Recommended replacement to SBZ

sof006 · October 5, 2020

So I have a sound blaster z currently in my system. But the drivers are shockingly bad on Windows 10. Yes I have tried custom drivers but the software that creative provides still just sucks so bad.

I need a replacement that provides Front Panel audio so that I can plug in headphones when gaming with friends on teamspeak but also provides optical out for my speakers when I am not. I'd prefer a sound card that does auto switching detecting (detects when I plug in headphones) although its not a must. Honestly i'd rather stay clear of creative as their drivers are laughable. I've been looking at ASUS but they don't seem to provide any cards with front panel connectors?

No USB sound cards, I avoid them as when I game they pick up a lot of electrical noise from my graphics card when i'm exceeding 100FPS (144Hz monitor). I used to have a topping D50 at one point but kept getting buzzing sounds when gaming.

Any help is appreciated thanks.

Tigerleon · October 6, 2020

6 hours ago, sof006 said:

So I have a sound blaster z currently in my system. But the drivers are shockingly bad on Windows 10. Yes I have tried custom drivers but the software that creative provides still just sucks so bad.

I need a replacement that provides Front Panel audio so that I can plug in headphones when gaming with friends on teamspeak but also provides optical out for my speakers when I am not. I'd prefer a sound card that does auto switching detecting (detects when I plug in headphones) although its not a must. Honestly i'd rather stay clear of creative as their drivers are laughable. I've been looking at ASUS but they don't seem to provide any cards with front panel connectors?

No USB sound cards, I avoid them as when I game they pick up a lot of electrical noise from my graphics card when i'm exceeding 100FPS (144Hz monitor). I used to have a topping D50 at one point but kept getting buzzing sounds when gaming.

Any help is appreciated thanks.

Sound blasters newer products aren't bad with their drivers. Maybe the sound blaster X3 might suit you?

sof006 · October 6, 2020

5 hours ago, Tigerleon said:

Sound blasters newer products aren't bad with their drivers. Maybe the sound blaster X3 might suit you?

Perhaps, I need to take a look at some reviews of their newer stuff. I guess I just got burned by their older stuff, heard of them stripping features from older cards in order to make their newer stuff look more appealing