Another Graphics Card or Sound Card

[0pp9iuy]

Currently, I have 1 Nvidia GTX580.
I was thinking of getting another 580 for or getting a sound card Asus Xonar D2X for
Thing is I have a Logitech X-540 speakers, so I am not sure if it would be worth it.
I am more into getting a sound card but I think my X-540 wont produce the real sound quality of the sound card.
Any ideas?

Thanks,
Sylo

 

[Clinkz]

For the most part, in terms of quality on board sound cards do what is needed these days. If your doing audio mixing and require extra features not available on your standard on board or have very high quality sound system that will pick up any discrepancies in audio, a sound card would be the way to go. I have a Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Champion which sounds really good, but if i wasn't doing audio work, i wouldn't bother. I would rather the second GPU.

 

[apollodominion]

my Lan pc has 2x GTX580s and i was going to get a Xonar intead of a 580 but got the 2nd card since i have a wow headset i use at lans

But for good sound with your HIFI go the soundcard then l8er get another GPU

 

[0pp9iuy]

Thanks for the feedback. Appreciate it.
I think I will go for a sound card now and GPU later since I am a bit picky when it comes to the hissing sound.
So, which do you recommend?
1. Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Professional
2. ASUS Xonar D2X

Again, thanks,
Sylo

 

[Clinkz]

I m loving my Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Champion at the moment and will stay with it for a while to come, it all depends on what you want really, I've heard really good things about the Xonar but i wanted the I/O drive so i got the Fatal1ty Champ . If you don't want an I/O drive i would probably lean towards the Xonar ( if money isn't a consideration that is). Thats what i think anyway.

 

[0pp9iuy]

Thanks for the reply. Guess I am going for the Xonar since I don't want the I/O drive.

 

[Clinkz]

Neat let us know how it goes for you, would like to hear your thoughts.

 

[0pp9iuy]

Sure. Expect a reply in 2 days, hopefully.

Edit: Seems like I am not getting this anytime soon. Out of Stock everywhere!

 

[0pp9iuy]

So I got the Xonar D2X and to install it I removed my on-board sound driver then installed the 3rd party Xonar Unified Drivers (Not Asus drivers) and it worked without troubles.

I didnt think there would be much difference since my speakers cost less than $100
The first thing I noticed was the sound is greatly amplified, currently anything above 50% on my speakers control (100% windows control) and the whole apartment can hear my music .
Sound quality enhancement was most noticeable with instrumental music, as the hissing sound is completely eliminated and sounds just seem live.
In-game sound quality increased drastically, no more hissing and more realistic gunshots. Surround sound is beautiful.

I have to say, I am loving this sound card.

Regards,
Hamed

 

[Clinkz]

They certainly do make a difference, glad it is working for you.

 

[0pp9iuy]

Thanks.
I sure am happy now.

 

[profdlp]

Curses!

I used to turn my nose up at onboard sound. After building a lot of computers for friends, etc, I began to notice that today's onboard sound chips are not too bad. For my last few system builds I've gone along with whatever the MB came with.

Then along comes this thread to spark my interest in add-on cards all over again. This might well be another couple hundred bucks down the drain for me.

Enjoy your new card - it sounds awesome!

 

[0pp9iuy]

Hehe. I used to think that sound cards are worthless, now I know why people bother buying them.
Thing is. Unless you're sure sound quality is important to you, then it wont be worth it.
Hissing sound is just ughh!