What Sound card should i get?

[psykadelic]

What should i look for in a sound card? what do the statistics mean, like the sampling rate, signal to noise ratio, frequency response, etc?
I had a crappy opti931 which froze whenever it played a sound when i was on the internet, so i got a Montego A3dxstream for 40 bucks at compusa. Is the Montego any good? and if not, what sound cards can you recommend? preferably for nonpowered speakers.

[Wiz]

Get a soundblaster Live! value, its $45 online, and it is awesome.

[oblivion]

Depends on what you want it for.....I would say SBlive if you want it for home theatre performance and some gaming too......I would go for the newest Aureal Vortex if you are mostly concerned with gaming,I have SBlvie myself,but I am thinking about getting an Aureal,since I am mostly a gamer.....from what I have heard,and what everyone says the Aureal sounds better for gaming,and the SBlive is better for home theatre type of stuff.

[shadow]

It all depends on what you use it for. I use a soundcard for basic stuff, I'm not a big gamer and play only a few from time to time. I enjoy good sound from MP3's and cd's but only have and require two speakers, or a good stereo card. I have the low level output from the sound card feeding into a conventional audio amplifier with some decent wattage (30W x2)running 2 quality hifi speakers. I dont want a sound card using up too much cpu resource. I have a Sound Blaster Ensoniq PCI which fits my needs very nicely, and it sounds great with my audio setup. Whether playing the odd game of Duke or Shadow Warrior or playing a cd, the sound is great, with wall vibrating bass and enough sound pressure to satisfy most anyone.
PW

[jman01pa]

Go for the Sound Blaster live. You will not be disappointed.

J http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif

[Ultima]

Hey guys,

You must not forget that even tho it's an
older card, the mx300 still is a very nice card for gaming, and for what I've heard,
the mx300 gices better game sound then the SB Live ..... I forgot the model name, it wasn't the value, I don't remember.

But the thing is, it's a great soundcard.
I have one myself, so I'm not very objective on this I think, but .....

Ultima

[jammer699]

soundblaster live......creative is allways upgading it.....i love it!!!!!!!!

[wyvrn]

Another vote for the mx300. Great little card, tho I think I fried mine with static moving it to another computer. Oh well, they can be had for 30 bucks in the forums. If you have a decent speaker system with a sub or two and 4 tweeters, then you can fill a medium sized room with game or music quite well.

[BBA]

I bought a MX300 once also...

I made the mistake of using a SB-Live a week before that ( I was testing it because my friend couldn't get it working on his PC ).

I took the MX300 back as soon as I played Q2 with all sound detail turned up and all audio settigns to max quality...it slowed my game down too much ( jumpy frames... )

I took it back for a SB-Live value and have never been happier, and it does not slow any game down, even at max quality. In effect, is sounds better than teh MX300 when the settings are maxxed out, while playing games.

I see no good side to the MX300