Sound cards

[Jason425]

The time has come and i'm thinking about a new sound card.. i've been a sound blaster user since the start but i've heard nothing but good things about turtle beach cards.. what are your thoughts/recommendations?

[Uranium-235]

I've heard people have had very few problems with turtle beach

[Jazzman]

I have an aureal vortex and that thing has worked flawlessly. Albeit i have only used it in Win2k or higher, I have heard it doesn't do so well in 9x compatibility.

But it works wonders for me. of course, when I got my SB live, i use that now, but the vortex is still in my collection if i need another card, and I'd definately recommend it!

[Uranium-235]

I have a vortex too. Don't use it atm but it worked just fine when I had it.

[accurateimage]

Ever think about changing mobo's..?? You can get a soyo dragon board with very high quality built in 5.1 surround sound that is not crap, but a high end, built in card that would cost ya around $100 if ya just bought it, nothing to do with the crappy ac97. So for the price of a normal card + $20-$30 you could have a new bad boy board. Just a thought. :D Check the reviews, everyone that I have read has nothing but praise for the built in sound of the soyo boards, I know I sure do love mine !!!

[BobyJo]

You may get the Santa Curz Digital sound card at www.newegg.com for $62.00 and free shipping at this time. I have this sound card, and I will say it is the best I have ever used. No allergy problems like SB stuff has. We still have the SB Live in the wifes system, she has no problems with it so it will stay there. I had problems with it, and replaced it with the Turtle Beach Santa Cruz. I have not regretted the change. Excellent quality for every concievable output you might want.

[Tcbil]

I would recommend Hercules Fortissimo, they have loads of options and possibilities and also a lot of connectivitie, the last one does 7.1 and only costs about 70£

[SAS]

Hi,

I have just bought the above sound card as have installed the only issue is the sound seems like it is muted, no sound is played.

I have tried all pci slots, all plugs, reinstalled 50 times running out of ideas, does anyone have any others that might help?

[BobyJo]

If it doesn't work, return it and get yourself a good one. This is a component that either works or it doesn't. I don't know of anything special on the install myself.

[eviltechie]

yup

i agree with bobyjo

btw boby, what model is ur IBM harddrive?
GXP60, 75...?

[BobyJo]

GXP75, I have one of the drives that almost was placed on a recall.
VIA chipsets and this drive had severe problems for most people.
The one I have began to have severe problems with the ASUS mobo using the AMD chipset.
I took the software that came with the drive and erased the drive completely. That made the drive just like it was when purchased. I then ran fdisk, formatted the drive and now have never had another problem with it.
I wrote to IBM concerning it and was told if the drive failed in any way to return it and they would replace it with a GXP60 drive.
Still using the drive and no problems.

[eviltechie]

yup

ive read more than 20 articles on this

GXP75 creates bad disk sectors easily for some reasons they still cant figure out...

they used to deny its faulty problems and refuses to recall
i wish they do do a recall...

im using the GXP60 now
some ppl say that it gives bad disk sector too
but the probabilities are way smaller than GXP75

btw, onboard sound is actualy not so bad now
things are getting better
unless u are an audio philer... or want the SB Exdigy or a drive bay...
an onboard audio is good enuf for home users

[BobyJo]

I use the onboard sound on a lot of mobo's. For the most, that is OK. I usually install a couple of hi-end games and play them for awhile on the system before even thinking of shipping the system. If any sound problems occur. I sell the sound card before I build the system, so all I have to do is install it. I tell the customer what my intentions are before hand so no misunderstanding. Most customers say onboard sound is not good, so selling the sound card is not a hard sell. Some of the hi-end mobo's have sound that is great, if the sound passes all tests, I tell the customer to save the money and purchase a couple of games. Usually the ones I already have installed.HaHa-- I usually give a good deal on the games along with the system.

[accurateimage]

Onboard sound on the soyo dragon boards is sweet!!! 5.1 "6channel" built right in on the ultra and platinum boards

[eviltechie]

boby, maybe you could avoid talking about your business in almost every post?

Yea, your probably not interested anyway. This is just my way of expressing my way of thinking. I usually do as I think. Maybe other's have another way. Sorry if I offended you in any way.

[eviltechie]

i dont recall i saying im being offended

[accurateimage]

Hey evil, when you own a business especially when you deal in what you talk about, it is common to mention it as much as possible, it is not spamming, but letting people know that you not only know what your talking about but deal in it in case you anyone needs help or the businesses services. I mention my company to anyone I talk to, has helped allot of people and also has made me some extra cash. Never know when someone is in need! Anyways do you carry any pc parts or get discounts or large discounts on chips, mobo's, video cards ect..??

[eviltechie]

its call advertisement

[accurateimage]

somewhat