Music doesn't sound as good anymore....

[Szat]

I'm pretty satisfied with my onboard sound that came with my ASUS mobo. I think it's Realtek ALC883. I've never had a sound card on any of my pcs nor has any of my friends had one. I am curious about them though. I would probably just buy a $30 Creative one if I wanted to test it out.

 

[GhostGT]

If your positive your speakers are fine, then just get a sound blaster audigy 2 or 4.
It will serve you well, without breaking the bank.

Yeah, it'll be the onboard sound, trust me.
I turned mine on for about 10 minutes, and shut it off. I could tell straight away, the quality wasn't as good.

I was checking out newegg and I found this guy...looks like something decent. What would you guys say? My old Vaio had crystal clear sound and I think it was on-board.

Anyway, here's what I found:

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

I think it should be a great card, coupled with the $30 mail-in.

i love my onboard sound, and ima huge music dler and have lots of it. and have a really expensive receiver, mines ASUS too. i bet its something that fried or somethin on the mobo, onboard is supposed to sound good.

I highly doubt that. The second I began listening to it, it was obvious that a lack of clarity and quality was there.

Don't listen to the guys who say onboard sound is good. I've had two Asus motherboards and on both the onboard sound sucked. Get yourself a sound card, any recent sound card will be better than the onboard sound. I had my Z-2300's hooked up to my laptop with the onboard realtek HD audio, and believe me, you can tell the difference! I only had a Sound Blaster Live! 24bit sound card in my old system, but it sounded so much better than the onboard on the laptop does.

You don't have to get a real expensive one to get good sound, something like an Audigy 4 will do you good. What kind of speakers are you running?

Check out the sound card I linked up in the beginning of my post.

As to my speakers, they're the Altec Lansing ATP3 system. Its well over a few years old and I'm on my 2nd set, but to be brutally honest, I have yet to find a speaker system that I have heard that can match or beat the quality of these babies. I know it sounds ridiculous, but I've had many, many people say the same thing while in my room. They're ridiculously good for such a low price I got them for (~$60 or $80 I believe).

 

[MikeReiner]

I have onboard sound myself.. I can live with it... it never really cuts out or sounds fuzzy..

but believe me, last time I had a sound card in here, I knew about it. I just don't have the money to spend on a new card right now.

 

[Kage]

Szat get one now. Even if its an older version of a card. Your missing out on a lot.

 

[mammikoura]

Anyway, here's what I found:

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

I think it should be a great card, coupled with the $30 mail-in.

yep, I've heard that one is a pretty good card. And a $80 card for $50.. sounds like a great deal.

 

[GhostGT]

Alright, took apart my case today to take some pictures with another quick question. It looks like I've got two PCI slots and one express (x16) open between those.

Take a look at these pics...




The top PCI slot is literally touching the bottom of my video card. Now I know that shouldn't be a problem since the cards always continue downward from their slot location....but I don't necessarily want to choke my video card.





What are your thoughts? Should I get a PCI-E sound card or just for for a normal PCI and fit it on the bottom there? It looks kinda tight too. -_-

 

[worshipme]

Dual slot coolers will sometimes cut off a slot. I'd say you're better off using the bottom slot for your sound card.

 

[dude_56013]

TBH with you....I've never had onboard problems..but I'm not saying that's not what it is...I actually record my own music..but usually I'm using a USB mixer..but when I do use my Realtek (ASUS board) it sounds just fine on my analog audio for playback...

 

[Kage]

Yeah, but many people do notice the difference including me. There is no point trying to defend onboard sound. If you music make etc, and listen to music a lot on a good speaker system (if you like music, you must have one of these too) you deserve to have a real sound card to carry the signal with.

 

[worshipme]

True, but not everyone has the golden ears of an audiophile.