6 replies to this topic

[Why Two Kay]

I fried my sound card. Finally. Yay. It was a Sound Blaster Live! Value card, from the wonderful year of 1998. (this terrible thing). Basically, I only kept it around because it was still better than integrated sound.

It's not actually broken, it's more like 50% of the time Windows fails to detect it, and 25% of the time Windows actually fails to boot up ending up in a reboot loop until I re-seat the card in the slot. Basically, it got shorted out or something while I was cleaning my system.

Now, I am using my motherboard's nForce4 Sound system. Basically, this means that it uses part of my CPU time and sounds low quality and fails to mix properly if I have iTunes, TeamSpeak, and a sound-intensive round of Age of Empires III running, things cut out because there are not enough somethings to run properly.

I am not the most knowledgeable about sound cards, mainly because I never considered them a real asset that was as important as things like RAM/GPU/CPU.

There is a slight issue with my motherboard, however, and that is that they ordered the slots in my case poorly. From top to bottom I have the following:
PCI Express x1 (un-used)
PCI Express x1 (un-used)
PCI Express x16 (ATI Radeon x850 XT + superfan)
PCI (Blocked by graphics card)
PCI (Too close to GFX card for me to use and feel good about it)
PCI (Un-used, previously used by Sound Card)

The thing is that the lowest PCI slot which I was using for a sound card is so close to the bottom of my case that I am not a fan of placing cards in it. However, it is really the only PCI slot that I can use successfully. Technically I can use the 2nd to bottom, but the card would have to have nothing sticking up from the top of it, and even then I would feel it is very close.

If they even make Sound Cards for PCI Express x1 slots, that would be golden for me, but there are none on NewEgg. Honestly PCI Express x1 is useless for the average consumer right now.

The only ports that will be used are the Sound Output and Microphone ports, hooked up to a pair of Plantronics Headphones. I do not need tons of digital 7.1 outputs or anything like that. This computer will be used for another year and half, than basically left to die, so I do not need to think long-term here.

Anyway, my budget is $50, and if you could find it at RadioShack that would be golden (I have a $50 gift card there that I really need to spend). But places like NewEgg work fine also.

Edit: Oh yeah, I would like to stick with Creative brand if possible, unless you really like something else.

[Stormy{CAN}]

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16829102006

Out of your price range, but if you want a card for gaming your only real choice. And as far as the PCI-E cards this is Creatives first one,

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16829102016

and you really won't want it. It may have the name X-Fi, but it most definitely doesn't perform like one. For starters it is missing the EMU20K2 (the X-Fi chip) so all processing is done in software (and done on the cpu). The card also does not have Game Mode that the rest of the X-Fi's have, and uses its own drivers as well.

The PCI version of the same card has all the same properties as the PCI-E version. Basically all the PCI version is is a renamed SB Live 24 bit/Audigy SE, which as far as a card for gaming goes are crap.

[Why Two Kay]

Like I said, I don't care about special features for "gaming" or "music" or anything. I don't really game that much anymore, and I've been using a nearly 10 year old card anyway, it's not that important.

[AnonymousFlash]

These are the only Creative ones at radio shack. Although, I would probably go with one of the ones Stormy suggested, but just trying to be helpful.

[Wasabi®]

http://www.radioshac...rentPage=search

go

[Stormy{CAN}]

Now, I am using my motherboard's nForce4 Sound system. Basically, this means that it uses part of my CPU time and sounds low quality and fails to mix properly if I have iTunes, TeamSpeak, and a sound-intensive round of Age of Empires III running, things cut out because there are not enough somethings to run properly.

He would probably have the same thing happen with the Audigy SE as it to is a software based card. About the only thing that the Sb Live 24 bit/Audigy SE/Xtreme Audio have over onboard is possibly better sound (purely subjective), none of them will perform any better than onboard.

[TheL3gend]

http://www.newegg.co...82E16829102003R

20 bucks... not super designed for gaming or anything, it works.... 20 bucks.