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ury2ok2000
Rated PG
Joined: 25 May 2006
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Little Bruin
Boo Boo
Joined: 07 Apr 2003
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Enigmachine
Rated NC-17
Joined: 17 Mar 2006
Posts: 122
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 Posted: Sun, 18 Jun 2006 08:27:35 Post Subject: |
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Does he actually process audio or is he only going to listen to music? Because if it's only for listening, you should reconsider the X-Fi thing. Just because Creative says it's amazing doesn't really make it so. 
You can find many comments from "audiophiles" around the net claiming that the X-Fi doesn't actually sound good, that there are distortions and noise, etc. There are also a lot of driver problems.I can't tell wether this is true or not, as I don't have an X-Fi, they're a bit too expensive for my tastes.
You might want to consider instead a sound card with an Envy chip in it and use the S/PDIF output on that. I use the Chaintech AV-710 (7.1 surround), it's very inexpensive (26$ can) and it sounds great (to me, at least . The only real downside is that it's not so good for games (no EAX, etc.)
In any case if it's just for music listening, you don't take a big financial risk by going with an Envy chip. If it's for music processing, then I'm out of my league.  |
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Blue|Fusion
Rated XXX
Joined: 30 May 2005
Posts: 441
Location: Cleveland, OH
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| Posted: Sun, 18 Jun 2006 12:15:20 Post Subject: |
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Get a motherboard with an onboard Realtek High Definition audio controller. They're great in my experience, with both digitial out S/PDIF, and AC'97 5.1 channel analog out.
And if he does only want to listen to music and do relatively simple computer tasks, he can survive with 512MB RAM, and even go with a cheaper processors, like a Celeron if you want to go to Intel route.
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edvallie
Put Beer Here
Joined: 07 Aug 2005
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mrweasel
I can haz cheezbrgr?
Joined: 13 Jun 2005
Posts: 1444
Location: Pasadena, MD
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| Posted: Sun, 18 Jun 2006 13:13:24 Post Subject: |
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for dvd encoding you're gonna want to go dual core.
I 2nd the Dell idea, but maybe with an Audigy2 card instead.
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DragonMaster
Rated NC-17
Joined: 31 May 2006
Posts: 134
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| Posted: Sun, 18 Jun 2006 17:47:18 Post Subject: |
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| Quote: | | Sound blaster X-FI platinum as a must since audio is his thing. |
Creative cards and Realtek motherboard codecs are almost the worst things you can findfor sound quality. They just have a beautiful box with lots of features, and the Creatives have EAX.
Look for M-Audio, Audiotrak or Auzentech for good cards.
If he's recording, M-Audio and Audiotrak cards are pretty good. Prefer an internal/external card for sound quality if it doesn't cost too much. (Less power supply noise)
I'm not sure that every Envy cards sound good. A cheaper card often means less power line noise filtering, cheap layout and preamps.
If he's listening and burning MP3s or files from any online music shops, a good sound card isn't worth it. (Don't bother paying a lot for low-end audio)
But if he's the kind to have an Hi-Fi(Not talking about a cheap 5.1 receiver or a mini-system) conneced to his computer or is recording old analog records to his computer, a good card(M-Audio Audiophile 192) is surely a good thing.
Dells are often a bunch of trouble, not always a good thing.
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As an example i would preferrably like to sell him my old system which is Athlon 64 3000+ with 1gig of ram and x700pro video card (tho that card is overkill im sure) and a FOX conn motherboard with pci express connections and nvidia 4 ultra chipset. would that be more than he needs or about right for a good audiophile computer? |
That's more than he needs, but put an Athlon X2 after the price falls in there. Maybe for encoding 2gbs would be better so it would be easier to start with a new system.
Could use this :
DFI RS482 mATX motherboard
Athlon 64 X2 4600 socket 939
Corsair ValueRAM 2GB (Twin kit)
Two 300GB Seagate Barracuda HDDs
That's overkill, but for years to come.
Ask him if he matters about computer noise, what medium he's listening to, what he wants to do exatcly, it can help a lot to know this. |
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mrweasel
I can haz cheezbrgr?
Joined: 13 Jun 2005
Posts: 1444
Location: Pasadena, MD
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| Posted: Sun, 18 Jun 2006 19:47:52 Post Subject: |
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I don't know why folks keep reccomending AMD systems. you can pickup an 805 + a mobo and still have $$$ left over for RAM for the cost of an Opty165/x2 3800.
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Little Bruin
Boo Boo
Joined: 07 Apr 2003
Posts: 667
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BeerCheeze
*hick*
Joined: 14 Jun 2003
Posts: 9285
Location: At the Bar
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DragonMaster
Rated NC-17
Joined: 31 May 2006
Posts: 134
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| Posted: Sun, 18 Jun 2006 20:31:34 Post Subject: |
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| Quote: | | I don't know why folks keep reccomending AMD systems. you can pickup an 805 + a mobo and still have $$$ left over for RAM for the cost of an Opty165/x2 3800. |
It's just a long story with me and Intel-based computers... (You love when a computer crashes after passing lots of time working on something, huh? 100% of Intel computers I used for that much time that are Pentium II and up did this to me, so I decided not to trust Intel anymore. When I compare this to AMDs, 0% lost some of my work because of a crash. AMDs and Intels I tried were used in the same conditions : At Average Joe's home, with me and my hyper-maintenance, etc.)
That means I don't even matter if Conroe is better than an AMD for the same price, I'll still get an AMD CPU. (It seems like non-sense but look at how much people buy Intels when AMDs are faster.) My last AMD starts to Intel-ize(Luckily NOT when doing important things) so I have the impression that my 2nd next computer will be a VIA C3 or Eden. |
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Blue|Fusion
Rated XXX
Joined: 30 May 2005
Posts: 441
Location: Cleveland, OH
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| Posted: Sun, 18 Jun 2006 22:08:52 Post Subject: |
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DragonMaster, I don't know why you say Realteks are bad codecs. I have onboard Realtek audio on both my laptop and desktop. Both are great quality on Windows with the proper Realtek drivers, and even better quality in Linux with the snd_hda_intel kernel driver and codec.
The M-Audio's are good for their money, but don't waste your money if the onboard audio will suit the needsand then some.
But Creative, IMHO, are overrated and suck.  |
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