rec.autos.simulators

I see a lot of video card questions and reccomendations here, but I rarely
see anything about soundcards.  I'm interested in upgrading...

I seem to remember a while ago some people giving the TurtleBeach SantaCruz
great reviews, while trashing a SoundBlaster Live card, but I'm having
trouble finding anything that talks pros/cons of any soundcards that are out
there.

I found one site (http://www.racesimcentral.net/) (no
SBplatinum included...) that gives the SantaCruz better sound ratings than
any of the SoundBlasters, but how does it perform in Racing Sims?  Do either
(or any other cards) allow better framerates?

I run mostly GPL, occasionally N4 and will be running F12001 when I get a
new videocard (probably GF3Ti200) but I'm also interested in its music sound
quality, outside of the sim :-0

Can anyone give reccomendations or tell me their experiences with these or
other soundcards?

I'm running:
Tbird800
AsusA7V
Voodoo3 3000
256meg Ram
USB wheel/pedals

Thanks!

Brook

I can speak from experience.  I owned an SBlive in my old system:

PIII 600
256 MB Ram
V5 5500
SB Live

When building a new system (AMD 1600+, 512MB Ram, GF3 Ti 500) I switched to
a Turtle Beach Santa Cruz to avoid potential problems with my new AMD system
(a friend built a new rig and found the SBlive was a major problem so he
switched to a Hercules Gametheater XP  - which has the same chip as the
Santa Cruz - and this solved his stability issues).

After switching to TBSC, I could not be happier.  When I connected my
Monsoon 5.1 speakers, I couldn't believe these were the same speakers.  They
literally never sounded so good before.  Games, music and movies all sounded
better than ever.  I never knew the SBlive was holding back my speakers from
sounding their best.

Regarding cpu utilization, most reviews I've seen indicate the TBSC is
better than the SBlive.  Finally, there seems to be little question the
Santa Cruz is a more stable/compatible product especially for AMD/VIA rigs.
For me it has the 3 S's: sound, stability and speed.

Here's 2 sites for you:

www.3dsoundsurge.com
www.neoseeker.com

--
Joe Marques

We have practically the same system!

I just built my AMD 1600+, 512Mb RAM, GF3 Ti200, Hercules *** Theatre XP
(with Monsoon 5.1s) system in November.
I'm using Win98SE and an Abit KG7-Raid.
Overall, the system is solid.
I too bought the Hercules to avoid all of the SB woes.

I do have an occassional freeze problem that I haven't been able to isolate.
After I added the modem, it became unstable. I suppose it could be an
incompatibility.  I want to blame the Abit, because the modem has served me
flawlessly in another system. But then again, maybe the modem doesn't like
AMD.

For GPL, N4, etc, it's been a great system.
I can race for hours without a hiccup.
And the sound is fantastic. No troubles there.

The Cirrus Logic soundchips in this card (and the TBSC) do sound much
better than the Creative chipsets.  Very noticeable improvements in
clarity and headspace.

Part of the reason I went with the GTXP is Creative's notorious
problems coexisting with VIA chipsets.  Aside from the reliability
issue, I have no qualms recommending the GTXP.  I happened to have a
backup sound card, so no biggie for me.  To Hercules' credit, the
issue was resolved promptly with a phone call to tech support.

The other thing, which may or may not still be an issue, had to do
with WindowsXP driver availability for the card.

The SB Audigy is also supposed to sound better than the LIVE cards.  I
haven't heard one to compare it to the GTXP.

HTH,
Gerald

-Tim