Forissimo III, Audigy II, or go without sound

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SmokeDog

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Mar 4, 2003
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Ok right now I have no sound on my system. It is a 1.7 ghz Athlon with an Asus tec board (VIA chipset)with a Ge-Force 2 graphics card (I realize the card is dated). I have one sub-woofer and two side speakers (Creative Inspire 2.1).

I use this computer at my office and can not add more speakers due to aesthetic reasons. I use the computer mainly for work (Word Perfect, Internet and Computerized Research), but I play music while I am at work. I am a self employed attorney. I have no boss so there is no one to tell me to stop playing music. Sometimes after work or when it is very slow I will play games on the computer. Some games that I play include WarCraft III, MOO III and various RPG's by Black Isle.

So the card will be used with work software (very limited), games and music, but probably won't see much DVD use. Music will be its primary purpose.

The question is should I upgrade and get a sound card? If so which one should I get? The Fortissimo III is a lot cheaper. The Audigy II costs more but is "newer" (I think). Having no sound card is the cheapest option (obviously).

Will sound quality improve? Will performance improve noticeably? Those are my questions. Now I want answers.

Thank you-

SmokeDog out
 
I had exactly the same choice as yourself. You can find my post <A HREF="http://forumz.tomshardware.com/hardware/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=71145#71145" target="_new">here</A>.

In the end, I opted for the <b>Hercules Gamesurround Fortissimo III 7.1</b> which was £44 on <A HREF="http://www.dabs.com/" target="_new">Dabs</A>. I also found the Audigy 2 was much more expensive - it was just over £85, also at <A HREF="http://www.dabs.com/" target="_new">Dabs</A>.

My only problem, after upgrading from my Aureal Vortex 2, I found was my chipset (VIA Apollo Pro 133T) appeared to be causing one or two problems.

I think I have this corrected now, with the patches found <A HREF="http://www.georgebreese.com/net/software" target="_new">here</A>. The patches I downloaded were <b>"PCI Latency" patch for VIA chipsets</b> (version 0.19) and <b>Memory interleave enabler for VIA chipsets</b> (the <b>Memory interleave enabler for VIA chipsets</b> was mainly for a speed boost :smile: ).

Do you know what chipset you motherboard has? If not, what motherboard do you have (ideally the make and model of it)?

Anyhow, I am very happy with my Hercules card. But I thought I'd let you know of my own experience of it, should it interest you. Take note, however, my problems were not caused by the soundcard itself but the chipset.

Happy buying!

====
Basmic
 
Yeah! George Breeze's latency patch is a must for anyone using Via chipsets. It's about the only thing I've seen that will prevent data corruption between primary and secondary IDE channels.

Of course the new Via 4in1 actually includes this patch, which is handy.





<b>(</b>It ain't better if it don't work.<b>)</b>
 
As this is for games and music, steer clear away from creative (actually, that's a good idea all the time). The Audigy has a dumb process of converting 44.1Khz audio (like music) into 48Khz, so the processor can handle it. This adds noise, and makes the sound quality poorer than it could be. It also costs a lot more. Go with the Guillemot.

XP 2500+ Barton
A7N8X Dlx
2x512MB Corsair PC3200
MSI GF3 Ti500 w/64MB DDR
16x DVD-ROM
2x80GB 7200RPM Maxtor
Onboard audio

My computer is bigger than your computer....
 
How do we know other cards (including the Fortissimo 3) don't do the same thing (44.1KHz -> 48KHz)?

I don't want to argue about Creative being the best but as an owner of an Audigy (the first one, not Audigy2 which is much improved) I think it doesn't sound bad at all in music (in fact, far from it). Audigy2 should be even better but if you just don't want to buy Creative hardware, well that's another story. If you're willing to pay as much as an Audigy2, I recommend looking into M-Audio Revolution and Terratec Aureon line. They will be MUCH better than a F3 for music.
 
Hi Smokedog,
There are a couple of things you can think about here...

If you are just interested in some minor distraction --"elevator music"-- while working or quietly playing games for 10 minutes while waiting for a client, you can save yourself some money and go for a dirt cheap sound card. I've seen Sound Blaster PCI-128s, which are a decent card, for as little as $16.00cdn and nameless others for even less.

If, on the other hand you want to blast the 1812 in full orchestral rendition, for hours at a time, then you need to spend some real money... like on an Audigy or Yamaha card.

If you're like me and your preferences lead towards Midi files (I got thousands of them!) as background music you would be well advised to look for sound cards with high accuracy synthesizers, not the cheapies using that god-awful Microsoft GS synthesizer. The difference in instrumental rendering is well worth the money.

Hope this helps you decide...


<b>(</b>It ain't better if it don't work.<b>)</b>
 
I have recently purchased the Fortissimo 3. Went from onboard sound, tried some cheaper cards but settled with the F3. Music quality is limited to the speakers only. Game sounds in BF1942 are fantastic. Am now hearing sounds not heard before. For $40.00- $50.00 I could find nothing better.

Mikal
 
Yes, I agree.

r2k, M-Audio makes pro-audio cards. They are priced accordingly. For a fraction of the price (about 1/3 to 1/4) you can do very well with Guillemot. However, if you are loaded or really are an audiophile, then sure, M-Audio, RME, Audiotrak, and all of those high-end pro cards are the way to go.

I looked at the specs of the Terratec cards, and the prices as well, and personally I would recommend the Aureon Sky. It looks like a nice, well-rounded card at a reasonable price. However, if cost is an issue, the Aureon Fun might be a good bet.

This is more of a price-quality ratio here. That's why Guillemot gets props.

XP 2500+ Barton
A7N8X Dlx
2x512MB Corsair PC3200
MSI GF3 Ti500 w/64MB DDR
16x DVD-ROM
2x80GB 7200RPM Maxtor
Onboard audio

My computer is bigger than your computer....
 
What do you think of the onboard sound that came with your Mobo? I have heard conflicting reviews from owner/users, ranging from the best to nothing special. May make one of these my next motherboard.
 
I actually haven't heard it yet. I've been really busy, and I haven't put the system together yet. I have the parts stacked in boxes on my shelf. Once I do, I'll PM you and let you know. From most accounts, it appears to be a very decent sound system. It uses a good sound processor, and looks like it can put out a fair amount of power. There are issues when installing the Detonator drivers for the motherboard, it seems, because the audio portion is skipped entirely, so you need to visit Asus to update the BIOS and anything else.

However, it is interesting to note that of a whole pile of motherboards with the nForce2 chipset, the Asus was consistently faster than the others, sometimes with a spectacular margin between highest and lowest.

If you want to do some research of your own, just search for soundstorm review in google. There are a few resources there. The most detailed one seems to be http://www.3dss.com/reviews/nForce/nForce.html. Check it out.

Good luck.

XP 2500+ Barton
A7N8X Dlx
2x512MB Corsair PC3200
MSI GF3 Ti500 w/64MB DDR
16x DVD-ROM
2x80GB 7200RPM Maxtor
Onboard audio

My computer is bigger than your computer....
 
You did find the price for the Aureon line? How much did the three cards cost? I'm interested in Sky 5.1 and I really want to know more about it (more than what Terratec's website provides obviously...). Can you point me to the vendor, sources of info, etc.?
 
Visit Terratec.com and you ca see their whole lineup. They have a price list, but it is outdated. Visit one of their online resalers. Here is one if youd don't want to go through the work. They also sell RME cards, so you can see how much more they cost.

http://www.jdsound.com/store/category.asp?SID=2&Category_ID=51

XP 2500+ Barton
A7N8X Dlx
2x512MB Corsair PC3200
MSI GF3 Ti500 w/64MB DDR
16x DVD-ROM
2x80GB 7200RPM Maxtor
Onboard audio

My computer is bigger than your computer....
 
Great choice! Im very happy with mine. Unless you can find a Santa Cruz on sale for about the same price, it is the most bang for the buck.

Mikal
 
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