OT: Which soundcard for racing sims ?

Hi, I am about to replace my trusty SB16 soundcard for a new one - but which one should I get ? Mostly I use the computer for games like GPL and MGPRS2, but occasionally Unreal and different RTS games will be played as well. My system is a PentiumII - 333mhz with 128Mb RAM, Matrox Millenium and a 3Dfx card. Any advice for which soundcard I should buy will be greatly appreciated. I am thinking seriously about the SB Live, but I don't know much about it... Thanx in advance Simon

In addition to the SB Live, I would also consider the Diamond Sound MX300. From what I've read, the Diamond might have a slight edge in sound quality (especially with either headphones or only 2 speakers) and support for DirectSound 3D, A3D 1, A3D 2, and EAX (planned future patch). SB Live will not support A3D 2 (unlike A3D 1, Aureal will only license A3D 2 to manufacturers that use their Vortex chip). However, from the reviews, SB Live appears to have much less performance impact on CPU than MX300 (and perhaps other Vortex-based cards) running multiple 3D audio streams. See the following for comparative reviews: http://www.sharkyextreme.com/hardware/shootout_mx300vssblive/ http://www.gamecenter.com/Hardware/Roundup/Sbvsmx/ Brian >Any advice for which soundcard I should buy will be greatly appreciated. I >am thinking seriously about the SB Live, but I don't know much about it...

I have the SB Live Value and it sounds great. Especially with the Cambridge Sound Works 4 speaker setup (5 with the bass). I was amazed at the simulated four speaker effect with headphones actually sounds like there are speakers behind you also. The sound test in MGPRS2 really shows this. PC Gamer review said SBL was a better at this than the MX300, but with four speakers the MX300 might sound better. It could be a matter of taste. I use the headphones most of the time, so the simulated surround sound is more important to me. Lutrell . >Hi, >I am about to replace my trusty SB16 soundcard for a new one - but which one

Quoted text (13 lines)

>should I get ? >Mostly I use the computer for games like GPL and MGPRS2, but occasionally >Unreal and different RTS games will be played as well. >My system is a PentiumII - 333mhz with 128Mb RAM, Matrox Millenium and a >3Dfx card. >Any advice for which soundcard I should buy will be greatly appreciated. I >am thinking seriously about the SB Live, but I don't know much about it... >Thanx in advance >Simon

Can I ask for on more little peice of information, when you suggest a card, can you let use know: The numer of IRQs, I/Os, and any other resources needed? SLG

Quoted text (16 lines)

>Hi, >I am about to replace my trusty SB16 soundcard for a new one - but which one >should I get ? >Mostly I use the computer for games like GPL and MGPRS2, but occasionally >Unreal and different RTS games will be played as well. >My system is a PentiumII - 333mhz with 128Mb RAM, Matrox Millenium and a >3Dfx card. >Any advice for which soundcard I should buy will be greatly appreciated. I >am thinking seriously about the SB Live, but I don't know much about it... >Thanx in advance >Simon

(All spelling errors are intentional and are there to show new and improved ways of spelling old words. Gramatical errors are due to too many English classes/teachers)

On Tue, 19 Jan 1999 11:11:49 +0100, "Simon G."

Quoted text (12 lines)

>Hi, >I am about to replace my trusty SB16 soundcard for a new one - but which one >should I get ? >Mostly I use the computer for games like GPL and MGPRS2, but occasionally >Unreal and different RTS games will be played as well. >My system is a PentiumII - 333mhz with 128Mb RAM, Matrox Millenium and a >3Dfx card. >Any advice for which soundcard I should buy will be greatly appreciated. I >am thinking seriously about the SB Live, but I don't know much about it...

I recently got myself a Monster Sound MX300 to replace my crappy Ensoniq Audio PCI. The gameport gives awesome response (so far) and all of the games I've played (GPL, Viper, Red Baron 3D, Half-Life, GLDoom, Starcraft, Motocross Madness, Quake2, and a few DOS arcade emulators) sound fantastic. The A3d sound in Half-Life with 4 speakers or headphones is nothing less than amazing. I would have probably gotten the Live card, but could not, for the life of me, get my DOS programs to work with it during my evaluation process. That's my two cents. Chris "How can you run from a dead person, unless you're dead yourself?" -Venus in Furs --Horrornews--Horrorchat--Reviews--General filth-- Mortado's Page of Filth http://www.nwlink.com/~mortado/