro

System Name	Codename: Icarus Mk.VI
Processor	Intel 8600k@Stock -- pending tuning
Motherboard	Asus ROG Strixx Z370-F
Cooling	CPU: BeQuiet! Dark Rock Pro 4 {1xCorsair ML120 Pro\|5xML140 Pro}
Memory	32GB XPG Gammix D10 {2x16GB}
Video Card(s)	ASUS Dual Radeon™ RX 6700 XT OC Edition
Storage	Samsung 970 Evo 512GB SSD (Boot)\|WD SN770 (Gaming)\|2x 3TB Toshiba DT01ACA300\|2x 2TB Crucial BX500
Display(s)	LG GP850-B
Case	Corsair 760T (White)
Audio Device(s)	Yamaha RX-V573\|Speakers: JBL Control One\|Auna 300-CN\|Wharfedale Diamond SW150
Power Supply	Corsair AX760
Mouse	Logitech G900
Keyboard	Duckyshine Dead LED(s) III
Software	Windows 10 Pro
Benchmark Scores	(ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡┻━┻

System Name	Desktop
Processor	Intel i7 13700K
Motherboard	MSI Z790 Tomahawk D4
Cooling	Corsair XC7 Block / Corsair XG7 Block EK 360PE Radiator EK 120XE Radiator 5x EK Vadar Furious Fans
Memory	64GB Corsair Dominator DDR4-3200
Video Card(s)	MSI RTX 4090 Gaming X Trio
Storage	1TB WD Black SN850 / 4TB Inland Premium / 8TB WD Black HDD
Display(s)	Alienware AW3821DW / ASUS TUF VG279QM
Case	Lian-Li Dynamic 011 XL ROG
Audio Device(s)	Razer Nommo Pro Speakers / Creative AE-9 w/ Beyerdynamic MMX 300
Power Supply	EVGA P2 1200W Platinum
Mouse	Razer Naga Pro
Keyboard	Deathstalker Pro

Recommend me a Sound Card (Windows 10)

Slizzo

rooivalk

AlienIsGOD

Vanguard Beta Tester

FreedomEclipse

~Technological Technocrat~

kiddagoat

Jetster

Slizzo

btarunr

Editor & Senior Moderator

Ferrum Master

RejZoR

Ferrum Master

natr0n

RejZoR

Frick

Fishfaced Nincompoop

rtwjunkie

PC Gaming Enthusiast

Slizzo

FreedomEclipse

~Technological Technocrat~

Slizzo

AsRock

TPU addict

FreedomEclipse

~Technological Technocrat~

rtwjunkie

PC Gaming Enthusiast

droopyRO

hat

Enthusiast

kn00tcn

FreedomEclipse

~Technological Technocrat~

System Name	Juliette // HTPC
Processor	Intel i7 9700K // AMD Ryzen 5 5600G
Motherboard	ASUS Prime Z390X-A // ASRock B550 ITX-AC
Cooling	Noctua NH-U12 Black // Stock
Memory	Corsair DDR4 3600 32gb //G.SKILL Trident Z Royal Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 3600
Video Card(s)	ASUS RTX4070 OC// GTX 1650
Storage	Samsung 970 EVO NVMe 1Tb, Intel 665p Series M.2 2280 1TB // Samsung 1Tb SSD
Display(s)	ASUS VP348QGL 34" Quad HD 3440 x 1440 // 55" LG 4K SK8000 Series
Case	Seasonic SYNCRO Q7// Silverstone Granada GD05
Audio Device(s)	Focusrite Scarlett 4i4 // HDMI to Samsung HW-R650 sound bar
Power Supply	Seasonic SYNCRO 750 W // CORSAIR Vengeance 650M
Mouse	Cooler Master MM710 53G
Keyboard	Logitech 920-009300 G512 SE
Software	Windows 10 Pro // Windows 10 Pro

System Name	RBMK-1000
Processor	AMD Ryzen 7 5700G
Motherboard	ASUS ROG Strix B450-E Gaming
Cooling	DeepCool Gammax L240 V2
Memory	2x 8GB G.Skill Sniper X
Video Card(s)	Palit GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER GameRock
Storage	Western Digital Black NVMe 512GB
Display(s)	BenQ 1440p 60 Hz 27-inch
Case	Corsair Carbide 100R
Audio Device(s)	ASUS SupremeFX S1220A
Power Supply	Cooler Master MWE Gold 650W
Mouse	ASUS ROG Strix Impact
Keyboard	Gamdias Hermes E2
Software	Windows 11 Pro

System Name	HELLSTAR
Processor	AMD RYZEN 9 5950X
Motherboard	ASUS Strix X570-E
Cooling	2x 360 + 280 rads. 3x Gentle Typhoons, 3x Phanteks T30, 2x TT T140 . EK-Quantum Momentum Monoblock.
Memory	4x8GB G.SKILL Trident Z RGB F4-4133C19D-16GTZR 14-16-12-30-44
Video Card(s)	Sapphire Pulse RX 7900XTX + under waterblock.
Storage	Optane 900P[W11] + WD BLACK SN850X 4TB + 750 EVO 500GB + 1TB 980PRO[FEDORA]
Display(s)	Philips PHL BDM3270 + Acer XV242Y
Case	Lian Li O11 Dynamic EVO
Audio Device(s)	Sound Blaster ZxR
Power Supply	Fractal Design Newton R3 1000W
Mouse	Razer Basilisk
Keyboard	Razer BlackWidow V3 - Yellow Switch
Software	FEDORA 39 / Windows 11 insider

System Name	natr0n-PC
Processor	Ryzen 5950x/5600x
Motherboard	B450 AORUS M
Cooling	EK AIO 360 - 6 fan action
Memory	Patriot - Viper Steel DDR4 (B-Die)(4x8GB)
Video Card(s)	EVGA 3070ti FTW
Storage	Various
Display(s)	PIXIO IPS 240Hz 1080P
Case	Thermaltake Level 20 VT
Audio Device(s)	LOXJIE D10 + Kinter Amp + 6 Bookshelf Speakers Sony+JVC+Sony
Power Supply	Super Flower Leadex III ARGB 80+ Gold 650W
Software	XP/7/8.1/10
Benchmark Scores	http://valid.x86.fr/79kuh6

System Name	Black MC in Tokyo
Processor	Ryzen 5 5600
Motherboard	Asrock B450M-HDV
Cooling	Be Quiet! Pure Rock 2
Memory	2 x 16GB Kingston Fury 3400mhz
Video Card(s)	XFX 6950XT Speedster MERC 319
Storage	Kingston A400 240GB \| WD Black SN750 2TB \|WD Blue 1TB x 2 \| Toshiba P300 2TB \| Seagate Expansion 8TB
Display(s)	Samsung U32J590U 4K + BenQ GL2450HT 1080p
Case	Fractal Design Define R4
Audio Device(s)	Line6 UX1 + some headphones, Nektar SE61 keyboard
Power Supply	Corsair RM850x v3
Mouse	Logitech G602
Keyboard	Cherry MX Board 1.0 TKL Brown
VR HMD	Acer Mixed Reality Headset
Software	Windows 10 Pro
Benchmark Scores	Rimworld 4K ready!

System Name	Bayou Phantom
Processor	Core i7-8700k 4.4Ghz @ 1.18v
Motherboard	ASRock Z390 Phantom Gaming 6
Cooling	All air: 2x140mm Fractal exhaust; 3x 140mm Cougar Intake; Enermax T40F Black CPU cooler
Memory	2x 16GB Mushkin Redline DDR-4 3200
Video Card(s)	EVGA RTX 2080 Ti Xc
Storage	1x 500 MX500 SSD; 2x 6TB WD Black; 1x 4TB WD Black; 1x400GB VelRptr; 1x 4TB WD Blue storage (eSATA)
Display(s)	HP 27q 27" IPS @ 2560 x 1440
Case	Fractal Design Define R4 Black w/Titanium front -windowed
Audio Device(s)	Soundblaster Z
Power Supply	Seasonic X-850
Mouse	Coolermaster Sentinel III (large palm grip!)
Keyboard	Logitech G610 Orion mechanical (Cherry Brown switches)
Software	Windows 10 Pro 64-bit (Start10 & Fences 3.0 installed)

Processor	AMD 3900X \ AMD 7700X
Motherboard	ASRock AM4 X570 Pro 4 \ ASUS X670Xe TUF
Cooling	D15
Memory	Patriot 2x16GB PVS432G320C6K \ G.Skill Flare X5 F5-6000J3238F 2x16GB
Video Card(s)	eVga GTX1060 SSC \ XFX RX 6950XT RX-695XATBD9
Storage	Sammy 860, MX500, Sabrent Rocket 4 Sammy Evo 980 \ 1xSabrent Rocket 4+, Sammy 2x990 Pro
Display(s)	Samsung 1080P \ LG 43UN700
Case	Fractal Design Pop Air 2x140mm fans from Torrent \ Fractal Design Torrent 2 SilverStone FHP141x2
Audio Device(s)	Yamaha RX-V677 \ Yamaha CX-830+Yamaha MX-630 Infinity RS4000\Paradigm P Studio 20, Blue Yeti
Power Supply	Seasonic Prime TX-750 \ Corsair RM1000X Shift
Mouse	Steelseries Sensei wireless \ Steelseries Sensei wireless
Keyboard	Logitech K120 \ Wooting Two HE
Benchmark Scores	Meh benchmarks.

System Name	Starlifter :: Dragonfly
Processor	i7 2600k 4.4GHz :: i5 10400
Motherboard	ASUS P8P67 Pro :: ASUS Prime H570-Plus
Cooling	Cryorig M9 :: Stock
Memory	4x4GB DDR3 2133 :: 2x8GB DDR4 2400
Video Card(s)	PNY GTX1070 :: Integrated UHD 630
Storage	Crucial MX500 1TB, 2x1TB Seagate RAID 0 :: Mushkin Enhanced 60GB SSD, 3x4TB Seagate HDD RAID5
Display(s)	Onn 165hz 1080p :: Acer 1080p
Case	Antec SOHO 1030B :: Old White Full Tower
Audio Device(s)	Creative X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Pro - Bose Companion 2 Series III :: None
Power Supply	FSP Hydro GE 550w :: EVGA Supernova 550
Software	Windows 10 Pro - Plex Server on Dragonfly
Benchmark Scores	>9000