I am not well versed with soundcards at all and would like some input if X-fi Xtrememusic(SB0460 Gold plated) is a credible upgrade over my onboard ALC 888GCR. Also one of the reasons I am getting it is that my onboard doesn't sound that loud on my headphones even at 100per and I heard thats a problem with most of the realtek chipsets. So should I go for it ? I am getting it for like 30$ from a guy I know. I own a cheap pair of 4.1 creative speakers and akg k-44 headphone.
Honestly I never liked onboard sound cards. I always had dedicated sound card and I have always been able to clearly hear the difference on my 5.1 receiver. I can not comment regarding X-fi Xtrememusic choice since I never tried it. But I'm almost sure you will hear a difference. Moreover you will have better audio rendering in game if they have been developed for it. And if you are running vista/7 creative Alchemy software will restore audio HW acceleration for your old directsound games. You can have a look at the guru review: http://www.guru3d.com/article/xfi-xtreme-music-sound-blaster-review/ Just one item you should consider, usually soundblaster X-FI does not have an "HD audio" connector to connect the audio jacks available on your PC case. Might be an issue for your headphones if the cable is not long enough. cheers
Wasn't aware guru3d did a review on it and it seems the reviewer was mostly impressed with it. Although the card is 5 years old :/ Yeah I am aware of that and its not really that big of a problem for me.
Got the card today, woah! What a huge difference! Even my 20$ headphones are bangin'! Though I am having one issue, I can't seem to connect my 4.1 speakers and headphones at the same time :s
The only way to have both working is to use one adaptor like that on your L/R front channel connector on the XFI: http://www.materiel.net/cable-audio-hi-fi-et-home-cinema/belkin-pure-av-splitter-jack-3-5-43065.html
the card you got was and is a great card that is what i was using until i sold my pc 5 months ago...then they came out with the crappy version the xtreme gamer card.....good choice and great price
One of the best things of this card, is that it came with the DTS and Dolby built in. There´s no need to be activated or none special software is required. Creative removed those features from the next generation cards. That´s an impressive card. If you still find them, it´s a wonderful card. Best. Miquel.
This might be the case if you are using Windows XP, but in the newer operating systems you have to download drivers that have to be paid for and activiated to get the DTS/Dolby to work.
Onboard sound chips do not have high dB SNR levels. I think there rated something like 70 to 80 SNR max. Even low-end dedicated sound cards come in at 100 db SNR. With onboard you crank up the volume and it isn't really that loud and even then, it is full of distortion. Dedicated dosen't share this problem and most guys using onboard these days have no clue...
what front panel connector does your case have? I made a cable from my X-FI to the front panel and I can have my software set to speakers, yet plug in my headphones. This mutes the regular output, but doesn't put the software into headphones mode.
Actually, Realtek's latest onboard chipsets boast the same 108dB SnR that all of Creative's high end cards have. (The ALC889, which is on most new motherboards, has a 108dB SnR, same as the Creative Titanium) Do you mean encoding or decoding? I'm actually trying to compile a list of all soundcards that still have built-in decoding support for either format...
FYI do not use front panel connectors, if you need to run headphones to your sound card use a cable extension. Front panel connectors for about 90% of case manufactures use sub quality cabling and connectors. So with all of the electronics churning and bubbling in your computer their EMI fields will disrupt audio quality through the front panel connectors. But that is just me two cents
Creative labs' latest card is ~ 122dB for SNR...and it is a logarithmic scale so a great deal of difference between 108 and 122dB. If you are talking about the X-Music etc, you have to consider those cards are about 5 years old now. Even the entry level cards of today are well beyond 108dB...