Bewildered August 27, 2008 Share Bewildered Member August 27, 2008 (edited) Hi. My onboard sound blows goats. So I'm in the market for a soundcard. Do I want a regular card, or one of them newfangled usb cards? Also, I'm using a crappy mic, but I have an older pair of higher-end Sony monitor-style headphones. So I've been resisting the urge to get a headset, since I'm guessing I won't be impressed with the sound. Maybe I'm wrong tho .... I dunno. Any suggestions for a better mic? Edited August 27, 2008 by Bewildered Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anonymo August 27, 2008 Share anonymo Member August 27, 2008 Well I would shy away from USB audio unless you have a specific need for it (ie you're running a laptop and can't drop a card in). Creative Lab cards are probably the easiest to find but not the best. If you want quality try looking at the consumer grade M-Audio cards. I hear Icemats have good sound quality for headsets, I'm in the market for a new quality gaming headset myself so if anyone has any better recommendations I'm all ears. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bewildered August 27, 2008 Author Share Bewildered Member August 27, 2008 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16829102005 Anyone have this? Lots of complaints in the Newegg comments. I just looked at a bunch of M-Audio cards, and the biggest complaint I see is lack of drivers for Vista and/or poor drivers in general. Seeing that one of these cards is probably overkill anyway for just a mic and headphones, I'll probably pass? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bewildered August 27, 2008 Author Share Bewildered Member August 27, 2008 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16829271002 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squinty August 27, 2008 Share Squinty Member August 27, 2008 As far as soundcards go, I've never personally used one, but a couple people I know use Soundblaster (maybe that's not the name? =\ lol...) Headphones however, Plantronics usually make great mic's, but the headphone sound quality isn't the best. TurtleBeach I heard makes a good pair of headphones along with mic, averaging 50$ I think... I personally use Edimensional forcefeedback headset, the older style grey one... they have a new one out i want to try, but i've heard they aren't as good. the Headset I have has decent quality for sound... only thing aobut them is that they are fairly large, and have weird little lights on the side that light up if you have the force feedback on... but you don't see them when you are playing anyway haha. I've used a pair of Icemats before and they work well also. Just whatever you do, DO NOT BUY STEEL SERIES.... my friend spent 100$ each on 2 pairs, both failing... Squinty >.< Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anonymo August 27, 2008 Share anonymo Member August 27, 2008 Yeah the M-Audio drivers (while very good) are finicky (def no 64bit XP). No experience with HT-Omega but the reviews are good. I would probably go with the Creative card you linked. Squinty, a note about on-board sound cards, they use your processor as opposed to PCI sound cards that do all the audio processing on the card. Some onboard sound solutions can be a major drain on the performance of your machine. This is generally true for USB audio solutions as well (though not for the same reasons). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cujo August 28, 2008 Share Cujo Member August 28, 2008 there is a pcie version of the xfi fatality which is what i'd get if i were in the market for a new card. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorgmaN August 28, 2008 Share NorgmaN Member August 28, 2008 If you are looking for something nice, and don't want to spend lots of $$, I have a soundcard (used, however in great condition) that I am willing to sell. I've actually been trying to get rid of it forever, and I'll even give you a steal of a price. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16829102164 I got it at $212, I'll ship it to you UPS Ground total $75. Like I said, barely used. No scratches or any problems with it at all. I ended up getting a X-Fi card to replace this set only because I didn't like dragging the extra box around to LANs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Preacher August 28, 2008 Share Preacher Member August 28, 2008 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16829102016 my choice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bewildered August 28, 2008 Author Share Bewildered Member August 28, 2008 If you are looking for something nice, and don't want to spend lots of $$, I have a soundcard (used, however in great condition) that I am willing to sell. I've actually been trying to get rid of it forever, and I'll even give you a steal of a price. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16829102164 I got it at $212, I'll ship it to you UPS Ground total $75. Like I said, barely used. No scratches or any problems with it at all. I ended up getting a X-Fi card to replace this set only because I didn't like dragging the extra box around to LANs. Aww.... I pulled the trigger at noon yesterday on an HT omega Striker. Had never heard of it before, but the reviews seemed good. Couldn't justify spending more -- seemed to be a good card that would be > than my onboard. Maybe you'll be able to hear my sexy voice now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOFX August 28, 2008 Share NOFX Member August 28, 2008 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16826106070 Is what I recommend. I don't think I spent that much money on them though... I've owned at least 3 pair of the non-usb version. I would always come home late and step on them, run them over with the computer chair, or pull on the audio jack hard enough to cause a short. I haven't had any problems with the USB version. But the .90's are hands down best bang for your buck headset. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cujo August 28, 2008 Share Cujo Member August 28, 2008 i love that you bought a sound card from a company that specializes in onboard sound. kind of ironic. for that money you could have ditched the pci interface altogether and bought a true gaming sound card. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bewildered August 28, 2008 Author Share Bewildered Member August 28, 2008 i love that you bought a sound card from a company that specializes in onboard sound. kind of ironic. for that money you could have ditched the pci interface altogether and bought a true gaming sound card. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Preacher August 28, 2008 Share Preacher Member August 28, 2008 http://www.buy.com/prod/plantronics-audio-.../204031277.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bewildered August 28, 2008 Author Share Bewildered Member August 28, 2008 Synplicity has these, and likes em. I may ask the wife for em for my birthday For the card -- it may have been the wrong decision but -- I decided that none of the games I play use the Creative EAX APIs, so I'm not sure what other gaming specific stuff I'd be interested in that would give any advantage in games. At the time I pulled the trigger, noone here or on RP had anything positive whatsoever to say about the Creative cards. Actually, I wish I would have saved the soundcard I had in my old machine, because I'm convinced it would have been better than my onboard sound. Anyway, I may have bought the wrong card but I'm 95%( +-5%) positive that I'll be happy with the one I bought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cujo August 28, 2008 Share Cujo Member August 28, 2008 nothing positive to say? how much more positive can you get than a recommendation?? i love my x-fi platinum. i tried going back to onboard to keep my case a bit cleaner and i lasted all of 2 days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bewildered August 28, 2008 Author Share Bewildered Member August 28, 2008 nothing positive to say? how much more positive can you get than a recommendation?? i love my x-fi platinum. i tried going back to onboard to keep my case a bit cleaner and i lasted all of 2 days. True, later I got recommendations here and at RP for the x-fi stuff; but I had already purchased at noon yesterday so I could get it shipped b4 the weekend Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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