Need a good Soundcard for my 5.1 speakers/Headphones!

Wiry · 22 May 2011 at 00:32

As all of you sound card enthusiasts know, sound cards are as necessary as a video card! I've got a max budget of £100, and could probably squeeze the tiniest bit more £££ if I was happy. I have a roccat Kave headset *5.1* and will soon to have 5.1 speakers

Nightglow · 22 May 2011 at 07:49

Asus Xonar D2 - pci-e, £84 @ OCuk (Special Offer Stock Code: SC-001-AS) has full dolby digital via optical out, lovely card works superbly with Windows 7 64,not single problem, compared to the many I had with the Creative sound card.

Wiry · 22 May 2011 at 10:20

Nightglow said:
Asus Xonar D2 - pci-e, £84 @ OCuk (Special Offer Stock Code: SC-001-AS) has full dolby digital via optical out, lovely card works superbly with Windows 7 64,not single problem, compared to the many I had with the Creative sound card.

do you mean the D2x ? As after looking at the D2, it says PCI ?

setter · 22 May 2011 at 10:45

Yep, the D2X is a pcie card. Choose which one youll require according to what slot/s you have free.

Nightglow · 22 May 2011 at 10:46

This one.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=SC-001-AS

In my opinion it's better than the Creative Fatality I had.

Wiry · 22 May 2011 at 10:53

I've read mixed reviews about the Xonar's and I have been recommended by some forum users on competitors websites that creative fatal1ty is the way to go :S What do you guys think ?? :confused:

setter · 22 May 2011 at 11:00

Ive been using a xonar DX pcie card for about 6 months now, works flawlessly on win7 64. Cant comment on recent creatives as the last one i had was an audigy 2, which tbh wasnt great.

Nightglow · 22 May 2011 at 11:21

setter said:
Ive been using a xonar DX pcie card for about 6 months now, works flawlessly on win7 64. Cant comment on recent creatives as the last one i had was an audigy 2, which tbh wasnt great.

I had so many problems with my Creative card & Windows 7 64, that I lost my temper & threw it against the wall.

That's why I now have the Xonar.

Cyclone · 22 May 2011 at 13:51

I went from an Audigy 2 ZS to a Xonar D2X and the difference is amazing. The sounds are so much clearer on the D2X. Glad I bought it and highly recommended.

BinnsY · 22 May 2011 at 15:44

Nightglow said:
I had so many problems with my Creative card & Windows 7 64, that I lost my temper & threw against the wall.
That's why I now have the Xonar.

Just so this thread isnt too biased, I have a creative x-fi xtreme gamer that has been in my PC with both Vista x64 and Windows 7 x64 and I haven't had a single problem.

I'm not saying the problems with creative hardware don't exist, but they certainly dont affect everyone / all systems.

King Damager · 23 May 2011 at 11:03

Creative are known for there compatibility issues, saying that I've heard of people having issues with Xonar's as well.

All in all, I went for the Xonar, it seemed that Asus cared more about quality because Creative were the benchmark as such of cards...

I went with the D2.. Haven't regretted it at all

kd

Zackarydoo · 23 May 2011 at 12:16

I used to have the Xonar D2X but didn't like it at all. The sound was very good, as you'd expect from such a card. I didn't like the software though. I cannot remember details now but I remember the various mixer and other settings didn't seem to be very compatible with the Windows settings, and I couldn't adjust certain levels either. Also the software was quite user unfriendly, in my opinion. Asus seemed renown for not updating their software, and I certainly never saw any updates when I had the card and many were complaining about that.

I eventually sold it and used my onboard sound instead, which I've been doing for a few months now. That's given me several problems though so I've just ordered a Creative X-Fi Titanium. I've read lots of positive and negative comments around on the 'net and if I hadn't already tried a Xonar card, I would have gone for the D2 or D2X based on the general feeling I get from forums about people's preference. I did used to like Creative's software and drivers when I had an Audigy 2, and another of their older cards (I forget the name), so I'm hoping I'll like it again this time around and won't have the problems some are having. I'll find out when it arrives tomorrow.