recommend a sound card

[highland man]

Hi people

 

I was reading another topic on this board and i heard that onboard sound can really drain system resources whereas a sound card will use ALOT less resources.

 

Can anyone recommend a good, inexpensive soundcard for my new pc.

 

to give an idea of the spec i'm looking for i'll show the rest of my pc.

 

Thanks in advance

 

Intel Pentium 4 processor 650 (3.4GHz, 2MB cache, 800MHz) supporting Hyper-Threading Technology

 

Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition

 

Intel 915P chipset motherboard with PCI Express, 1Gb LAN, dual channel DDR & Hyper-Threading support

 

1GB DDR2 533

 

250GB Serial ATA hard drive with 8MB buffer

 

256Mb ATI Radeon X800GT PCI Express graphics

 

19" Viewsonic VX912 pure digital DVI TFT monitor (12ms response)

 

DVD-ROM (16x) drive

 

Multi Format Dual Layer DVD Writer (16x) / CD Writer drive

 

Sound Blaster compatible 6 channel audio

 

Creative Inspire P5800 5.1 speakers

 

Microsoft cordless keyboard and cordless optical tilt mouse

 

v92 56k modem

 

Xpider tool free case (453x222x495mm)

 

£800

[CompSci]

i wouldn't bother if i were u, since most mobos, have there own dedicated sound cards already built in, i,e nforce soundstorm (which has the quality that is comparable to a dedicated sound card), that take little or no strain on the cpu, furthermore judging from your system (mines still better lol) it looks like your a gamer, tell u the truth u will not see a vast improvement of FPS if u have a sound card, but u will see a major improvement in the sound quality in games, EAX 4.0 any one? (trust me u will never want to go back), if u do purchase a sound card, i suggest u get the best one which is the creative x-fi sound card, but if i were u just get a audigy 2 zs (like me) they are pretty cheap now and there great for games.

[The-Ironflame]

Get a Audigy 2 ZS if possible if you do alot of gaming, Xi-fi if you do alot of sound editing,recording and that lot.

Or even a Audigy 4 if possible as they're should be alot cheaper than a Xi-fi right now and any soundcard apart from the budget range ones (unless you're on a tight budget) are better than the onboard ones. Nvidia don't do the onboard soundstorm anymore..

[Guest Jordan]

Audigy 2 ZS is the max you're gunna need. Sure the X-Fi makes even standard MP3's sound astounding. But only if you've got a good set of speakers to go with them... oh and you don't mind paying £300-400 for one.

[CompSci]

Audigy 2 ZS is the max you're gunna need. Sure the X-Fi makes even standard MP3's sound astounding. But only if you've got a good set of speakers to go with them... oh and you don't mind paying £300-400 for one.

 

i seen a x-fi go for £70 on ebay brand new sealed!