which sound card better? AC97 or sblive5.1

[fantasi]

well i got the onboard one from my msi k8n neo2 plat, but i can get hold of a sblive5.1 for next to nothing. comparing sound quality, which is better. well theres nothing wrong with my onboard one. just wanting input.

 

[zeke_mo]

Onboard sound isnt as bad as it used to be, I would try using the onboard for awhile and see how it does, the sblive 5.1 isnt that great of a sound card, its more a value card. Dont get me wrong it works great( i have one in backup system) but it isnt for gaming, I would stick with the onboard for now. It also depends on your speakers, which ones do you have?

 

[Luna]

If you are only going to listen to 16bit 2ch audio, the onboard will sound the same as the SB card. Basically if you only listen to music, you don't really need a SB card.

The only way you can really tell is if you do high resolution audio (if the card supports it) or multi chan audio. I guess if you are into games, you would aso want to go with the SB ( to take a load off your CPU )

 

[fantasi]

well i have the logitech Z560 which is a 400watt speaker so im really intrested in good quality sound. My friend has the audigy 2 zs and im listening to it, it just sounds the same to me. or am is my ears stuffed...

ok 3 options now:

1. stay ac97
2. get the sblive 5.1
3. get the audigy 2 zs

well the easy answer is get option 3 but like i said it sounds the same to me. is there REALLY something extra wif the audigy 2zs?

 

[Aprox]

I would say just buy the Audigy 2 zs. You will get EAX capabilities higher sound quality, less noise and higher performance It also has a firewire port. The differences between the live and Audigy 2 are pretty big. I say go for it.. it appears you have a fairly nice system so I would keep it that way with modern quality parts (Audigy 2).