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    Soundblaster HD Audio Software Upgrade

    Discussion in 'Dell XPS and Studio XPS' started by awentz66, Jul 13, 2009.

  1. awentz66

    awentz66 Notebook Enthusiast

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    Does anyone have a link where to purchase this for an XPS 1640? I didn't order mine from Dell with it and want to try it now.
     
    awentz66, Jul 13, 2009
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  2. TexasEx7

    TexasEx7 Meat Popsicle

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    Unless you are outputting audio to an external stereo with HD compatability, you wont notice any difference in sound quality. Just a heads up.
     
    TexasEx7, Jul 13, 2009
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  3. ganzonomy

    ganzonomy Notebook Deity

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    It's a software upgrade, as you said. It's about $25 from DELL, and other than adding a nice user interface and "optimizing" your integrated sound, it really doesn't do a great deal. For $35 to $45 more, you can get the full hardware edition for an express-card slot, with card and the software, and that when hooked to an external system will make a difference. The card is called the Creative X-fi ExpressCard system, and it's like a SPU (sound processing unit). Also, it depends on which rep you ask when it comes to DELL. Some will charge you the $25 or so for the disc and send you the disc, and others will just give it pro bono, while others will say "it's original order only, sorry but you're not getting anything". Keep trying until you can get it on the house, claiming it was something you selected but got lost in the order and didn't come out. If you have an XPS, you stand a good shot to get USA-based support (again still sketchy), but I endorse hardware to do the job as opposed to software.

    You can have the best software on earth, but if your sound card is integrated, you're only going to get what the mobo can muster... if you put in a dedicated sound card, that card releases resources from the cpu and does the work. (Think of how your GPU does things, it does the graphics work instead of your CPU... now if you only had software and an integrated GPU, your graphics would suck... the GPU helps by doing the graphics independent of the CPU and frees up resources for other things a CPU should do.) Here's the link to the creative card in question:

    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829102025 ($90 at newegg, but newegg is reliable and hardware is what you'd need to really get the soundblaster advantage)

    Jason
     
    ganzonomy, Jul 13, 2009
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  4. awentz66

    awentz66 Notebook Enthusiast

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    I am only interested in using the HDMI out on the laptop and this seemed like an easy solution.
     
    awentz66, Jul 13, 2009
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  5. HCW

    HCW Notebook Deity

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    then you don't need to buy a thing
     
    HCW, Jul 13, 2009
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  6. ganzonomy

    ganzonomy Notebook Deity

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    yup.

    10chars min
     
    ganzonomy, Jul 13, 2009
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  7. TexasEx7

    TexasEx7 Meat Popsicle

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    Right, if you output to a TV through your HDMI the software on your computer won't do anything for it :)
     
    TexasEx7, Jul 13, 2009
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