Windows 7: Basic Sound card Recommendation

I had created a post the other day in regards to some sound problems I have been having since going to Windows 7 64 on my HP XW8200 Workstation... has Soundmax onboard & I have come to the conclusion that it simply will not work & that I need to install a soundcard.

I have been researching that, & have read the compatibility chart on the MS website, but even reviewing those same products on the Newegg site reveals that there are still some issues running 7/64. The Microsoft compatibility chart seems to strongly favor Creative products, but when looking them up, you see a lot of comments that suggest that they may not be as "plug & play" as the chart would suggest.

I don't really need anything sophisticated... I don't play any games and primarily listen to music or watch Hulu using an older set of Polk 2.1 speakers, & for the most part, onboard sound has been ok.



Recommendations? I am not looking necessarily for high-end, but rather the product that would have the least likelihood of giving me problems.

Also, it MUST be PCI. Not PCI-E... all those slots are used up.

Oh... also was thinking about just getting a set of the Bose speakers that run on USB and don't require a soundcard connection... thoughts on that? Problems?

Thanks,

Jameson

Look at the HT Omega "Striker 7.1" sound card. I have one working in Win 7 64 bit. It also has the "System Mixer" function so you can record streaming audio. It is a PCI card. It's available at newegg.com

I'm not a fan of the USB connected speakers.

Ordered today... fingers crossed that I have better luck than with the onboard setup.

Thanks...looks like a good one.

There are two files that will have to be modified after installation or you will always get an error notice at boot up. They are in the System and System32 folders. I'll get the information that you need to modifiy these files and post later. The issue is Windows sees these files as "coming from another computer" and the permission has to be modified. That is the only (minor) issue. The Win 7, 64 bit drivers are not included with the card but they can be downloaded from their web site HERE

I got the soundcard you recommended today from Newegg (HT Omega Striker 7.1). I plan on installing it tonight, & I will download the latest drivers as you recommend, but if you can point me to the mods I need to make to avoid those error messages, that would be great. Knowing the pitfalls of something like that in advance is a huge benefit.

Thanks for the recommendation, the soundcard looks great.

I think the file issue you were talking about is a moot point... the striker card is in & sounds great. I think, anyway. No driver issues, no error messages, no problems unless you count having so many options that I can't stop tweaking it. Unfortunately (or fortunately, maybe) it looks like I am going to have to retire the Polks in favor of something new. Klipsch, maybe, idk.

Thanks... overall a good purchase I think.

Glad to hear you like the card. This shows that there is more to sound cards than SoundBlaster.

On mine, I got two error messages when Windows starts, I forgot what the file name is so I can't find it for you, but it is moot if you are not getting the security notice for the file. It is located in the system32 and syswow64 folders. Apparently you do not have the same security UAC level that I do and why you are do not get the security alerts. I had to change the security level for my user account (even though it has Administrator rights) for that file so I could remove the security issue.

I had contacted HT Omega support and they are the ones that gave me the instructions on how to fix it.

Just curious... I have the HT Omega Striker installed & it sounds great (using the drivers from the HT Omega website), but I do consistently have a popping noise that presents on boot & shutdown. In windows, its perfect.

It seems that there are several instances of this issue on the net, but no real clear solution ( not specific to the HT Omega product). I have emailed HT Omega support & have heard nothing back from them, & I was wondering if you have this issue or have ran across it & brought it to successful resolution before.

Its not a huge deal but this is a really nice machine & I really don't care for the pop when I start it up.

There are no BIOS updates available for this board as some have suggested in other forums. I am wondering if it is one of those things I am just going to have to live with until the driver improves.

I don't have that on my system. Some startup problems can be caused by where a driver loads in the startup. Uninstall the Striker 7.1 in the Device Manager then restart and when Windows starts it will reinstall it. This can put it in a different location in the startup which could fix some problems.