Need advice with sound

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I've recently pulled an old SB Live! 5.1 out of a retiring Celeron 500 MHz box. I owned that card once before upgrading my computer but since I was told the new onboard Realtek AC97 device (Abit IS7-E mobo) would be better, I passed the Live! to my sister. So I got this Live! now and plugged it in. I can't really rely on my ear to tell the difference, so it's possible it's just the fact Live! has a real MIDI wavetable that makes it look better. One other difference is that using 3 pairs of speakers as front, rear and central/sub on my Realtek, I had both a central and a sub even though the two speakers were on one cable (left acted as sub, right as centre or the other way round). The SB Live! speaker setup only has one speaker vaguely named centre and that's how it reports in the testing. The problem is, it reports in the testing but doesn't give out any sounds when playing music. I remember music played using all speakers I had back on AC97 (same prog, WMP).

Now my question is, which card am I better off with and for what reason? I don't really care so much about a small fps gain, nor do I really need superb MIDI. I just want better sound in games, as well as better EAX and better positioning of sound in space (i.e. better ability to hear what direction and how far away the sound comes from). SB Live! 5.1 is old but AC97 isn't new either. In fact, SB Live! has an AC97 codec on it too. The onboard Realtek Device (Realtek ALC650) isn't much newer, though - I suppose Live! was the high-end thing when Realtek ALC650 came out. So, any suggestions for me?

 

Generally speaking, an actual sound card offers better sound. When it's built in to the motherboard, the traces on the board run near other busses that range in power and frequencies...which can cause some cross talk between the traces.

 

At the moment there is only one sound card good enough to justify putting money on the counter.

for games the xi-fi extrme gamer, for music the other xi fi, the audio. Both made by Creative. Price around 69 euro. This card is a leap better than other Creative cards.

This is based on a test in a hardware enthousiasts magazine of high quality. All the other cards are only barely better then modern on board.

The best pc speakerset is named Teufel, but hard to come by. (Concept E magnum). The best after that is the creative inspire T6100. Around 60 euro.

 

I got the Live! for free - in fact, the card went away to family members because I already had one at that point. Then I didn't have one (onboard AC97), but finally the box returned here, so I took the card away since no one needed it. No purchase on my part, just recycling. Otherwise I suppose Live! for the several bucks it costs isn't that bad as a basic card...

Anyway, I'm just wondering which device is better: the standalone Live! I have or the AC97 (650) from Realten on my Abit IS7-E mobo. I don't really want to buy anything new.

 

I'd guess you'd be better of with the card, chevalier.

 

It looks like that. I've disbanded the whole improvised 5.1 set and limited myself to the JVC stereo I had been using before. And guess what. The sound on the Live! is much better than the AC97 integrated device. So it basically took good speakers to notice. I'm going to miss the surround effect, but now the sound is much better overall. Thanks, guys.