EP45-UD3P On Board vs.dedicated audio

[georgeo]

I just ordered an ED45-UD3P for my first build which will be used mostly for sim racing games. I'm considering adding a Soundblaster XFi Xtreme Gamer but before I spend the $ would like to know if it's worth it.

If anyone is using the on-board audio in a mainly gaming (especially sim racing) application I'd be interested in knowing how it works. Also, if anyone has any experience with Soundblaster Audio cards in this board I'd appreciate your feedback as well. I'm concerned about any compatablity issues or other operational problems more so than actual sound quality.

Thanks.

Georgeo

[Acebmxer]

Re: EP45-UD3P On Board vs.dedicated audio

I mostly play Grid on my setup with on board audio and I dont hear any problems with it. But im not gonna spend money on a soundcard if its got one on board.

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: EP45-UD3P On Board vs.dedicated audio

Some X-FI Cards have issues with Gigabyte boards, so please do a search here for X-FI and XFI by title and then normally and see what you dig up, just to be sure.

Sorry I don't game so I could not say how the onboard would be for that but I think it is pretty good as long as you have decent speakers to connect to it.

[carson]

Re: EP45-UD3P On Board vs.dedicated audio

I game with the UD3P and onboard audio and it sounds very good to me. I haven't played any racing sims on it but I have played GTA4, Fallout 3, Bioshock, etc.

I suggest living with it for a while and seeing how you like it before buying an audio card.

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: EP45-UD3P On Board vs.dedicated audio

Good idea, I think audio cards are way overrated and realtek onboard sounds just fine with good speakers

[Gokuboo]

Re: EP45-UD3P On Board vs.dedicated audio

On Board sound is just fine for most needs, it really depends on what you want. In my experience I wanted true surround sound when playing games and watching movies. On Board just gave me simulated surround sound (Sounds coming out of all speakers but not exactly directed to each speaker by movie or game) If you get a quality sound card you can expect to hear little extra sound effects you wouldn't normally hear. It's sort of like 1080p HD vs SD.

In short if you are happy with On Board sound then stay with it. No shame if you stick with On Board sound, it is very good these days. If you want a deeper and more crisp HD sound solution and have the budget of $150-$200 for a good sound card then go for it.

[wazza300]

[Gokuboo]

Re: EP45-UD3P On Board vs.dedicated audio

wazza300 reminded me of a very important point I forgot to mention. You can have the best sound on the planet coming from your system but it means nothing if you don't have the speakers/headphones to produce that sound for your ears.

[BoombasticSloth]

Re: EP45-UD3P On Board vs.dedicated audio

Definitely upgrade speakers before sound card. You will likely get more out of it. If you already have a good set of speakers and want better sound quality, then you may want to entertain a separate sound card. My M-audio card sounds better than the onboard solution for music but I didn't bother installing it, as the on-board is good enough for what I am using it for. Going green.

[sharpbiohazard]

Re: EP45-UD3P On Board vs.dedicated audio

I have an EP45-UD3R (the non-crossfire version of the board). I am currently using a X-Fi Xtremegamer on it with no problems (I play L4D, EVE, TF2, GTA4 etc). Personally I think soundcards are a great investment- mine was like $100 and I've used it in 3 builds now (moving it over when I build a new PC) I think you get richer bass out of a soundcard compared to onboard- onboard sounds tinny to me. It's not necessary though by any means.

[wazza300]

Re: EP45-UD3P On Board vs.dedicated audio

it does sound tinny in windows media player depends on what software you use too ,also the bass distorts ive tried all of them winamp ect and found jet audio to be the best sound the full version of jet audio that is