I found this sound card

[thorpj]

Hi,

 

I found this, it looks to be quite old, but i'd still like to found out if it will be better than my motherboards audio.

 

 

I've got an Asus B85-Pro Gamer, (With Realtek HD Audio Drivers) 

 

The Sound Card is (i think) "Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy 2"

I Don't think it is the ZS variant, so ignore that in the image.

 

Thanks in advance!

[TheSLSAMG]

Generally speaking, and not everyone will agree, there is usually little to no noticeable difference between a sound card and a good on-board solution, such as the ALC1150 chipset fitted to most LGA1150 boards.

[SSL]

If there is nothing perceptibly wrong with your audio now you don't need le upgrade.

[thorpj]

Generally speaking, and not everyone will agree, there is usually little to no noticeable difference between a sound card and a good on-board solution, such as the ALC1150 chipset fitted to most LGA1150 boards.

If there is nothing perceptibly wrong with your audio now you don't need le upgrade.

 

Of course you are both correct, i was just interested to see if a sound card from 2002 would beat today onboard audio

 

Seems so: https://battlelog.battlefield.com/bf3/forum/threadview/2832654348541478287/

 

I might put it in my pc, for the lolz. Trouble is, driver support ends at Win 7.

Though i did have success using compatibility mode to test some old vista era webcam. It worked, and then i binned it.

[NumLock21]

That sound card is way too old and it's a Dell, so there are some differences between that and the non Dell version. Use onboard, but if you still want a sound card, then look at Creative's latest Z series or Asus Xonar series.

I still have my X-Fi, sadly my new board only has PCIe and no PCI.

[thorpj]

That sound card is way too old and it's a Dell, so there are some differences between that and the non Dell version. Use onboard, but if you still want a sound card, then look at Creative's latest Z series or Asus Xonar series.

I still have my X-Fi, sadly my new board only has PCIe and no PCI.

Just because it's from Dell, doesn't suddenly make it bad...

 

From what i'm reading, it seems to beat onboard. 

 

I'm not shopping for a sound card, i'm just looking at this because i found it in my house.

[Turkatron]

Does that motherboard even have a PCI slot? Didn't really bother to check lmao

[thorpj]

Does that motherboard even have a PCI slot? Didn't really bother to check lmao

Of course it's got PCI slots. Perhaps PCI-E, but it'll still work, won't it

[Turkatron]

Even still. That soundcard looks like it was made in 1995. You wouldn't need it anyways.

[thorpj]

Even still. That soundcard looks like it was made in 1995. You wouldn't need it anyways.

Honestly, it's like you didn't read anything that i've written. It's 2002. Still old, but it seems to be better than onboard.

[Guest]

It really depends on what you are using to listen to it. If you are using just a pair of crappy Apple earbuds, you probably won't notice a difference, but if you are using something like an HD5XX, you might hear an improvment. I can't speak for either the MOBO or the sound card, but I say ditch both and get yourself a good DAC. I'm going to say that if your headphones/speakers are good enough that you can hear a difference, you should be connecting them to something better anyway. 

[thorpj]

It really depends on what you are using to listen to it. If you are using just a pair of crappy Apple earbuds, you probably won't notice a difference, but if you are using something like an HD5XX, you might hear an improvment. I can't speak for either the MOBO or the sound card, but I say ditch both and get yourself a good DAC. I'm going to say that if your headphones/speakers are good enough that you can hear a difference, you should be connecting them to something better anyway. 

I'm no audiophile

 

I've got a pair of HyperX Clouds, and some logitech 5.2 2+1 speakers.

 

I won't be buying anything.

[NumLock21]

Just because it's from Dell, doesn't suddenly make it bad...

 

From what i'm reading, it seems to beat onboard. 

 

I'm not shopping for a sound card, i'm just looking at this because i found it in my house.

Not saying from Dell it's bad. Just saying there are some slight differences between the Dell and Retail.  Dedicated sound card will always be better than onboard.

[Guest]

I'm no audiophile

 

I've got a pair of HyperX Clouds, and some logitech 5.2 2+1 speakers.

 

I won't be buying anything.

If you can hear a difference, then more power to ya man! That's impressive, really. Have you tried a blind test?

[thorpj]

If you can hear a difference, then more power to ya man! That's impressive, really. Have you tried a blind test?

I haven't tried it yet. because i don't want to have to mess with drivers (there isn't even a win8 version of the drivers)

 

"That's impressive" Hyperx and some crappy logitech speakers, hardly... Is sarcasm against the CoC

[Guest]

I haven't tried it yet. because i don't want to have to mess with drivers (there isn't even a win8 version of the drivers)

 

"That's impressive" Hyperx and some crappy logitech speakers, hardly... Is sarcasm against the CoC

Hyper X headphones aren't too bad... I'm being for real when I say that. Most people wouldn't be able to tell, and if you really can, then you must have a pretty sharp ear. But it's a double blind test that is the ultimate tell!

[thorpj]

Hyper X headphones aren't too bad... I'm being for real when I say that. Most people wouldn't be able to tell, and if you really can, then you must have a pretty sharp ear. But it's a double blind test that is the ultimate tell!

Oh i know they're not bad, they're just not Audiophile - which suits me.

 

My hearing is pretty terrible, i probably wouldn't notice the difference.

 

 

I might as well close this thread up. Everyone's thoughts have been interesting, and, thanks for your time.

[creatip123]

Of course it's got PCI slots. Perhaps PCI-E, but it'll still work, won't it

 

 

PCI and PCI-E got very different interface and slot shape. The good thing is that because it got different shape, people can't go around plugging PCI cards to PCI-E slots and ends up damaging the board and the cards

 

[thorpj]

PCI and PCI-E got very different interface and slot shape. The good thing is that because it got different shape, people can't go around plugging PCI cards to PCI-E slots and ends up damaging the board and the cards

 

Oh, i've always assumed that they were backwards compatible, because i've never had to plug in anything that has PCI

 

my mobo does have two PCI slots, but i don't think i'll be using the sound card.

 

 

thanks for clarifying though!

[NumLock21]

Oh, i've always assumed that they were backwards compatible, because i've never had to plug in anything that has PCI

 

my mobo does have two PCI slots, but i don't think i'll be using the sound card.

 

 

thanks for clarifying though!

 

There are some PCI cards with 2 notches, one near the front and the other near the rear. For a person who is not familiar with PCI and PCIe this can get confusing. One way to tell the differences is, the gold contacts on PCI cards are taller than those on PCIe. For PCIe which is called PCI Express, there is another slot also called PCI Express, but it's has the abbreviation of PCI-X not PCIe. PCI-X will look exactly like a PCI slot but a lot longer. The common PCI slots are 32bit, PCI-X are 64bit.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PCI-X

.

1st slot: PCI Express (PCI-X)

2nd: PCI Express x4 (PCIe)

3rd: PCI

4th: PCI Express x16 (PCIe)

Notice the block near the front for the PCI-X and PCIe slots, PCIe cards cannot be plugged into a PCI-X slot, even some people have no problems plugging them in.

[SSL]

Is sarcasm against the CoC

 

If it were my ass would be banned.

[thorpj]

There are some PCI cards with 2 notches, one near the front and the other near the rear. For a person who is not familiar with PCI and PCIe this can get confusing. One way to tell the differences is, the gold contacts on PCI cards are taller than those on PCIe. For PCIe which is called PCI Express, there is another slot also called PCI Express, but it's has the abbreviation of PCI-X not PCIe. PCI-X will look exactly like a PCI slot but a lot longer. The common PCI slots are 32bit, PCI-X are 64bit.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PCI-X

.

1st slot: PCI Express (PCI-X)

2nd: PCI Express x4 (PCIe)

3rd: PCI

4th: PCI Express x16 (PCIe)

Notice the block near the front for the PCI-X and PCIe slots, PCIe cards cannot be plugged into a PCI-X slot, even some people have no problems plugging them in.

thanks for the info

[TheProfosist]

Thats actually a great card

[thorpj]

Thats actually a great card

That's good, do you use it?

[BoredErica]

This is dumb.

We've answered the same questions over and over again.