[HalidePisces]

If he's got spare PCIe slots available but blocked, he might be able to try a riser card. It's basically an extension cable for slots.
 
Another choice would be to hunt down one of the older PCI cards if there are such slots on the board available.
 

 

[Roller]

Quote:

If he's got spare PCIe slots available but blocked, he might be able to try a riser card. It's basically an extension cable for slots.
 
Another choice would be to hunt down one of the older PCI cards if there are such slots on the board available.
 

 
 
Good suggestion, I didn't remember riser cards, and those shouldn't hurt the card interfacing with the motherboard, considering it's an additional step.
 
From what I've seen around, the higher end PCI X-Fi models are either out of stock or absurdly overpriced, costing more than twice of what a X-Fi Titanium HD goes for.

 

[Sabin0786]

You guys are right. I didn't realize sound cards could be PCIEx1, since my old one required a PCIex16 slot. I have two PCIEx1 slots above my graphics cards. Looks like I can get an internal sound card. 
 
Quick question about that: What is the difference between the "X-Fi Titanium HD" and The "X-Fi titanium fatality pro" (http://us.store.creative.com/Creative-Sound-Blaster-XFi-Titanium-Fatal1ty/M/B0018EFGTM.htm)? I ask because I can get the Xi-Fi Titanium Fatality Pro for 99 dollars refurbished, which is a lot cheaper than a new Xi-Fi Titanium HD. 
 
Also where does the Sound Blaster Recon3D Fatality Professional fall into this? I notice that all 3 of the products I mention are around the same price, so I'm not sure if there any differences worth noting, or if they X-Fi Titanium HD is just the best. 
 
Edit: Also for some reason it's changed my account name. 

 

[NamelessPFG]

The X-Fi Titanium HD has much higher-quality analog outputs, but it only has two analog channels (compared to the other X-Fi Titanium cards' 8 channels). Not a problem if you only use headphones.
 
The Recon3D cards are to be avoided since they don't actually process DS3D/OAL in hardware, and the software renderer has some issues with the games I've tried. They're also missing other features present on X-Fi cards.
 
Oh, and I've never heard of any sound cards requiring a PCIe x16 slot, either PCIe x1 or the older PCI interface. What kind of sound card would require that much bandwidth, anyway?

 

[Evshrug]

Well, Skyrim only needed to have Oblivion's audio renderer and would have the possibility of being far more immersive. And why can't you go back to Fallout 3?

Because, besides the DLC and bad karma side of things, I beat the game. I even tracked down most of the unmarked quests, like finding Dashing Dagwood's dead manservant, Argyle. And like I said, I got sick of it before I was quite done anyway, lol. I'm torn if I'm going for 100% in Oblivion, because there are just so many good games to play. And yes, it's totally a shame when something is broken in the name of progress.

About Thief: I really want to play all of them, but the whole silent cutscenes thing bothers me. We'll see if I ever get around to actually playing them, lol. I haven't really had access to the world of PC gaming since playing Dark Forces II: Jedi Knight on my Dad's computer, before he declared it would only be for work from then on. I played a demo of one of the thief games at that time, and it intrigued me.

About getting a new GPU, it's always a sensible choice given that games are getting more and more GPU demanding, despite the PC gaming scene being infected by lousy console ports, which then makes those games look like being work of lazy development (and to an extent they have been), forcing much higher system requirements than such games should have. Just think that even Metro 2033 has relatively odd coding that requires rather significant pixel pushing power, and to be played with maxed settings, it will require an overall enthusiast platform, with high end GPUs being an integral part of that.

Right now I have a NVIDIA GeForce GTS 250 that I got for $70. It's not the most powerful GPU, certainly not the newest, but I ought to get slightly better than console visuals. I mainly compute in the Mac environment by preference, so I'm well-aware of the sadness that is lousy game ports :/

Keep in mind that what you do on a computer will change which GPU you should get, from media decoding, multimonitor support features, 3D, gaming, GPGPU, etc. Currently there isn't a single GPU that outperforms all others in all those tasks, so that's a consideration that has to be done prior to any purchases.

The most important thing I use a computer for is Graphic Design, and some other media fiddle-faddle around that since in general people expect GDs to be capable of anything. I've not really tapped the power of something like Adobe Premier yet (iMovie plus some photoshopping has been sufficient so far), but I might be called upon to do so some day. I know AMD cards have more compute potential, but Adobe products benefit from CUDA acceleration. I built my FrankenMac based on suggestions and enjoy the stability of NVIDIA's drivers, but I haven't had projects that tax my setup yet.
I have the Windows 8 CP for that side of PCs, but I haven't fully transitioned to a windows setup. As a (new) commercial artist, Windows is mostly just a play-space for me, and as a Mac enthusiast, I want to keep windows maintenance monkeying around down to a minimum ^_^

 

[genclaymore]

Also It depends on which headphones your using granted if your using gaming marketed stereo HP's or easy to drive Good headphones then the headphone buffer on the X-FI HD will work, but not if the headphones req some power that the X-Fi HD headphone output Buffer cant provide.

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

You guys are right. I didn't realize sound cards could be PCIEx1, since my old one required a PCIex16 slot. I have two PCIEx1 slots above my graphics cards. Looks like I can get an internal sound card. 
 
Quick question about that: What is the difference between the "X-Fi Titanium HD" and The "X-Fi titanium fatality pro" (http://us.store.creative.com/Creative-Sound-Blaster-XFi-Titanium-Fatal1ty/M/B0018EFGTM.htm)? I ask because I can get the Xi-Fi Titanium Fatality Pro for 99 dollars refurbished, which is a lot cheaper than a new Xi-Fi Titanium HD. 
 
Also where does the Sound Blaster Recon3D Fatality Professional fall into this? I notice that all 3 of the products I mention are around the same price, so I'm not sure if there any differences worth noting, or if they X-Fi Titanium HD is just the best. 
 
Edit: Also for some reason it's changed my account name. 

Sometime the X-Fi Titanium (non-HD, refurb, basic model) will sell for $45, check the website Techbargins, or eBay for used cards.

 

[Evshrug]

Edit: Also for some reason it's changed my account name. 

Maybe a friend logged in on your computer and forgot to log out? Looking at the account history, it seems that the other posts happened a while ago, and they sound like a different person IMO.

And btw, it was my impression that PC gaming wasn't limited to 7.1 surround, but that you could enable full Binaural sound in the best games? As in, sounds can seem to come from front, back, above, below, whatever; is this right, those of you Windows gamers with more experience?

Also, doesn't Creative's Voice Crystalizer help to cancel out background sound and typing clacks from a microphone, so he could use a clip-on or Antlion Modmic (when those become available again at the end of September) with any headphone and get good results for gaming and Skype?

 

[Evshrug]

Sometime the X-Fi Titanium (non-HD, refurb, basic model) will sell for $45, check the website Techbargins, or eBay for used cards.

*googles Techbargins*
wuuoooOOOOOOOAAAH?! @o@

 

[Roller]

@Sabin0786: The X-Fi Titanium (regular, regardless of which model, except the non X-Fi XtremeAudio) and the X-Fi Titanium HD are entirely different cards, quality wise. If you do have the means to get a X-Fi Titanium HD, don't look at any other card, they simply don't cut it.
Nothing released after that card, like the Recon3D is worth your money, especially with all the software and hardware features stripped on the new cards.
 
@Evshrug: Like others have said previously, if you do manage to have a free PCIe slot, you would get much better performance through a X-Fi Titanium HD rather than any of the USB DACs suggested that, while not bad at all, do pale in comparison to a X-Fi Titanium HD.
 
Have you thought of getting something like a Quadro 2000? I do understand what you mean by CUDA, and that does perform better than the competition's open alternatives at the time being. Although, there are already a couple apps on the latest Adobe suite that switched from hardware accelerating techs.
Also, I find it curious that you're running a non final Windows OS when you want to keep maintenance monkeying to a minimum
 
Creative does have a few features dedicated to improving mic clarity and reducing environment noise, but Crystalizer is for an entirely different use.

 

[Evshrug]

@Evshrug: Like others have said previously, if you do manage to have a free PCIe slot, you would get much better performance through a X-Fi Titanium HD rather than any of the USB DACs suggested that, while not bad at all, do pale in comparison to a X-Fi Titanium HD.

Have you thought of getting something like a Quadro 2000? I do understand what you mean by CUDA, and that does perform better than the competition's open alternatives at the time being. Although, there are already a couple apps on the latest Adobe suite that switched from hardware accelerating techs.
Also, I find it curious that you're running a non final Windows OS when you want to keep maintenance monkeying to a minimum

Creative does have a few features dedicated to improving mic clarity and reducing environment noise, but Crystalizer is for an entirely different use.

Crystalizer: I forgot the name of the tech, I'm just posting occasionally while doing some work for my grandfather, using a kinda funny home builder software suite (Punch!) to design a floor plan and exterior for a 12 story building addition. So, I don't have the Recon3D box with me right now ;P

I have thought of the Quadro series, and AMD's fire-something cards, but I'll hold off on that kind of thing unless/until I have to use a 3D modeling program like Maya. Games push the limits more than my work right now, maybe I would enjoy my work more if it was the other way around? Prolly not, haha. Also, I'm sticking with CS5 for as long as possible, I'm actually trying to find full-time employment (recent college grad) with a better paycheck buffer for emergencies before I start maxing out things I consider luxuries

Running a preview build of Windows... because it's legally free? It has been stable enough so far, and the only thing I've done with it over the Internet was NViDIA drivers and a month of SW:TOR, and if it ever gets a virus or adware I'll happily wipe the disk and start over, LOL! I already bugged Nameless about Win 7 Pro vs Home backwards compatability, I'll probably get an OEM copy once I upgrade my CPU from an i3 to an i5. I think it's kind of funny that you commented on Win8 and not hacking Mac OS X to think I'm on Apple components... guess you know that there are a lot of easy guides for that, and once you're set up the only worry is System Updates.

The Ti HD would indeed be a technically superior piece of hardware, but the Recon3D is nice because it works for Mac too, as well as my Xbox 360

 

[Roller]

Recon3D only brings additional compatibility, but at the very severe cost of underwhelming performance, akin to what XtremeAudio (read, fake X-Fi) cards do.
 
I thought you were running CS6, that has split accelerated techs, while CS5.x does indeed fully support CUDA. If you truly don't need the work optimized Quadro GPUs, then going with a midrange or high end GPU will yield better results for the money.
 
If you don't have a Windows license, then I'd suggest you wait a few months and let Windows 8 run wild, as compatibility reports will pop out everywhere. Looking aside from the FUD factory regarding Modern UI, the kernel is quite improved up to a point where that can be a sole reason for recommendations of upgrading Windows 7 systems, nevermind older OSes. Also, UI customization is aplenty, and things like Modern UI bypassing and start menu restoring are easily done already.
 
Well, the main issue with OSX x86 is setting it up in the first place. After that, it should run without any issues. Updates, however, can be quite a pain.
 
The X-Fi Titanium HD is on an entirely different league of the Recon3D series. Just so you get an idea of what a poor performer Recon3D is, some onboard audio chips can even outperform it, and onboard audio chips are the worst of the worst.

 

[Sabin0786]

Both amazon and newegg have the X-FI Titanium HD, but the price difference is steep enough that I want to make sure I'm getting the right card before I pull the trigger! Amazon has it for 30 dollars cheaper with free 2 day shipping! Makes me thing I'm looking at the wrong card or something...
 
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Creative-Blaster-Titanium-Internal-SB1270/dp/B0041OUA38
Newegg: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829102033&nm_mc=KNC-GoogleAdwords&cm_mmc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-_-pla-_-NA-_-NA?
 
 
I've also made the terrible mistake of reading the gaming headphone thread on this site, and now I'm starting to doubt whether I actually the want the PC360 or if I want to go the headphones + clip on mic route. I'm debating the Q701 vs. beyerdynamic 990. Both sound like they hit that sweet spot between immersion (ie: thundering bass for special effects), and pinpoint accuracy.

 

[NamelessPFG]

Quote:

Both amazon and newegg have the X-FI Titanium HD, but the price difference is steep enough that I want to make sure I'm getting the right card before I pull the trigger! Amazon has it for 30 dollars cheaper with free 2 day shipping! Makes me thing I'm looking at the wrong card or something...
 
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Creative-Blaster-Titanium-Internal-SB1270/dp/B0041OUA38
Newegg: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829102033&nm_mc=KNC-GoogleAdwords&cm_mmc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-_-pla-_-NA-_-NA?

 
That is indeed the correct card on both sites.
 
I usually go by Amazon pricing since it's generally cheaper than Newegg for the Titanium HD.

 

[Roller]

Quote:

Both amazon and newegg have the X-FI Titanium HD, but the price difference is steep enough that I want to make sure I'm getting the right card before I pull the trigger! Amazon has it for 30 dollars cheaper with free 2 day shipping! Makes me thing I'm looking at the wrong card or something...
 
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Creative-Blaster-Titanium-Internal-SB1270/dp/B0041OUA38
Newegg: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829102033&nm_mc=KNC-GoogleAdwords&cm_mmc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-_-pla-_-NA-_-NA?
 
 
I've also made the terrible mistake of reading the gaming headphone thread on this site, and now I'm starting to doubt whether I actually the want the PC360 or if I want to go the headphones + clip on mic route. I'm debating the Q701 vs. beyerdynamic 990. Both sound like they hit that sweet spot between immersion (ie: thundering bass for special effects), and pinpoint accuracy.

 
 
They are the same card. The only thing that isn't specified is the card revision. Different retailers have different prices, so if there's such a discount, it's worth getting it cheaper.
 
I told you right from the start that headphones plus mic would be a better combo
 
If you are free to have louder audio surrounding you, then you should certainly go with the Beyerdynamic DT990 rather than the AKG Q701 IMHO. Better yet (albeit more expensive), get a set of Ultrasone Pro 2900 or Ultrasone HFI-2400, both being rather immersive, high quality and have their signature bass that's present yet doesn't muddle the rest of the frequency range.
 
About the mic, usually clip on mics are recommended but you can attach higher quality boom mics to headphones and get a better performing headphone+mic combo.