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X-Fi Forte 7.1 VS Asus Xonar Essence STX - Page 2

post #16 of 34
4/27/09 at 12:48pm
STX > Forte +1

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post #17 of 34
4/27/09 at 7:23pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by twhtpclover View Post
STX > Forte +1

I wouldn't doubt it if they were directly compared, but considering the circumstances...
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post #18 of 34
4/28/09 at 8:16am
Since you say you do 'a lot of PC Gaming', I'd be inclined to suggest the Forte for you.

I only just installed my Essence STX today and haven't played many games yet so I might give you an update of how that goes.

So far I've played World in Conflict and it was almost like being at war. Turn the bass way up on your speakers and you'll be flinching at every artillery strike!
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post #19 of 34
4/28/09 at 8:18am
^ found WIC a bit unrealistic, try flaming your own troops. They sit there being BBQ'd but nothing happens
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post #20 of 34
4/28/09 at 9:03am
I found the Forte to have rather amazing sound myself. It blew my former Prelude + upgrade Zero DAC combo out of the water.
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post #21 of 34
4/28/09 at 2:30pm
Thread Starter 
I ordered the Forte. If it doesn't fit into my case I'll return it and get the STX. Apparently the length of the Forte is roughly 7in and my RAM sticks are about the same distance from the backside of the case. Hopefully it'll work. Thanks for the help guys.
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post #22 of 34
4/28/09 at 3:56pm
dont forget just because it is pci-e 1x, doesnt mean you HAVE to put it in that slot. It will fit in any pci-e slot, even a 16x/8x slot. That is how i have mine
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post #23 of 34
4/28/09 at 4:34pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Technokat View Post
dont forget just because it is pci-e 1x, doesnt mean you HAVE to put it in that slot. It will fit in any pci-e slot, even a 16x/8x slot. That is how i have mine
Wise words! I have mine in the lowest PCI-e slot, works perfectly.
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post #24 of 34
4/28/09 at 5:15pm
Sure, they also tend to put the PCI-E X1's in weird places on some boards. Spots that make them useless for most cards.
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post #25 of 34
4/28/09 at 7:56pm
The only way the forte can sound better than the stx is a video game supporting EAX, other than that I dont understand why everyone keep saying "for games go for the forte".. I mean, EAX is old and not even supported anymore in vista, you need a crap software to do it!
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post #26 of 34
4/28/09 at 8:53pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Technokat View Post
dont forget just because it is pci-e 1x, doesnt mean you HAVE to put it in that slot. It will fit in any pci-e slot, even a 16x/8x slot. That is how i have mine
I don't have SLI or anything like that though - so all I've got is one slot, which is the one above the videocard. That'd probably be the preferable slot anyways.
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post #27 of 34
4/28/09 at 9:31pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by t1337Dude View Post
I don't have SLI or anything like that though - so all I've got is one slot, which is the one above the videocard. That'd probably be the preferable slot anyways.
What's your board?

For example.. this is my motherboard and I have the Forte in the light orange slot, furthest from the light blue graphics card.

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post #28 of 34
4/28/09 at 10:40pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by 43st View Post
What's your board?

For example.. this is my motherboard and I have the Forte in the light orange slot, furthest from the light blue graphics card.
I only have one PCI-E that isn't 1x - and it's for my GPU.


Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX All Solid Capacitor Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards

I didn't even know I had 3 slots. My GPU takes up 2 slots though so one of them is completely inaccessible and the other is a tad close to my GPU's fan for my liking - but atleast I know now that if I have to, I can use that one if it doesn't fit above the GPU.
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post #29 of 34
8/7/09 at 10:00pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by FatMom View Post
The only way the forte can sound better than the stx is a video game supporting EAX, other than that I dont understand why everyone keep saying "for games go for the forte".. I mean, EAX is old and not even supported anymore in vista, you need a crap software to do it!
Hardware EAX still works in Vista. Where do people like you get your info? Google OpenAL hardware sound
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post #30 of 34
8/7/09 at 11:11pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by FatMom View Post
The only way the forte can sound better than the stx is a video game supporting EAX, other than that I dont understand why everyone keep saying "for games go for the forte".. I mean, EAX is old and not even supported anymore in vista, you need a crap software to do it!
That is not quite right, EAX through the Direct sound API is no longer supported through hardware in Vista.
However, the OpenAL API can render EAX effects also as is still fully hardware accelerated under Vista. The software your refering to is the ALchemy wrapper which changes the output API from Direct sound to OpenAL. Which is for older games giving them full support again under Vista. Newer games that support OpenAL natively need no other software for patching and are fully supported. Also the OpenAL API is not limited to just EAX, there are other effects sets that can be rendered also such as EFX and more are in the works.
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