On board or Audigy2?

[katdak]

Hey All,
I have an Abit IS7 board with a P4 2.8. I am currently using the onboard sound. I have no issues with the sound quality, all I do is play games and listen to a few MP3s.

I want to know if using the onboard sound is using much of my CPU resources. I will buy a new Audigy2 if I will see an improvement in my games and overall performance.
I only have 2.1 speakers and dont plan on changing that.

I guess my question is... will I see any improvement by using a card to process my sound. If so, how much of an improvement (%) would I be looking at?

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[KevlarCoatedTent]

I believe any performance enhancement would be minimal, i didnt notice any when i got my SB audigy2 ZS but i dont pay too much attention to it. Basically if you want extra performance i wouldnt bother with a new sound spend the money on something else. But if you wanted sound quality or 6.1 or 7.1 speakers then i would advise going to a Audigy2 or ZS

 

[lb19984]

Leave the on-board sound
If you watch movies music ect... And have $100+ Speakers which are 5.1 6.1 or 7.1 Then upgrade
There is a big difference with on board and an Audigy2 But only if you have good speakers



<A HREF="http://www.freewebs.com/lb19984/" target="_new">My Rig</A>

 

[Crashman]

Creative's sound cards use an extraordinary amount of CPU power, barely surpassed by CPU supported codecs. The difference in system performance is very small, so I wouldn't bother.

In fact, if I HAD an Audigy2, I'd sell it and continue to use my onboard sound.

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[lb19984]

But What speakers are u using Crash?
And have you ever used an audigy @ like all configured
and Tweaked



<A HREF="http://www.freewebs.com/lb19984/" target="_new">My Rig</A>

 

[Crashman]

I'm using my old ATP3 speakers. Used an Audigy 2 ZS settup on a home theater. Didn't inspire me. I liked the nForce APU.

<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>