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Sound card reviews

  • 14-04-2007 3:35am
    #1
    Balfa
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,709 ✭✭✭


    Does anyone know a good source of in-depth sound card reviews? Toms Hardware doesn't seem to have done a review since 2005, and other reviews I've seen online lack quality.

    3dsoundsurge was a good technical site, but seems to be dormant since 2005.

    I suppose most people these days are happy enough with their on-board audio, or else they go with a name they know like Creative.

    Basically, I'm looking for the cdreaks.com equivelant of the audio world... Any leads would be appreciated!


Comments

  • #2
    8T8
    Closed Accounts Posts: 4,757 ✭✭✭8T8


    Are you talking about consumer or professional ?

    If consumer that sound card market is mostly dormant or dead depending on how you look at it. Integrated audio has advanced enough to the point where most do not require an standalone sound card.

    Besides what Creative release, the rare occasional card comes out for niche markets and VIA with it's Envy line of audio chips appears to have thrown in the towel.

    The Tech Report does excellent reviews but as you can see there is not a lot in their sound card section. Digit Life also does some decent testing.


  • #3
    Balfa
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,709 ✭✭✭Balfa


    Sorry, I meant consumer. Mainly interested in it for gaming, too. Most user reviews on the likes of newegg.com seem much more concerned about media-center and home-theater PC applications :/

    Yeah, apart from Creative and VIA (who officially don't do DSP soundcards any more), the other main competitors seem to be freakin c-media and realtek, who are apparently thriving off their integrated audio sales and pumping that back into some "high-end" (I shudder to call something from c-media high end) sound chips.

    So apart from a 5% increase in frame rates, support for reverb effects that the games industry doesn't seem to care about, and a possible subjective increase in sound quality, I've no real reason to run and spend over $100 on a soundcard.

    Which I suppose is a good thing, but then I still get crackles, pops and other audio artefacts in certain games, and that's something I hope a new card could fix...


  • #4
    8T8
    Closed Accounts Posts: 4,757 ✭✭✭8T8


    If it's analogue sound output you may as well get an X-Fi music version which is the cheapest (real) X-Fi some of the other cheaper ones are cut down in features.

    Creatives drivers where pretty much crap prior to the X-Fi drivers which they really managed to improve as long as you use the minimalist web drivers from their site.

    There really isn't anything else worth getting as it is not that big of a deal any more when it comes to gaming.


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