2 soundcards in one system?

[MeatLoaf]

I use my PC for audio creation and recordings and gaming.

I have 2 soundcards - An X-Fi Elite Pro and a Xonar DGX. For music recording and creation I find the X-Fi does the job brilliantly thans to its audio creation mode.

But for gaming I found the DGX sounds better - in games I can hear ememies better and hear exactly where they are. However for audio creation its rubbish so I put the X-Fi back in.

Can I install both cards at the same time, switching between cards depending on what im doing? Id want the DGX set as the primary default card with the option to switch to the X-Fi when needed? Is it possible or will the drivers clash with each other?

Im using Windows 8

 

[Clav]

Installing 2 sound cards is fine, if you have on-board sound and a sound card that is 2 sound cards and there are no issues with that

Some games, (eg WoW) will allow you to manually set playback devices from within the game. However most will just use the default audio device, it is a simple process to switch defaults though through the Sound control panel app. (This is in Win 7, I can't imagine Win 8 being vastly different)

 

[zakblood]

Yes you can.

Most games/good audio programs (winamp for one) will allow you to choose your soundcard in their options.

If not, they will use whatever is "default" when you start them. You can change the "default" option in windows. You will also likely find that there are many sound devices already (even if you only have one sound card, though likely your mobo has one too). It's much the same as that, the list will just get longer.

you can have as many as you like as long as you have the slots free and irq for them

 

[Marsman]

I used an X-Fi and DG for a while. Worked fine for a time, but every now and then the PC would just freeze up. I'm fairly sure this didn't happen again after I cleaned out the drivers for one of the cards. I did try removing one, but that didn't solve the problem, so it was definitely some driver issue.

Other people can use X-Fi cards and Xonar cards together with no problem. It depends on varying factors possibly. It's worth a go, because if there are any issues, you can always remove one.

 

[Uriel]

I briefly ran an Xonar D2 and either an X-Fi XtremeMusic OEM (SB0770) or an X-Fi Prelude in the same system.

Generally it was fine but for legacy gaming it caused issues, in that AlChemy and DS3D-GX would tread on each others' toes.

If not legacy gaming, I don't think there should be much of a problem.