[t3haxle]

Before I get my new headphones, I need to have a good Sound Card as a source for when I game. And from past experience, I know that laptops suck in almost every way possible in terms of hardware. So, I know that you can't upgrade a laptop video card, but is there any kind of sound card you can put in one of those PCI-Express Port on the side of a laptop, or in a usb port? Sort of like an external CD/DVD R/W thing. And no, I don't have a Digital Optical Audio Port or whatever those Toshiba link things use. Price range, if possible, is about 50 dollars. I don't know how much these things cost though, so I'm willing to go over.

 

[ericj]

For $50? Good luck.

Not saying it can't be done, but the supply of cheap closeout M-Audio Groovelab (Transit painted orange) kits has gone dry, and the old Sonica usb dongle is rare (and not to be confused with the Sonica Theater).

 

[t3haxle]

How much would a decent one go for nowadays? I'm not one of those people who here a significant difference between FLAC vs. WAV, but I do hear a difference.

 

[Bobsama]

The Echo Indigo IOx is an EXCELLENT choice, but it's way over your budget. $225-250 new on Amazon. And just as a note--laptops typically have better sound cards, because laptops drive a lot of DJ rigs.

 

[obobskivich]

the E-MU 0202 is just under $100, and iirc M-Audio has some comparable solution at around the same price point

I would honestly suggest neither for gaming if you can help it, as they won't really add any h/w acceleration (just better SQ, which is always helpful, but with gaming, the h/w processing usually does more dramatic things for the presentation)

Creative's X-Fi USB is around $60, slightly over your budget, and very likely to be a step up from your onboard in terms of processing ability, headphone driving, etc, and will be happily compatable with your games (although if you're using Vista, good luck, especially at $50)

::bobsama:
laptops typtically do not have "better" sound cards, they typically have whatever is power efficient and cheap at the time of manufacture to integrate into the system, they aren't built for DJs or music professionals, and a lot of DJ rigs are mud in terms of SQ (because live sound is rarely about "high quality", its just about "loud", especially el cheapo mobile DJs), honestly most systems "off the shelf" have bad audio cards, unless you're purchasing a gaming box, which are sometimes available with X-Fi or Xonar boards

 

[daglesj]

Often the Creative Audigy PCMCIA cards pop on Ebay for a reasonable price.

 

[t3haxle]

I guess my budget now is under 100, and that Creative Audigy PCMCIA looks like a good deal, I'll check out some reviews.

 

[Kobra]

Check out The Nuforce Icon Mobile as well... I use it with my Laptop and with my Ipod (using a line out adapter). All thumps up if you ask me!

 

[Alydon]

Given that you're looking for a gaming solution I second obobskivich's suggestion of the X-Fi USB. Either that or an ASUS Xonar U1. Both are usb solutions and are about the same price.

 

[phandrew]

The Asus Xonar U1 is a good cheap external usb sound card but it's uses a lot of memory over time because of the program. So in terms of gaming it may not be the best solution depending on how much RAM you have.

 

[zrossiter]

lol I love the process of expecting to get a certain thing for a certain price when it actually is about 5x more than you originally thought...but for some reason you get talked into needing it.
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