New sounds card to replace Realtek onboard audio

jmp_78

jmp_78

jmp_78

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Quite fancy a dedicated sound card for gaming, as getting bored of the hiss when connecting Sony headphones to onboard audio jack!

Willing to spend upto £40, and liking the look of the Asus Xonar DS. Does anyone have this card and can they confirm that I will experience better quality audio than my current setup!

Also, what is the Creative Labs equivilent to this Asus card (price-wise)?

Thanks :)
 
it is a good card all depends on the headphone you use though. the asus xonar dx comes with dolby options such as dolby headphone which are awesome.
 
I'll advise you on what I've been advised on, spend an extra £20 and get either the Asus Xonar DX or D1, or the Creative Xtreme Gamer comes in at £5 more.

I personally went for the Xonar D1s as they're PCI interface but only because I have a micro board and the the PCI-E slot lies above my GPU, otherwise I would have had the DX.
 
I have had the Xonar DS. It's a good card for a tight budget. For using headphones for gaming, as mentioned above, I would look at getting either a Xonar DX/D1, or an X-Fi Xtreme Gamer. Both have surround virtualisation using stereo headphones, something the Xonar DS does not. The Xonar DS is best for gaming with speakers, you can use headphones of course, but you will get no positional sound at all.

If positional sound holds no interest for you, then the Xonar DS is a good buy.

Your headphones, have you got them connected to the rear socket, or front case?
 
Marsman said:
Your headphones, have you got them connected to the rear socket, or front case?
Click to expand...
I tried connecting them at the front of my Antec 300, but the hiss was terrible!! I tend to connect them to the jack at the back on the motherboard now.

Thanks for the other recommendations too, will do some research!
 
Yes that's the interference inside the case being picked up by the cable going from the motherboard to the front case sockets. It's a very common problem, and without using some kind of shielding round the cable, something you can do little about. I asked because the same will apply which ever sound card you get, that has a front case audio header.
 
Ok, so needless to say:

Current motherboard Realtek sound from front socket
Vs
£30-40 dedicated sound card's rear socket
EQUALS
An awful lotta difference in quality when using headphones

I just guess you're saying that all cards will be better than stock Realtek, it's just that others will be much MUCH better if I pay a little more?
 
I think your board has similar Realtek audio to mine, it's of the same generation anyway, and of the sound cards I have used all have been better than the Realtek audio.

I wouldn't say if you pay a little more you will get a much better sounding card, upto a certain point, it's more about features. For gaming with headphones, going for a Xonar DX/D1 or X-Fi Xtreme Gamer will give you Dolby Headphone and CMSS 3D respectively. Gaming with speakers, then the Xonar DS is a very good card, it just lacks certain features to keep the cost down.

The interference issue is nothing to do with the sound card. Even a £135 Xonar Essence will have the same problem with the front case audio, as it's all to do with the cheap crap cable they use in cases to connect the audio sockets. They have no shielding, so pick of interference from inside the case. Using the rear jacks is the best way to avoid any interference issues.
 
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