[zzbloopzz]

I'm back into PC gaming after many years. I suspect my onboard Realtek ALC889A will need replacing

. What is a good PCI sound card for under $100, primarily for gaming. Don't mind buying used. I have seen the X-Fi XtremeGamer Fatal1ty sell for as low as $80 shipped, which is what I am currently leaning towards. Looking for the best bang for my buck.

I won't be watching any movies, just casual electronica/hip hop music. I take it that most modern cards will be good enough for music thus my focus is best for gaming. I mainly play shooters so accuracy is important to judge where other players are located.

I will be using Windows XP until this summer where I will finally migrate to Vista. My issue is the Creative driver support with Vista, and if EAX is even worth it for games for headphones. I will be using only headphones while gaming.

Source:

Sound Card > Logitech Z-560 > Fiio E5 (Once it's released) > AD700's.

Thanks!

 

[zzbloopzz]

Bump!

 

[myinitialsaredac]

I played many a year of competitive 1.6 and can say that judging where players are is mostly dependant upon yourself with your setup and on that map. Some cards may offer you a bit of extra seperation and soundstaging but realistically dont expect a huge difference in your play with a new card.
That x-fi does seem like a great deal, seems you may want to snap that up. You would probably see greater gains by going:
Soundcard lineout -> fiio -> headphones
or Soundcard headphone out -> headphones in the interum instead of going through the speakers.

My input.
Dave

 

[stumbo]

Pick up an x-fi on ebay for cheap, and that is pretty much as good as it is going to get (based upon your use).

You will not be able to tell a difference between the cheapest x-fi and a Fatality card.

Here is a good one:
Creative Lab Sound Blaster X-FI XTREME Music SB0460 7.1 - eBay (item 130269165053 end time Dec-14-08 15:12:04 PST)

 

[leberserkfury]

"I'm back into PC gaming after many years." -- haha welcome back! X-fi card is a good choice.

 

[zzbloopzz]

Great, thanks guys.

I'm going to grab the X-Fi XtremeGamer, non Fatal1ty. Since we are so close to around black friday I am going to wait a bit for sales. I remember seeing the same card brand new for $50 shipped once.

I also forgot my case has front audio ports, so I will hook that up to the X-Fi and use that for headphones instead of going through the Logitechs.

 

[leberserkfury]

For 50 bucks, it sounds pretty good. I might hit up the black friday sale too.

 

[zzbloopzz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by leberserkfury /img/forum/go_quote.gif For 50 bucks, it sounds pretty good. I might hit up the black friday sale too.

Just check slickdeals.net everyday. :c)