Old X-Fi vs New Realtek chip

[pete21121]

Sup guys,

Quick question - ive got an old Creative SB X-Fi (http://www.xpcgear.c...trememusic.html), and was just wondering if its worth keeping, or is the Realtek ALC899 that comes built in with this (http://www.overclock...rodid=MB-360-GI) gonna be better now?

Cheers

 

[Pr3d4t0r]

any external sound card will perform(sounds) better than an onboard chip, the only mobo that can say it has a better one than a external one is the asus rog 2011 socket i think whihc pretty much has its own dedicated card built in, so even a cheap card will work better than 99% of mobos out there

 

[Lauralarry]

^ that's so inaccurate, on the Z77 boards there are some onboard audio chips that perform better than cards this guys talking out his ass as if he's tested every mobo..

 

[Big WigglyStyle]

any external sound card will perform(sounds) better than an onboard chip, the only mobo that can say it has a better one than a external one is the asus rog 2011 socket i think whihc pretty much has its own dedicated card built in, so even a cheap card will work better than 99% of mobos out there

I disagree most motherboards targeted towards the gaming market have decent sound chips built in. Most external soundcards will sound pretty bad compared to motherboards as they are designed for laptop use with the exception of a few of course. And to answer your question obviously just hold onto the soundcard and do a test of the motherboards onboard audio then try out your soundcard decide what you like better.

 

[Murderous Scorpion]

^ that's so inaccurate, on the Z77 boards there are some onboard audio chips that perform better than cards this guys talking out his ass as if he's tested every mobo..

Just because realtek makes new sound chipsets. Do not mean they are better then sound cards. Because they are not. Most onboard audio is still not as good as sound cards. Even if the chipset been updated and output some sound quailty improvement over the last audio chipset.

The only in-graded audio that this doesnt apply to is the sound cards that comes with motherboards. Like the Asus thunderbolt sound and the other Asus sound card which comes with another motherboard. They are basically Asus Xonars.

Most sound cards will always output a better sound quailty then onboard audio, unless your running Digital, then its up to the Digital receiver or external dac that is being used.

@op yes you should install it if you have room, it would output better quailty then your onboard audio. But it will also depend on your Speakers and headphones that you are using. If your using some cheap speaker/headphones that you got from the dollar store. Then you might not notice.

 

[dukeReinhardt]

tbh i'd keep it. people were telling me while the sb may have a slight edge in sound quality over even the latest realtek chips, but i'd pay for it in driver headaches. i honestly have no idea what they were talking about. driver seems to work just as painlessly as with windows xp... just use it is my advice.

 

[Rastalovich]

Onboard Realtek ALC889 and above is top quality. Possibly 888a/b/c too.

The argument of which is best out of it and/or Auz/Creative/ASUS/whatever, is just down to personal taste. They all have the stats to do what each other do, in the main, as there are variants for cheaper to higher end. Software and stuff varies alot tho, that can effect users being able to make the settings sound similar to what their soundcard use to do for them. Surround, mixing and so-forth.

I've uninstalled and sold (selling) all my add-in soundcards as I've found them irrelevant. Auz 7.1 Prelude, full range of Creatives, blah blah.

EAX is less relevant than PhysX.

 

[dukeReinhardt]

alc 889 is better than alc 892. i've just done a test with my alc 892 and creative card and the card wins if only because the onboard produces more audible hiss. but alc 889 is supposed to be better in that regard. note: i'm just reporting what i heard through my own ears. the onboard definitely had more hiss. they also produce slightly different sound, but i couldn't tell you which is more accurate (i'm not an audiophile!), or whether the different sound is simply because of hiss. sound effects off of course. in any case i stuck with the creative because i preferred the overall sound (mainly hiss).

 

[Rastalovich]

Yeah personal tests are kewl, they result on what sounds good to you. Stuff like hiss, static, pops and so forth can be down to the build of the computer as a unit, it's power environment, and can be influenced by overclocking a heck of alot.

Passmark SoundCheck is a decent piece of software for home stuff.

You're lucky you don't have to put up with engineers stuck in a 70s mentality that requires them to stick things through scopes to be sure they're broadcast quality.

 

[ZZAC]

simple answer, I say yes, when i had my audigy 2 on my z68 ud5 b3 it sounded better, gave deeper and smother bass, ive then go on to test the sb recon 3d fatality and the x-fi titanium hd cards in my rig, and they both sound almost the same, suggesting a bottleneck in either my speakers or amp. but yes, an old x-fi should be better, but the only way to find out is test it realy.
Edit: its also allot to do with the sound quality, where as before it sounded good on a you tube 360p now with either of the sound cards there is audio able distortion unless the sound quality of what you listing to is high!

 

[B3rni3]

I am not too up on the tech behind it but I have tested with and without with my sabertooth x79 and I found that my sb xfi fatality sounds clearer in game. In Cs:s I can not only hear people clearer but I can pin point them much easier. As said above though it also depends on what you have connected to it. I have a set of sennheiser pc350's so the sound comes out very clear and positional sound is spot on. Makes your game so much better. Now in terms of music I did not really notice a huge difference but my mic came through much much clearer and crisper to the point you can tell between two videos I recorded on youtube straight away.

 

[garih]

on pc i built for the missus i used an asus m5a97 pro mobo, and bought an asus xonar dg for it, but. there was no difference between onboard and xonar, so i removed it, when i built my i5 rig the sound on my asrock extreme3 gen3 mobo was weak, and the xonar made all the difference. so until you try it you never know

 

[Scoob]

Hi,

The on board sound on my ASUS P8Z68-V Pro generally sounds ok. However I did have an old PCI Audigy 2 on it before my 2nd GPU meant it didn't fit any more.

Sound quality now, while fine, seems to lack some of the punch and depth it had with the Audigy 2. Also, when games want to play LOTS of sound effects at once, the on board seems to struggle. I'll get some "dirty" sound, so crackles and the like when too many channels are active at once. Also I've noticed that FPS can take a hit while sounds are playing in certain titles - something I did not have before.

I have no hard evidence other that what my ears hear and my eyes (and FPS counter) sees regarding the FPS drop.

I'm actually right at this moment browsing PCI-E sound cards as one would fit nicely in my upper 4x slot...thinking a mid-range ASUS Xonar.

Scoob.

 

[Juusuhako]

Getting some X-fi cards to work on W7 has been a hell for many, as the audio control panel and/or volume panel (Creatives software) wouldnt detect the card. You really need to use Daniel_K's drivers, they're modded to work perfectly on W7. I have the same card, and only when I used his drivers did it finally work.
http://forums.creative.com/showthread.php?t=587995

Also, im for installing the card. The only way I can get full surround in all my speakers (5.1) is with Creatives software, and im really impressed with the "X-fi Crystalizer"-option, it really makes the sound so much more crisp.