djglenn

Sorry for the n00bish question, however I have never owned a separate sound card. I am a bit at loss as to what to go for.

My first consideration is to which to get a PCI-E card or a PCI card.. I assume there is no different apart from pin arrangement?

My biggest consideration is my motherboard, for which I wish to leave the option to crossfire (once I get a 5850 / 5770 card).

Therefore I would either use the very bottom PCI slot, or the very top PCI-E slot.

Would anyone discourage against either arrangement?



Secondly it’s the huge choice of cards available. I read lots of negative things about the Creative cards, most of which is gripes against support and driver compatibility. Therefore I am currently leaning towards the Asus Xonar cards, in particular the DS and D2 / D2X.

I would be willing to pay for the D2 / D2X, however do not know if I would notice the difference between them and the £50 cheaper DS.

Does anyone have any feedback on these cards?

The main reason I want a separate graphics card is the tinny sound in games, and the iw3mp.exe issue that arises in COD4 and MW2.

All opinions are valued.

Edit: I can get the Creative Titanium (PCI-E) priced in between the DS & D2, however am unsure if its good for Windows 7?

olli3

I've heard good things about Asus Xonar sound cards so I think they would be a good choice.

Using either the bottom PCI slot or the top PCI-E slot would be fine, they are both out the way of graphics cards and anything else

Id personally stay clear of Creative cards, I have one myself and while it does work fine and has nice sound quality, I've tried Xonar and they just seem to be better in most ways. I think creative might just be relying on their brand name to sell lately rather than quality and compatibility.

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7hm

So I'm assuming this card will mostly be for gaming and music?

The Auzentech Forte has phenomenal drivers and great quality hardware with a built in amp,the X-Fi Titanium ignore people who tell you its bad because it isn't its also a great card and lower priced, the asus xonar is also a wonderful card but I'd recommend the xonar more for music enthusiasts even though it still is good for gaming the forte is superior in the gaming department.

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esocid

I can't speak for the D2, but I love my D1. If you want to go the D2X route, make sure you have a floppy connector, because it requires a power connection.

I'm not 100% but I think I'm using the Vista x64 drivers. The 7 drivers were in beta last I checked, but the Vista ones work fine.

I might have to agree with 7hm. The Xonar produces music wonderfully. It games well too, but music was the most prominent thing I noticed, along with movies.

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djglenn

Thanks for the feedback guys. (rep+)

I would get the Auzentech Forte only for its price in the UK £115+, which is outside my budget.

I think I will either get the Asus Xonar DS @ £36 or the Creative X-Fi Titanium @ £70.

Not sure which to go for though :P

I want front panel support with the D2's dont have apparantely :-(