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On Board Sound Saps CPU?

Vern1961

Vern1961

Vern1961

Soldato
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29 Mar 2007
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Swindon UK
Not sure if this is the right part of the forum to post this question so mods please move if necessary.

I read in one of the threads in the gaming area (think it was the X3 one) that using on board sound requires additional CPU time (and heat) compared to a dedicated sound card in a PCI slot. Is this true? As I'm currently devising more custom mods for my Spackard Hell machine (prior to ditching the existing case and mobo) would a separate sound card be beneficial. It's not that the onboard sound is that bad (though I don't think Realtek support EAX) but any optimisation that can make the system more efficient and run cooler is worth looking at - and £15 - £20 for a basic sound card is a good cost/benefit ratio.
 
yes it is true onboard sounds are normally just software running on the cpu having a seperate sound card will improve sound and performance
 
Onboard sound does use a small amount of CPU power, but in modern systems youd be hard pushed to notice it, but im not sure it suooports EAX.

A cheapy soundcard isnt likley to be any better than the onboard realtec tbh.

An X-Fi music would be great and a huge improvement over onbard for £51

Failing that you could get anything from a used Audigy 1 to an Audigy 4, as they all support EAX up to EAX4.0 and are a big improvement over onboard.

I paid £25 last week for an Audigy2 ZS Platinum Pro on the MM compete with external breakout box, so there are bargains to be had :)
 
Got a standalone SB 5:1 in my old PC so I might swop that in as a temporary measure (if I can find the drivers).
 
MeatLoaf said:
A cheapy soundcard isnt likley to be any better than the onboard realtec tbh.
Click to expand...

he's right and there's a reason for that - cheap sounds cards are often based on the exact same chipsets that are used on cheap motherboards!
 
whats a good sound card that wont break the bank?
im looking for one becuase onboard sound sucks
 
cheap cards use the same chipsets as most onboard solutions. you arent going to get something for nothing im afraid. if you want something notably better, you need to spend more, on something like an audigy2 or an xfi would be better.
 
I found this is one of the only things reviews are good for, graphics cards, cpu's etc can be seperated into different leagues by benchmarks but sound is different.

You can get some good soundcards for under £25, but you'd be best doing some research and picking very carefully otherwise you'll just end up with a paperweight.
 
Better than onboard that's for sure!

There's a certain version that is a LOT better but only a litle more expensive than the versions below it (think E6600). can't remember which one though.
 
MeatLoaf said:
Thats worse than onboard mate as it had zero hardware accelleration, its all software based :)
Click to expand...

And there's me thinking X-Fi were all hardware, shows how much I know :o :p
 
jaykay said:
how do u know its hardware accellerated
Click to expand...

Well it doesn't say asnything about having any sort of onboard processor, I'd presume that's how one would tell.

MeatLoaf said:
They are, except that one :p
Click to expand...

I'll steer clear of that one then!
 
So what's the thinking on something else that goes hand in hand with buying a new soundcard, buying speakers that support it. Every PC I've owned has come with these 6 inch high side speakers that are generally fairly rubbish. My current gaming PC has some half way decent Logitach speakers but still nothing to write home about.

Is it really worth upgrading to a sound card if you don't also have the sound system to gain the advantage from it?
 
Is onboard sound even cack on high end boards? Wasn't going to bother with an extra s'card as I thought my EVGA 680i board would be ok (not built yet...)
 
i have a AM2N6111_AM2NF6G-VSTA which has the Realtek ALC888 7.1 channel CODEC with High Definition Audio and the sound is great. compared to a sb live, there is no noticeable difference in frequency response.

were as my last mobo on board audio just never had enough low end for me to use .

it gives me a low latency in reason and cubase using the asio drivers also.

im very happy with it
 
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