ASUS Xonar DX 7.1 Or Onboard

[Philosophytutor]

I am considering upgrading my computer. Currently I have a EVGA NFORCE 680I SLI MB and i am running onboard Audio. I am considering buying a ASUS Xonar DX 7.1 Channels PCI Express Interface Sound Card from Newegg (currently it has a $25.00 rebate on it). I have seen many positive reviews for that card here and other places.

All I use my computer for is gaming. While gaming I either use my Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 Computer Speakers or my Bose QuietComfort 2 (Noise Cancelling) Headphones.

If I buy the Asus card and I keep my current speaker setup will I notice any improvement in the sound quality for my system? Will the sound get better for my headphones?

Will I notice any improvement in framerate while gaming? If yes, about how much?

In the future I may upgrade to 7.1 speaker setup. Should I save up and wait to buy the card when I get the new speakers? Can anyone recomend any good 7.1 speakers?

Thanks in advance.

 

[xavdeman]

Hey Phil,

I have an Asus Xonar DX myself and I must say that it works wonders for music and movies. Gaming, not so much.

Since it doesn't support EAX7 natively it must emulate it, wich doesn't always go as smoothly as it should. If you play games more frequent it might be wise to invest in a Creative X-Fi XtremeGamer. Whilst it doesn't give you the pure audio quality of the Asus Xonar, it will yield better results with videogames.

 

[starams5]

Their is no comparison. The D2X is 3 times better than the X-FI.

 

[stevensl2]

i also have the asus xonar dx, i compared it to my onboard. the difference is HUGE