whats currently the best soundcard on the market ?

[EASY_KILL]

as the subject say whats the best soundcard at the momemnt or what do i have 2 look 4 when im thinking of buying a new soundcard ?

 

[Pvt. Thompson [7]]

Uhh I dont know too much about soundcards, but I think most motherboards have onboard sound these days...

Look on [link]http://Newegg.com[/link] or [link]http://Tomshardware.com[/link]

You can find some prices.

 

[GreenMonkey]

That depends HIGHLY on wheather you run XP or Vista since Vista does not allow EAX thus making all creative cards as good as everyones elses with no edge. Maybe someon with more experiance with alchemy can share their experiances with open AI conversion.

Otherwise if you are goign with XP then creative always rocks. The X-fi serries is the current top of the line serries they offer however, in my opinion i think the audigy 2 platinum zs was the best sound card they ever made (not counting the sound blaster live of course because thats just not fair).

Also: http://www.edgegamers.us/e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?109685.0#post_109993

 

[EASY_KILL]

what about the razer heard that that 1 should be amazing ?

 

[DyeMatrix]

[quote1198772973==(eGO)=EASY_KILL=FL=]
what about the razer heard that that 1 should be amazing ?
[/quote1198772973]

I have the Razer A-1, and it is utterly amazing. I traded my old Creative card in and got that thing and have no problems and blows the Creative out of the water when it comes to gaming. Makes such a huge differnce, its like going from Cable to HD

 

[Jimb0_d]

I am currently using the top of the range creative card (the xfi elite pro) and its very nice. Other cards I would reccomend are the Auzentech prelude, Asus Xonar and definately the razer.

As greenmonkey mentioned the EAX with vista is a problem as not all games are compatable with the Alchemy converter so the benefit of xfi cards being able to support EAX5 is pretty much void

(the reason for this is that in vista microsoft removed the possibility of hardware acceleration for sound. This means that they changed the driver model of the operationg system and no driver fix etc is ever going to sort that out.)

Reports from the Asus Xonar card are great and Asus are reportedly developing a system that will natitivly translate all EAX sounds over to Vista complatability effectivly giving you full EAX support. Im not too sure how this is going to work or when it is going to be fully implemented etc because i jsut read a brief article on it (in other words google it and dont ask questions )

So my best advice is workout what you REALLY need from your sound card in terms of connections (stereo, 5.1, 7.1, optica, coaxial, aux inputs etc) If you dont need a card with a breakout box dont spend the extra money on it.

Then work out what OS you are going to be using and if you are going to be wanting EAX support.

 

[EASY_KILL]

i just want the best sound as AMAZING as possible 4 gaming and music........... I want 2 have an amazing sound 4 when i hear music. And at the same time be able 2 hear the german that tries 2 sneak up behind me from miles away. And piss in my pants when i hear the bullets flying by my head because it sounds so real . dont get 5,1 and 7,1 thing but i have 5 speakers and 1 bass if thats what youre asking me. ? And the headset i have is an icemat siberia headset​

 

[ARMED]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829102006

 

[EASY_KILL]

hmmm i think im gonna go with a razer when i get cash 4 it