New Sound Card.

[~Lazarus~]

Guys,

Thinking about upgrading my sound card.

whatya think of the selection :

Creative Sound Blaster PCI 512 Sound Card

Stock Code: CRE-PCI512
Availability

£ 33.00 Ex Vat


Manf. Code: 7000479002001
1 now
£ 38.78 Inc Vat







Creative Soundblaster Live! Player 5.1 Sound Card

Stock Code: CRE-PLY51
Availability

£ 45.00 Ex Vat


Manf. Code: 70SB006002008
1 now
£ 52.88 Inc Vat







Creative SoundBlaster Live! Platinum 5.1 Sound Card

Stock Code: CRE-PLT51
Availability

£ 100.00 Ex Vat

 

[FuZor]

Go for the 5.1 Platinum if you plug things into your PC like MD players, Mics, and output to amps, MD recorders. And would like a nice remote control for your PC.

Go for the 5.1 if you play EAX games and would like or are going to buy a 5.1 speaker set.

Otherwise go for the 512 a rather dull card! but if you got 2 or 4 speakers are happy with dull sound then go for it! Note the 512 does SUPPORTs EAX. but it cannot generate the effects like the 5.1. So all your games gotta use EAX to hear the EAX!!!

a 5.1 can emulate an effect over ANY game thus making it a very cool bit of kit!

 

[Embattle]

Spend the extra to get an Audigy, they're well worth it mate.

 

[FuZor]

Originally posted by Embattle
Spend the extra to get an Audigy, they're well worth it mate.

too true

 

[Xavier]

yep - but unless you're into professional audio don't go higher than the platinum, the ex is so unnoticeably different for games that it's not worth the extra $$$...

 

[FuZor]

Originally posted by Xavier
yep - but unless you're into professional audio don't go higher than the platinum, the ex is so unnoticeably different for games that it's not worth the extra $$$...

Yea
I dont understand the Ex. I mean whats it offer? an external drive bay, and???

 

[Xavier]

the only real difference apart from the black remote is that the livedrive is an external breakout box, the connection to which is a slightly higher quality... in essence all that means is a marginal improvement on audio quality - only really going to be noticed by uber-audio geeks

 

[FuZor]

Originally posted by Xavier
the only real difference apart from the black remote is that the livedrive is an external breakout box, the connection to which is a slightly higher quality... in essence all that means is a marginal improvement on audio quality - only really going to be noticed by uber-audio geeks

Crazy!!! as I can recall the price gap between the platinum and ex is LARGE!!

 

[Embattle]

Think Xavier was only reffering to the difference in basic sound quality, and thus it doesn't justify the price difference for the joe bloggs of gaming

 

[FuZor]

Yea I guessed that Emb!

I was just suprised that creative charge sooo much more for a SLIGHT difference!!

 

[Embattle]

It depends on what you want to do, if you need all those connections then it's worth the extra dosh.

 

[Xavier]

actually the ports in the ex live drive are identical, and windows doesn't pick the ex up as any more than a platinum, I think the main benefit is that the livedrive dsp chip is isolated from the interference of the other kit in the pc by being external, you get less noise on the optical etc....

 

[Embattle]

In reference to the ex version a lot of people don't have room in there PC to fit that inside.

It's always been the same regarding internal and external CDRW drives, why do externals cost 100% more

 

[FuZor]

Interesting... I think you would have to be serious Audio geek to appreciate the lesser noise! I would'nt have thought the human ear would spot the difference!

I can see it being more useful if you havent got a free drive bay..

 

[FuZor]

Originally posted by Embattle
In reference to the ex version a lot of people don't have room in there PC to fit that inside.

It's always been the same regarding internal and external CDRW drives, why do externals cost 100% more

lol, got in there just before me!

Nice

 

[old.=YWN=MaStEr_}{]

Noway, i'd go sonic fury all day, even tho the creatives look nice, there resource hungry and my vortex 2 still rox lb for gaming qality

 

[FuZor]

Originally posted by =YWN=MaStEr_}{
Noway, i'd go sonic fury all day, even tho the creatives look nice, there resource hungry and my vortex 2 still rox lb for gaming qality

Except there is 0% support, seeing as the company went bust. mmm

 

[old.=YWN=MaStEr_}{]

Yeah forgot that, hehe
but the sonic fury is still wicked card, only prob is if running linux forget it as cards suk, plus only driver there are all so unstable, crashed mine all time

 

[Xavier]

hmm, the Audigy isn't resource hungry in the slightest... and the audio quality beats the sonic fury hands down