X-Fi Titanium vs Xonar DG

[reeper250]

Which would have better sound quality?

I use SteelSeries Siberia V2 headset. ALL THE TIME!

(Fantastic headset by the way, highly recommended)

The Creative [font=arial, sans-serif]Soundblaster X-Fi Titanium or the Asus Xonar DG?[/font]

[font=arial, sans-serif]Note that the Creative card uses PCI Expess (Small slot thing)[/font]

[font=arial, sans-serif]where as the Asus uses PCI (similar to graphics card slot)[/font]

[font=arial, sans-serif]

[/font]

[font=arial, sans-serif]When I upgrade to X79, depending on which sound card, it will determine which motherboard.[/font]

[font=arial, sans-serif]The EVGA X79 SLi board WILL NOT be compatable with the Xonar DG[/font]

[font=arial, sans-serif]The Gigabyte X79 UD3 will support both[/font]

[font=arial, sans-serif]The AsRock X79 Extreme4 will support both[/font]

[font=arial, sans-serif]The Intel DX79TO will support both BUT the Asus may now fit under the graphics card (GTX460 SLi)[/font]

[font=arial, sans-serif]

[/font]

[font=arial, sans-serif]I can get the Titanium for $45, but I already have the Asus Xonar DG[/font]

 

[Excalabur50]

I would recommend the Asus over the Creative better drivers and such

 

[reeper250]

I would recommend the Asus over the Creative better drivers and such

But what is so bad about Creative drivers? The Titanium is usually $99 but I can get one for $45. The Asus Xonar DG is usually $39

Why would the Creative card be over twice as much as the Asus if the Asus is better?

 

[Excalabur50]

Creative are just trading on their name i have had three creative cards and the driver support was atrocious tbh i have not used an asus card but have heard nothing but good things about them. ultimately though the decision is yours you need to like what ur using.

 

[reeper250]

At the moment I am using an Asus Xonar DG sound card and it is fantastic, but quite a few motherboards will not support it with SLi because the PCI Express slot is positioned very stupidly...

 

[msimon]

Im using a Asus Xonar DX and its brillaint.

If your that fussed with sli why not get the Asus Xonar DX as that card is way better then the creatives stuff and its uses a PCIE 1 slot.

sound quility is suppose to be better aswell.

 

[Korg]

Asus have better driver support in my experience.

 

[fcb]

The Xonar DG is a great card for those who want to spend less, but want a bit more out of their sound experience over the onboard sound. Asus definitely has better driver support compared to the Creative sound cards. The DG is also aimed at a general audience and the gamers because of it's better headphone support. You can change settings for amount of power that needs to help drive your headphones better.

I don't think the Titanium is in the same class as the DG; it should definitiely be in the level of the Xonar DX as the prices are more in the same range. If you're going to be doing SLI or XFire in the future and have PCIE x1 slots available, I'd definitely recommend giving the Xonar DX a try.

In your case the DG is a still a very very good sound card for its value, that I would keep using rather than spending more on another sound card. Just make sure you take a look at the different motherboards that support SLI/XFire and see how you want to situate the sound card on the board.

 

[reeper250]

I think I'll stick with my Asus Xonar DG then because the DX is $80

Thanks heaps for your input!

 

[fcb]

You're welcome.

Just wondering, which of the boards will you be planning on getting for your next system?

If you have a decent speaker system, you may also think about spending a bit more on a mid class sound card, such as the DX in the future. But, if you're more of a headphone user that isn't an absolute audiophile, the DG is wonderful for all around use.

 

[reeper250]

Well I only use headphones, but occasionally use my speaker system when I have friends and stuff over. I was thinking about getting the EVGA X79 SLi, Intel DX79TO, AsRock X79 Extreme4, or Gigabyte X79 UD3. I will be running 2 way SLi

 

[fcb]

Yup, your needs will be be met with the DG until you need extra functions and better quality or support for speaker systems over the 5.1 range.

Oh, the list of boards from your 1st post. Still haven't figured out which of those boards will suit you best? No rush. You may find some good deals on Black Friday?

 

[reeper250]

Yup, your needs will be be met with the DG until you need extra functions and better quality or support for speaker systems over the 5.1 range.

Oh, the list of boards from your 1st post. Still haven't figured out which of those boards will suit you best? No rush. You may find some good deals on Black Friday?

Right, I think I will go for the AsRock X79 Extreme4 as I can easily run my two GTX460's in SLi, and if I wanted I could also add a THRID card and run 3 way SLi, WITH my Xonar DG sound card as well.

The board is only $285 AUD which is also a massive + (and it looks smexy!)

*EDIT* The Intel DX79SI is only $60 more than then Extreme4, what are the advantages? 4 more ram slots and better cooling. Is that it?

 

[fcb]

The difference should be in the OC abilities of the boards. The 4 extra slots for RAM that you've mentioned, I believe, is really just for going to the extreme for having max memory capacity. The 8 slots should be able to support up to 64GB of RAM should you desire.

Sounds swell. I think if I were to be spending my savings on a X79 system, I'd want to spend that extra bit more on one of the higher end video cards. Either it be a single card or dual card, or even a single card with dual GPUs would make a pretty interesting system.

 

[reeper250]

The difference should be in the OC abilities of the boards. The 4 extra slots for RAM that you've mentioned, I believe, is really just for going to the extreme for having max memory capacity. The 8 slots should be able to support up to 64GB of RAM should you desire.

Sounds swell. I think if I were to be spending my savings on a X79 system, I'd want to spend that extra bit more on one of the higher end video cards. Either it be a single card or dual card, or even a single card with dual GPUs would make a pretty interesting system.

I only need 4 memory slots in which there will be 16Gb of Quad Channel RAM. I already have two GTX460's and they run extremely well. I might get one of the new nVidia 600 series later on.

 

[fcb]

Hey, that's really cool. I can imagine the fun with 16GB of RAM.

Usually I'd suggest boards from Asus, Gigabyte or MSI since AsRock boards tend to have problems more so over the other manufactures. I think with SLI or XFire on the X79 platform will be pretty interesting since it's PCIE 3.0 ready. Surely, it will be a big boost to video cards' overall performance as you get a wider bandwidth with PCIE 3.0. We'll definitely have to wait and see how the new cards from both nVidia and AMD will do in their upcoming releases.

If you're looking to upgrade with more video cards in the future and just want more room for air to pass over components, you may also think about an external sound card. There's 1 from Creative that I can always safely recommend, being the X-Fi Surround 5.1 Pro USB. It's a great little device you can place on your table top and have the freedom of volume control/mute, headphone/mic/speaker connections. If it's on sale/promotion at a reasonable price, it would definitely be a great buy.

Sound Blaster X-Fi Surround 5.1 Pro

 

[reeper250]

Hey, that's really cool. I can imagine the fun with 16GB of RAM.

Usually I'd suggest boards from Asus, Gigabyte or MSI since AsRock boards tend to have problems more so over the other manufactures. I think with SLI or XFire on the X79 platform will be pretty interesting since it's PCIE 3.0 ready. Surely, it will be a big boost to video cards' overall performance as you get a wider bandwidth with PCIE 3.0. We'll definitely have to wait and see how the new cards from both nVidia and AMD will do in their upcoming releases.

If you're looking to upgrade with more video cards int he future and just want more room for air to pass over components, you may also think about an external sound card. There's 1 from Creative that I can always safely recommend, being the X-Fi Surround 5.1 Pro USB. It's a great little device you can place on your table top and have the freedom of volume control/mute, headphone/mic/speaker connections. If it's on sale/promotion at a reasonable price, it would definitely be a great buy.

Sound Blaster X-Fi Surround 5.1 Pro

Ah yes, and the X79 boards can do SLi in x16

I haven't looked into external USB sound cards, thanks for the info!

 

[fcb]

It's nice to see that the boards are almost on the brink of removing PCI and replacing them with PCIE slots now, but it's great to have at least 1 handy for those who still have PCI components.

What will you be using the X79 system for if I may ask? I think most people will regard X79 a bit too much for just gaming.

Oh ya, the X-Fi Surround 5.1 Pro is a great little unit to have around. It also saves having to find space and having to manage another extra power cable if needed. I've been pretty happy with my unit.. You're welcome.

 

[reeper250]

It's nice to see that the boards are almost on the brink of removing PCI and replacing them with PCIE slots now, but it's great to have at least 1 handy for those who still have PCI components.

What will you be using the X79 system for if I may ask? I think most people will regard X79 a bit too much for just gaming.

Oh ya, the X-Fi Surround 5.1 Pro is a great little unit to have around. It also saves having to find space and having to manage another extra power cable if needed. I've been pretty happy with my unit.. You're welcome.

I will be using my X79 system for music, gaming, photoshop, email, benchmarks, overclocking, and mass multitasking

 

[fcb]

Wow, seems like you'll be kept busy then. Will you be planning on getting the top of the line 3960X?