Sound & Turbo Cache Memory m15x

Hi all,

My 2nd post per say but coming back on some outstanding questions, still awaiting UK release of m17x before I put down some hard cash but as others have mentioned I can feel it's going to be a pinch price wise.

I'm still having trouble deciding on whether to get the following
can anyone offer suggestions with a short explanition -
are they worth the cash or not? Ergh - it's the small things in the end
that get to you - yeah.

Intel Turbo Cache 1gb £18 (read (somewhere ) fps can actually get were worse using this - but batery life is better (confirm or deny?)- is this just a money making part that doesn't do jack?)

External Creative X-FI Xtreme Audio Card £51 (is this really so much better then the standard Intel High Def card - and if it sticks out the side of your laptop - do people that have it pull it out often to put laptops in their skins - or is it highly annoying - what's with that - ergh is it like an inch or something.... - hmmmm)


Cheers

Big Z

 

Turbo Memory will also speed up your boot times significantly. I would be surprised if it slows actual in-game FPS, but I have heard that loading times will be hampered.

 

i dont know anything about the turbo so cant help you on that one.

the x-fi card does stick out (picture below) and for me it keeps getting cuaght up with the mouse cable.
to be honnest ive not noticed much difference compaired to the on board sound card. ive used it with my 5.1 surround but only the front 2 speakers are connected. you will need the optional docking (picture below) to get real 5.1 surround sound.
ive also used it with my 1000watt disco speakers and theres not a lot of sound difference compaired to the on board as well.
so the main reason to get it is if you want true 5.1 surround sound but you will also have to fork out on the docking as well.

hope this helps
jim

 

I have the X Fi card for my m15x. Got it separately from Amazon or somewhere where it retails for abt $69USD as opposed to the $99 on the alienware configurator.

It sticks out slightly less than an inch. Not very obtrusive imo. As for the sound clarity, it is amazing. I used the internal audio (Realtek) for sometime and I could hear faint hissing, audio disortion and the likes. Not very noticeable but there. But using the XFi card all that is gone. The audio is crystal clear and very very crisp. There are also EAX options that the card supports and these are nice. Games like BIOSHOCK have ambience effects that work with EAX making the atmosphere even more creepy. The card can also improve BASS in the output and give you a virtual 3d setup. Although these virtual surround options are available using other software like POWER DVD etc - I personally love the virtual surround effect that this card creates. Very nice indeed.


There are some problems using this card. One thing I noticed is that Vista sometimes hangs when I pull this card out.

 

alot of ppl in this forum said that turbo memory dont really help, and most of the ppl say forget about it to save money
please confirm

 

Turbo Memory is crap at the moment, don`t waste money on it!
The Creative card however is an awesome choice. Once you use it , you`ll never want another card again...

 

just to add to my list then, i must have a dodgy card as well.
some times it loads the drivers and other times it stays using the on board speakers. crashed the system quite a few times removing it.

 

I'd say you could live without either. I found the onboard sound to be perfectly adequate. If you decide that you want the turbo cache later on you can order it from tech support at half the price you'd pay configuring it online.

 

How do you order from Tech Support? Do you have to call in (if so what number)?

I would stay away from Turbo Cache. As of right now it is mostly a gimmick and it will not actually have any difference on a high end machine such as an Alienware.

 

is the Internal High-Definition Audio with surround sound really a surround sound card? and does m15x have all the plugs for an surround sound headphone?

 

Thanks all for the quick responses its great to be able to post on NBR forums and get some proper opinions from people that actually own the gear and tell you whats hot and what's not.
I don't mind paying for the items I just want to make sure I'm getting what I paid for - ya know - still a few mixed results about these items though.

Anyho thanks again.

 

the on board sound has only 1 mini jack output so its not true surround sound.

 

Isn't that mini jack SPIDF also?

 

yeah I've heard of people using a converter to make it output as toslink and they where able to get 5.1

 

I connected the onboard sound with a toshlink and enabled the digital out. To me the sound is actually pretty good with the onboard sound. Logitech Z5500. You get 5.1 with a toshlink. 3.5mm jack to an optical jack.
Music and games sound crystal cler to me. I did noticed if I used my onboard speaker I got a crackling and hissing sound. The speakers IMO are just plain junk. Although for that kind of cash those system should have some Decent Harmon Kardon or JBL speakers in it. SHAME ON YOU AW and your lousy speakers.