Essence for gaming

zoomee

zoomee

zoomee

Soldato
Joined
15 Dec 2004
Posts
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Location
Hudds, UK
Bit confused with all this top end sound cards business!!

I understand that the essence st or stx is great for headphones and for audiophiles for music etc but what about solely for gaming?

I don't listen to music, nor watch videos on my pc, just play games more or less (bf3) and up until now have always had creative cards. Currently got an x-fi elite but it's started crackling in games and stuff which is getting downright irritating. I have a set of Logitech 2.1 thx (Z-2300) speakers connected to the card and normally just plug my crappy creative fatality headphones into the jack on the volume control of the speakers. Fancy an upgrade tbh.

Questions if someone could kindly point me in the right direction please.

A)- is the essence overkill or should I stick with like a d2x?
B) - in the pursuit of natural sound will I lose out on games like bf3 using an essence as opposed to something like an x-fi? What about 3d (positional sound) etc?
C) - can I plug my speakers into the headphone socket on the st/stx and then headphones into a front audio connector for example?

Obviously if I go down the route of an Essence I know I'll need a new set of can's if theres any recommendations?

Thanks in advance. Any advice highly appreciated for this sound noob. My idea of great sound used to consist of my full Rockford fosgate system in my car lol. I also have a Yamaha DSP-AX861SE sat nearby which I suppose I could rig the card up to aswell.....
 
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If you don't listen to music or have high end headphones then i would strongly suggest saving your money and going with the d2x
 
I always wondered. It's the perfect device for gaming but I want opinions on whether a fatality card etc is better for gaming.
 
I have an Essence and play games on a regular basis. If you have good quality speakers or headphones it will do a great job, especially in fps games. However, the essence is marketed more towards serious music lovers and if all you are going to use it for are games then it's completely overkill.
 
Thanks for the replies. In all honesty - I don't think there is anything in my current PC that ISN'T overkill lol :)

I just want the best (in at least this aspect of my life lol!) - Sooooo - Do I stick with a D2X or go for something like one of the new creative cards?

I see that the Asus cards have to use software to decode EAX etc, whereas the Creative cards use hardware decoding - that will make it better for games no?

thanks.
 
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zoomee said:
Thanks for the replies. In all honesty - I don't think there is anything in my current PC that ISN'T overkill lol :)

I just want the best (in at least this aspect of my life lol!) - Sooooo - Do I stick with a D2X or go for something like one of the new creative cards?

I see that the Asus cards have to use software to decode EAX etc, whereas the Creative cards use hardware decoding - that will make it better for games no?

thanks.
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EAX isn't the only way to get decent virtual surround sound anyway, the STX and ST cards will still sound awesome for games but it's not where they excel at I guess.

I'm a little like you and went overboard a little, I went for the Titanium HD just so EAX would be available if need be. It's an awesome soundcard but PAX drivers are a must since the Creative ones are a little flaky at best lol.
 
yeah - I heard EAX is now more or less redundant since vista anyway as vista/w7 deploy a different method of sound control......and really only applies to older games - not sure, what does BF3 use for example?

I'd jump straight for one of creatives top end cards but I've had nothing but problems over the years and I'm seriously dissapointed with their lack of support. As soon as they release something new they completely abandon support for their older stuff - prime example is my X-Fi Elite - there has been no new drivers for X-Fi for like years!!!

Think I'm going to definately go Asus this time round as I like the fact the also have EMI shielding on their cards. Probably the DX2 or maybe still the Essence models - i'm not sure as I'd like to know more about the impact on resources using all the software DG3D asus stuff has as opposed to Creatives hardware support......

also how would one go about conecting a set of speakers to the essence cards?

anymore input more than welcome guys - bring it on!

BEST Gaming soundcard to get?
 
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Good God!!!

Reading about the squeeling / high pitched problem popping up all over different forums - think its best to stay away from the Essence soundcards!!!!

Minds made up for now - Asus D2X it is.
 
zoomee said:
Good God!!!

Reading about the squeeling / high pitched problem popping up all over different forums - think its best to stay away from the Essence soundcards!!!!

Minds made up for now - Asus D2X it is.
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never have any problem with my essence ST.
 
I fitted an Essence STX yesterday. Asus drivers not the Unified ones. Worked straight away no problems, sounds great
 
Glad to hear that fellas.

If you take a look on head-fi and the asus support forums its full of people saying either the card isn't recognised or that it ever so often causes a high pitched loud squeeling noise which still hasn't been addressed for a number of users.

When paying out £140 for a soundcard I expect 100% perfection, and having come across abysmal support from Asus in the past I'd much rather take my chances with a cheaper model (i.e. D2X)

Saying that the new Asus ROG soundcard looks well scrumptious!! shame about its price though!!
 
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