Sound Card upgrade?

[metalmania31]

I was thinking of upgrading my sound card but my motherboards only PCI x1 slot sits right next to the graphics slot. Having the GTX 470 it uses double the space so the sound card if installed would be right below the vid card. My concern, would the heat from the vid card damage the sound card? It would practically be touching each other. Has anyone run into this? Has it caused you any issues?

 

[panais]

Hi.


Your motherboard has a Realtek ALC883 6 -Channel on-board audio.

Why you want to add an extra audio card?

IMO you will not gain any much difference.

 

[bobkn]

I think it'd be OK.

I ran a PCI-E X1 soundcard in a slot that was immediately above the graphics card (GTX480), and neither cooked.

Alternately, you could use a PCI soundcard. There may be a wider variety of choices available for that older standard.

Discrete soundcards appear to be endangered species, even though to my (anything but golden) ears, I have yet to get a Realtek onboard sound system that came close to the sound of a decent discrete card.

 

[stormy13]

You could also put it in the second x16/x8 slot.

Hi.


Your motherboard has a Realtek ALC883 6 -Channel on-board audio.

Why you want to add an extra audio card?

IMO you will not gain any much difference.

Yes there is. If you have decent speakers or headphones, the sound will be far better than anything from Realtek audio. It has got better over the years, but the audio quality is still lacking from that of a dedicated sound card.

 

[metalmania31]

I already have an X-Fi xtreme music, you guys didn't read my specs? It's currently slotted in a standard pci-e slot.
And a stand alone sound card is far superior to any onboard sound. I was thinking of upgrading for better audiophile level performance. I plan to upgrade my speakers in the future as well as well as my headphones. My concern is heat from the video card since the PCI x1 slot is right below where my vid card is.
So Bobkn you had no issues from the heat? That's good to hear because I'm not ready to upgrade my whole PC yet.

 

[Wishmaster]

I have a X-Fi Titanium HD x1 card, that sits right below my 570 and no issues.

If however it bothers you, you can add a extra fan to push more air betwwen the Sound card and Video card.
Not only would it get air moving between them cheaply, but it would also help cool the GPU a bit better as well as cool the chipset HS.


But as mentioned, a x1 card will work in any x4, x8, or x16 PCI Express slot. So you can put it in that lower slot if you need to.
Or just stick with a PCI card.

But if buying a new sound card now, I would go with a x1 PCI-X.

 

[metalmania31]

I have a X-Fi Titanium HD x1 card, that sits right below my 570 and no issues.

If however it bothers you, you can add a extra fan to push more air betwwen the Sound card and Video card.
Not only would it get air moving between them cheaply, but it would also help cool the GPU a bit better as well as cool the chipset HS.


But as mentioned, a x1 card will work in any x4, x8, or x16 PCI Express slot. So you can put it in that lower slot if you need to.
Or just stick with a PCI card.

But if buying a new sound card now, I would go with a x1 PCI-X.

That sounds like a good plan to me. Thanks for the advice everyone.

 

[bobkn]

I already have an X-Fi xtreme music, you guys didn't read my specs? It's currently slotted in a standard pci-e slot.
And a stand alone sound card is far superior to any onboard sound. I was thinking of upgrading for better audiophile level performance. I plan to upgrade my speakers in the future as well as well as my headphones. My concern is heat from the video card since the PCI x1 slot is right below where my vid card is.
So Bobkn you had no issues from the heat? That's good to hear because I'm not ready to upgrade my whole PC yet.

I didn't read your specs.

If you're looking for an "audiophile" card, you would have done well to say so.

I've only tried an X1 soundcard in an X16 slot once. The system didn't boot, but I wouldn't generalize from that. I also have a PCI-E X-Fi, but I don't do a lot of 3D gaming, so its bloated driver/application suite doesn't appeal to me.

If your 570 uses anything like the normal cooling scheme, most of its heat is exhausted out the back of the machine.

I like my Asus Xonar DX. I have an analog 5.1 speaker system, and the "audiophile" cards seem to be aimed more at a digital interface to a receiver. That includes the Creative X-Fi Titanium HD, which only supports stereo on the analog side. The Asus Xonar Essence line also has limited analog outputs.

 

[metalmania31]

I already have an X-Fi xtreme music, you guys didn't read my specs? It's currently slotted in a standard pci-e slot.
And a stand alone sound card is far superior to any onboard sound. I was thinking of upgrading for better audiophile level performance. I plan to upgrade my speakers in the future as well as well as my headphones. My concern is heat from the video card since the PCI x1 slot is right below where my vid card is.
So Bobkn you had no issues from the heat? That's good to hear because I'm not ready to upgrade my whole PC yet.

I didn't read your specs.

If you're looking for an "audiophile" card, you would have done well to say so.

I've only tried an X1 soundcard in an X16 slot once. The system didn't boot, but I wouldn't generalize from that. I also have a PCI-E X-Fi, but I don't do a lot of 3D gaming, so its bloated driver/application suite doesn't appeal to me.

If your 570 uses anything like the normal cooling scheme, most of its heat is exhausted out the back of the machine.

I like my Asus Xonar DX. I have an analog 5.1 speaker system, and the "audiophile" cards seem to be aimed more at a digital interface to a receiver. That includes the Creative X-Fi Titanium HD, which only supports stereo on the analog side. The Asus Xonar Essence line also has limited analog outputs.

Yeah, sorry about that. But I was asking more about the heat issue than advice for a sound card which is why I failed to mention that. I think I am going to steer away from creative this time as I also don't care for there application to run the audio. I had been looking at the Asus as well. The HT Omega brand seems pretty good too from the reviews I've read on Newegg. But I haven't decided yet.

 

[Vaseer]

You need not worry about the heat. Mine are exactly so, and the temperature didn't even go up by 1C. If you wish to be on the safe side, get a 120mm fan on the front side of the case. Will ensure a good airflow. As for the soundcard, if you're going to use digital out, indeed something like a DX would be nice or a D2, if not, DS, DX, D1 will work great with very good sound quality.

 

[Wishmaster]

The X-Fi Titanium Hd is a very card.

When I was shopping around for a new card a couple months back, I went through many reviews deciding which one I wanted. And they all seemed to have this common conclusion:

-The X-Fi Titanium HD (the HD part is important) was a huge improvement from the older X-Fi cards, and considered Audiophile grade.

-In music only, it performed very well, but the Xonar was slightly ahead of it in this area.
-In Gaming, the X-Fi was the better card.

So I think it depends on what your looking for as to which one to choose. But both are very good cards.


I chose the X-Fi it because I do alot of gaming, and switching to the X-Fi chip for gaming makes a huge difference in games to my ears.
And although the Xonar performed a bit better in music, the X-Fi is still no slouch. So it was a good comprimise between both areas.



As bonkn said, they are often geared more toward a digital reciever. My X-Fi has 2 RCA ports for a digital reciever (or can be converted to 3.5mm for stereo speaker) and a headphone jack.
That is somewhat of a downside, but I think some newer models out now may have support for analog 5.1.

One other downside to the X-Fi (or at least 1 thing people seem to complaina bout alot) is that it was built for Win7, and only works for Win7. The drivers will not install on any older OS. I don't find this a downside, but many do for some reason.


On mine, once you plug in headphones, it disables those RCA ports.
I use 2.1 Klipsch Pro Media Speakers, but mostly my Sennheiser Headphones, so this card suits my needs perfectly.



Also, the main reason I suggested going with a x1 is because PCI is a older technology. If you plan on keeping the card for a while, it may be the best bet. My motherboad for example doesn't have any PCI slots. Only 2 x16, 1 x8, and 3x1 slots.
Others may soon start following the same idea.

 

[Vaseer]

In 3-4 years, current cards will get obsolete, and PCI slots are still built in new motherboards. It really depends on the model you choose. There are some that don't have nor pci-e x1 nor pci, the just have PCI-E x16. As mentioned, it depends on the model one chooses.
IMO you'll get the same gamin experience with a xonar D1 or DX as with the creative if paired with proper 5.1 speakers. Dunno about headphones, as i don't have a proper pair. Bottom line, it's up to you and your own preference. IMO the xonar is better in my case, and with the config i have. Excellent linux driver support, and perfect positioning in games even though it's just a xonar DS. If you are uncertain, watch some reviews on the cards, and choose the one that has more chances of getting new drivers in the future(with new os for example win8). If you want recording though, stay away from the Xonar DS. It will do for beginners with an instrument, but if you want something more serious, try something like a D2 or Auzentech.

 

[metalmania31]

I do a great deal of both music and gaming. And only recently started really playing MP FPS and the surround really makes a difference in hearing an enemy creep behind you or around a corner. But I listen to quite a bit of music too. I don't know, but thanks for the input. I'm still on the fence of which to get. I'm in no hurry though.

 

[Vaseer]

Considering that EAX was broken by 7 and vista, xonar software does include a GX function. It reenables eax support and all. My personal preference would be the xonar. I am sure though that either one will work.

 

[stormy13]

Considering that EAX was broken by 7 and vista, xonar software does include a GX function. It reenables eax support and all. My personal preference would be the xonar.

Only broken for games that used EAX in conjunction with DirectSound3D, and still works with games that used EAX with OpenAL. Also Creative came out with Alchemy for those DS3D based games and is used as a wrapper and translates the DS3D audio to OpenAL, and restoring full hardware acceleration for those games that use it. It is also a much better solution than what Asus came out with as it full supports up to EAX 4, whereas GX only supports up to EAX 3 and fakes it for EAX 5 (pure software solution, and doesn't work properly).

 

[Vaseer]

True enough, but in configuration with the hardware i have right now, the xonar gave the best performance and quality for me. Then again, i don't game every famous recent title out, so might be off on the gaming end. I do vouch for the music quality and video.