Laptop sound card (PCMCIA)

I suppose there are a good deal many worser things that my student loan could go on

I'm looking at the:
Creative Audigy ZS 2
Echo Indigo IO
Echo Indigo DJ

I will only plug in speakers or headphones through them. I have no mic recording needs or anything like that. What's the difference between the IO and DJ?

I invite user comments of any or all the above, including opinion on bundled software as well as SQ

My HP laptop has a 'SoundMax Integrated Digital HD Audio' card.

Feel free to suggest more, but it must be available in the UK, and no more than £150

 

I personally would go with a USB sound card. A nice one costs about $200, but its also a headphone amp. Having it USB will make it compatible with many more systems then your current laptop. And once you do get ahold of that nice sound quality then you'll want it wherever you go.

 

The soundcards you list, are all good. The Creative Audigy is the most popular, although some people favor the Echo Indigo models.

 

The difference between the IO and the DJ is two stereo out plugs (on the DJ - think deejays, they have to play) and the IO which is one stereo out and one analog input (IO like in/out)

The Indigo series outperforms the Creative Audigy 2ZS for sound quality. If you listen to music or need to professionally edit music from external sources, the Indigo is better. For gaming sound, bass, and quality for money, the Creative will work just as well.

 

So the IO is better for the home user who is not a budding dee-jay?

I don't have any professional music needs. I'd just like to be able to appreciate my Shure E4Cs and UE fi.5 Pro's through my laptop The budget is because I'd like some money left over for some full size headphones and some portable speakers... so I am set for any particular situation or mood I'm in The Indigo outperforms the Creative how SQ wise?

I've found some usb sound cards here. Any thoughts on these brands? I understand the comment about greater compatibility (especially as PCMCIA is laptop specific and is being succeeded anyway), but I don't really mind (read student loan)

Thanks

 

Question: Does a PCMCIA sound card increase gaming performance like upgrading from onboard to an internal sound card in a desktop, which takes the load off the CPU... Or does it decrease performance by sucking up more CPU usage like a USB external sound card?

 

PCMCIA should take load off the cpu b/c it's basically a shrunk down pci card.

 

Bumpity-bump

 

For your first question, I believe that the Indigo has DSP so that's a plus. When I spoke of sound quality its totally subjective. When you listen to Beethoven's "Eroica" Symphony on Indigo vs. Creative you can hear the clarity better, the strings, the reverb...all kinds of other technical things that come together in a subjective way.

On your second question, I have used some very cheap USB cards (not the ones your link points to) and they have been of no use...other than to amplify the sound a bit. I don't know about the ones you are referring to...they look professional, though.

I don't think so, but even if it did, it would be so minimal that you would not see any FPS increase. I don't see how adding something would increase performance. Windows stills reads the on-board driver...and even if you disabled it, running PCMCIA when you didn't before costs memory.

 

How does a PCI sound card installed on a desktop increase performance then?

I think Windows stops reading the on-board sound driver if you put in a PCMCIA sound card because you can't hear anything from the laptop speakers anymore; you need something plugged into the sound card in order for sound.

 

I agree with you that Windows seems to temporarily disable the on-board sound driver. It does still appear in the Device Manager. Windows does not completely shut out the on-board sound, it merely disables it while the external sound card takes precedence.

I would highly doubt that disabling on-board sound improves gaming performance.