Tom, do some sound card reviews or comparisons
- Thread starter Bubba
- Start date
slvr_phoenix
Splendid
- Dec 31, 2007
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I agree. I've been wondering for ages now what differences there really are in sound cards and which ones are worth getting these days. Since I trust Tom and co. to be unbiased in most things, I'd really like to see the review from these great people.
Yep I agree, actually it was going to be my first post topic! Hercules have just released two cards that look set to topple Creative from their post as the Soundcard manufacturer. I'm desperate for a review of these cards and how stable/reliable the drivers are in Win2k.
You guys are so right! Tom does test about GPU to CPU and some MP3 drives that I can only dream about! Tom forgets that we all have and need a good Sound Card!!!
Iron Man the tough nerd!
Iron Man the tough nerd!
In Tom's defense -- are you all crazy, I am but thats beside the point! What will they test, how well the drivers loaded? Video cards have tangible qualities that can be reported about with some degree of acurracy. Visual quality being one(monitor dependent partly) and speed being the other(tide into the system as well)
With sound the most you can hope for is, "didn't hear any substantial white noise". Nothing is going to make a pair of [-peep-] speakers sound good, and a poor soucre does not do a good set of speakers any justice. Hearing is such a subjective process that is hard to report. I for one don't see the value in it other then the report of component quality and features.
Take Care.
If money was no object, how could you spend it!
With sound the most you can hope for is, "didn't hear any substantial white noise". Nothing is going to make a pair of [-peep-] speakers sound good, and a poor soucre does not do a good set of speakers any justice. Hearing is such a subjective process that is hard to report. I for one don't see the value in it other then the report of component quality and features.
Take Care.
If money was no object, how could you spend it!
He could do a review noting the features.
He could also report on how easy it is to install and to use.
Also, reports on possible problems with various chipsets would be helpful.
And finally, yes I would like to know if the sound quality sucks or not. I would sooner take Tom's opinion over the manufacturer's advertising on the side of their product''s box.
I truely believe that the reason that Creative Labs has such crappy technical and customer support is because there are not enough quality web sites putting out criticism to a large public audience.
Creative Labs are considered the best because they have been around a while and have no real competition. This sense of invincibility allows them to dictate what happens in the sound card market and the direction it take while treating their customers like sh*t.
Look what happened to 3dfx, their only real competition was ATi, they tought they were unstoppable until NVidia came along and knocked them on their ass. And because of this competition, there has been major advancements in graphics cards and technology.
The same thing is currently happening with Intel and AMD, it will take AMD longer to dethrone Intel because of Intel's sheer size but it is happening. And we the consumers benefit the most because they are forced to come out with better technology faster and cheaper.
When I bought my first computer 6 years ago Intel was the only real chip maker I bought a P120 and it was the best. For the next three years processor speeds only increased to 300MHz, that sucks.
For the last year and a half, since AMD really got serious, speeds have jumped from 450MHz to 1.2GHz and its all due to competition.
I think there is a lot of progress to be made in the sound card section of the market and it can be forced to be made by competition.
Reviews and critiques of sound cards can help to force this competition.
Thanks for listening
He could also report on how easy it is to install and to use.
Also, reports on possible problems with various chipsets would be helpful.
And finally, yes I would like to know if the sound quality sucks or not. I would sooner take Tom's opinion over the manufacturer's advertising on the side of their product''s box.
I truely believe that the reason that Creative Labs has such crappy technical and customer support is because there are not enough quality web sites putting out criticism to a large public audience.
Creative Labs are considered the best because they have been around a while and have no real competition. This sense of invincibility allows them to dictate what happens in the sound card market and the direction it take while treating their customers like sh*t.
Look what happened to 3dfx, their only real competition was ATi, they tought they were unstoppable until NVidia came along and knocked them on their ass. And because of this competition, there has been major advancements in graphics cards and technology.
The same thing is currently happening with Intel and AMD, it will take AMD longer to dethrone Intel because of Intel's sheer size but it is happening. And we the consumers benefit the most because they are forced to come out with better technology faster and cheaper.
When I bought my first computer 6 years ago Intel was the only real chip maker I bought a P120 and it was the best. For the next three years processor speeds only increased to 300MHz, that sucks.
For the last year and a half, since AMD really got serious, speeds have jumped from 450MHz to 1.2GHz and its all due to competition.
I think there is a lot of progress to be made in the sound card section of the market and it can be forced to be made by competition.
Reviews and critiques of sound cards can help to force this competition.
Thanks for listening
I agree with Bubba. I am a newbie in this field of building and there are so many Soundblaster cards to choose from it's too confusing to know which way to go. I am not a gamer at all, so I kind of hate spending $100 for a card when the PCI 512 might be all I need rather than the MP3 + 5.1
I also would like to see some sort of sound card comparison. Besides, the Geforce comparisons are getting kind of old....you can purchase the MX or the other one...you know the one costing 5 or 6 hundred bucks... And...if Tom's started a revolt...maybe somebody would put decent sound onboard....nah...nevermind..I don't like anything onboard.
Take Care
Atman
Take Care
Atman
yes a sound card test among the top ones say, sound blaster live and diamond monster sound 300 or 400.
the speed of the sound card and it's impact on system resources(how much does it slow down the comoputer) should be not much more work for tom since he is already testing systems and games with the sound turned off.
just turn it back on for next test and identify sound card used. see how much performance drops with which sound card.
i think that there is a test at tweak files to test the speed of your sound card but it looked complicated and i didn't have time to explore it.
imagine know that if you got the right sound card that q3a woould give you more framerates and the game would respond better. unless you are an audiophile the monsters and lives both sound ok/the same
the speed of the sound card and it's impact on system resources(how much does it slow down the comoputer) should be not much more work for tom since he is already testing systems and games with the sound turned off.
just turn it back on for next test and identify sound card used. see how much performance drops with which sound card.
i think that there is a test at tweak files to test the speed of your sound card but it looked complicated and i didn't have time to explore it.
imagine know that if you got the right sound card that q3a woould give you more framerates and the game would respond better. unless you are an audiophile the monsters and lives both sound ok/the same
Awesome idea!
I would love to see a very extensive review by tom on soundcards. But please dont limit it to windows as it must take into consideration other OS in the market like Linux and so on.
This idea is the best i have heard on the new board yet.
Why do I use LINUX ? Cause its the BEST OS
Why do I use Windows? Cause its the BEST Nintendo..
I would love to see a very extensive review by tom on soundcards. But please dont limit it to windows as it must take into consideration other OS in the market like Linux and so on.
This idea is the best i have heard on the new board yet.
Why do I use LINUX ? Cause its the BEST OS
Why do I use Windows? Cause its the BEST Nintendo..
I understand what Crazy Mck is saying...but I have built 3 computers now, and still look for a good (reliable) review of sound cards and have yet to find any. I'm one of those gamers who really wants to be immersed in the game not only by high quality video but sound as well. I realize sound cards pale in comparison to videocards in terms of price but still do I spend $100.00 or more to get sound that makes me look behind me to see if I'm really gonna get shot? I've really come to value Tom's input so I tend to look here for ALL my HARDWARE questions...
Actually, there are good performance measurements of a sound card. You can measure dynamic range and Signal-to Noise Ratio when recording, Latency, etc. And MOST OF ALL... problems with the VIA chipset... pops, crackling, etc.
slvr_phoenix
Splendid
- Dec 31, 2007
- 6,223
- 1
- 25,780
I want to see a sound card comparison too.
There are numerous things that could be tested:
1) Recording quality
2) Playback quality
3) Quality of devices (line in/mic) heard but not recorded
4) System stress
5) Errors prone to the card
6) Features
7) Difficulty to set up
8) Features
9) Software packaged with the card (I.E. CD player software, recording software, etc.)
10) Features
11) Price
12) 3D gaming sound capabilities
13) MP3 recording/decoding capabilities
Thirteen seems a good number to stop at.
- Sanity is purely based on point-of-view.
There are numerous things that could be tested:
1) Recording quality
2) Playback quality
3) Quality of devices (line in/mic) heard but not recorded
4) System stress
5) Errors prone to the card
6) Features
7) Difficulty to set up
8) Features
9) Software packaged with the card (I.E. CD player software, recording software, etc.)
10) Features
11) Price
12) 3D gaming sound capabilities
13) MP3 recording/decoding capabilities
Thirteen seems a good number to stop at.
- Sanity is purely based on point-of-view.
Grrrr.
New Athlon 1.1G on K7V has given me a lot of trouble. Now I have uninstalled the MX300 software and it is running like a dream. A silent dream. The only reason I bought Thief2 was because of the awesome surround sound through the MX300. Well can't do that now. Just logged on to see if I can find a more compatible soundcard. But can I find a review anywhere? Of course not. That would make it too easy wouldn't it?
New Athlon 1.1G on K7V has given me a lot of trouble. Now I have uninstalled the MX300 software and it is running like a dream. A silent dream. The only reason I bought Thief2 was because of the awesome surround sound through the MX300. Well can't do that now. Just logged on to see if I can find a more compatible soundcard. But can I find a review anywhere? Of course not. That would make it too easy wouldn't it?
It's about time Tom started focusing on hardware other than the CPU and GPU. The soundcard is what made gaming so damned fun on computers. My first soundcard was a Sound Blaster Pro Basic which cost me $189.00, it was only 8 bit, but it was in Stereo. Nothing like playing Wolfenstein 3D with your stereo hooked to your computer or Wing Commander II with the speech pack. Those were the days.
I heartily agree, it's incredibly difficult to find any useful information on the web concerning sound cards, at least compared to the processor, video card, or motherboard.
Someone mentioned the GUS and that it rules, to which I can only say YES! I still have mine (in GUS MAX form), and would be using it today if it was supported in Win98. I paid $200 for it about 6 years ago, and at the time it was far better than any Soundblaster product, way ahead of it's time. But I digress..
People have mentioned lots of good things to test on soundcards. Of particular intrest to me would be the installation/compatibility. For instance, reading through the info provided by retailers (either local or online), you'd have no idea that any soundcard based on the Vortex2 chipset (ie MX300, many Turtle Beach cards, and others...) are NOT COMPATIBLE with Athlon chipsets. This according to Turtle Beach support. Nice of people to tell you that BEFORE you buy it! Of course, I've read a great deal of negative comments regarding use of the SB Live! on Athlon boards as well.
A feature list would be great too, as it can be rather difficult based solely on a brief product description, to tell whether or not a sound card has the specific input/output that you are looking for. Some online vendors are better at detail than others, but even the best could use a little improvement.
Cheers,
Aaron
Someone mentioned the GUS and that it rules, to which I can only say YES! I still have mine (in GUS MAX form), and would be using it today if it was supported in Win98. I paid $200 for it about 6 years ago, and at the time it was far better than any Soundblaster product, way ahead of it's time. But I digress..
People have mentioned lots of good things to test on soundcards. Of particular intrest to me would be the installation/compatibility. For instance, reading through the info provided by retailers (either local or online), you'd have no idea that any soundcard based on the Vortex2 chipset (ie MX300, many Turtle Beach cards, and others...) are NOT COMPATIBLE with Athlon chipsets. This according to Turtle Beach support. Nice of people to tell you that BEFORE you buy it! Of course, I've read a great deal of negative comments regarding use of the SB Live! on Athlon boards as well.
A feature list would be great too, as it can be rather difficult based solely on a brief product description, to tell whether or not a sound card has the specific input/output that you are looking for. Some online vendors are better at detail than others, but even the best could use a little improvement.
Cheers,
Aaron
GUS as in Gravis UltraSound, I remember all the hype surrounding it before it came out, I used to talk about it on the Prodigy message boards. At that time there was a war between Pro Audio 16 and SoundBlaster. I remember I had to buy a specific CD-ROM drive just to work with my SoundBlaster Pro card.
The crazy thing is, Tom already looked into hardware that is not PC related at all, like MP3 players and PDAs, which may be of no interest to anyone of us at all...
Actually, I wonder if Tom reads these forums. If he does, he may be considering a test by now!
<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by lrmv on 12/21/00 10:43 AM.</EM></FONT></P>
Actually, I wonder if Tom reads these forums. If he does, he may be considering a test by now!
<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by lrmv on 12/21/00 10:43 AM.</EM></FONT></P>
Subject: Re: Tom, do some sound card reviews or comparisons
This is a very good subject to talk about, but lets not nuke this thing. This is a forum, we are a huge experience pool ourselves.
I have had the Turtle Beach Montego A3D XTream 64-VOICE PCI for about 8mo, It installed perfectly the first time with the included driver disk, and has worked flawlessly in all games I have used i.e. UT, Heavy Gear, Mech War3, etc. CD's. MP3's all sound great. I think I paid about $40 for it at a local store.
I guess this is all I really want from my sound card.
I am planning to build a complete new system for myself and turn this over to my daughter, could someone pass on some advice on a reliable 4-channel card for my new system. I was leaning toward the monster M400 but I heard it may not be the most system friendly card around, I want to play my games, not troubleshoot them.
Thanks all
This is a very good subject to talk about, but lets not nuke this thing. This is a forum, we are a huge experience pool ourselves.
I have had the Turtle Beach Montego A3D XTream 64-VOICE PCI for about 8mo, It installed perfectly the first time with the included driver disk, and has worked flawlessly in all games I have used i.e. UT, Heavy Gear, Mech War3, etc. CD's. MP3's all sound great. I think I paid about $40 for it at a local store.
I guess this is all I really want from my sound card.
I am planning to build a complete new system for myself and turn this over to my daughter, could someone pass on some advice on a reliable 4-channel card for my new system. I was leaning toward the monster M400 but I heard it may not be the most system friendly card around, I want to play my games, not troubleshoot them.
Thanks all
I think that the people have spoken Tom, how about it huh, huh,huh? Are we there yet, Are we there yet, Are we there yet?
"Its full of stars!"
"Its full of stars!"
I reckon if Tom keeps any sort of eye on the forums he'd be aware now of our DESPERATE NEED for some sound card reviews...
In the meantime I'm going to follow Simtis' lead and share some of my sound card experience. Hopefully the rest of you guys will too.
I own the original Diamond Monster Sound and i have to say that it has made me completely disillusioned with modern sound cards. Personally the only time I can tell the difference between it and a goold 'ole SB16 is when i run the helicopter demo which makes the sound whiz around my head. No game has given me any clues as to what (if any) special stuff this piece of hardware is doing, and i've played just about every big game to come out on PC in the last 5 years. Furthermore, I can't pass any of the blame to my speakers because my PC is hooked up to a kick-arse Sony Stereo which supports 3D, Dolby Surround etc....
Can anyone convince me otherwise? I've built a few high-end systems with SB-Live! cards without much variation on this theme.
Maybe we should all go spend $5 on SB-16 cards and forget about Sound Card reviews ;-)
In the meantime I'm going to follow Simtis' lead and share some of my sound card experience. Hopefully the rest of you guys will too.
I own the original Diamond Monster Sound and i have to say that it has made me completely disillusioned with modern sound cards. Personally the only time I can tell the difference between it and a goold 'ole SB16 is when i run the helicopter demo which makes the sound whiz around my head. No game has given me any clues as to what (if any) special stuff this piece of hardware is doing, and i've played just about every big game to come out on PC in the last 5 years. Furthermore, I can't pass any of the blame to my speakers because my PC is hooked up to a kick-arse Sony Stereo which supports 3D, Dolby Surround etc....
Can anyone convince me otherwise? I've built a few high-end systems with SB-Live! cards without much variation on this theme.
Maybe we should all go spend $5 on SB-16 cards and forget about Sound Card reviews ;-)
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