Do I need to choose "Intergrated Sound Blaster Augigy HD Software" for Dell 6400?

I don't know if I should choose "Integrated Sound Blaster® Audigy™ HD Software Edition" for Dell 6400.
Does this software make music sound good? Is it worth to buy this software?
Thanks

 

Personally, I wouldn't buy it. It probably is very limited in what it can do. What I would do though is to check out buying an external sound card like this one if you are intereseted....i picked this one up for my Inspiron 6000 and it is amazing!

http://www.creative.com/products/pr...bcategory=204&product=10769&downloadtypefk=71

If you keep your eyes open, you should be able to find this for around 50-60$, not much more than the software itself. Hope that helps.

 

lol yes I agree you'd be MUCH better off investing in some high quality speakers than software that claims to do such.

 

Is there any improvement sound if I use external Soundcard Audigy + speaker of Dell 6400?

 

That creative soundcard does not work on any current laptops made by Dell. Dell now equips its notebooks with ExpressCard slots instead of PCMCIA which is used by that soundcard.

Also, any soundcard other than the built-in card will not work with the built-in speakers of the notebook.

 

I would not recommend the software. IMHO there is no real need for it and you might invest in a good pair of speakers instead. Whether or not there will be a noticable improvement in quality if you use an external audigy depends on how good are your speakers and how picky you are. Speakers are far more important than the sound card in this case. Also, you cannot use built-in speakers with an external soundcard. I don't know why you would want to either. The built-in sound card is definitely good enough for those speakers.

 

There is difference in 2 answers. I don't know if I can use external sound card with Dell laptop.

 

1. notebook speakers are terrible, period. do not expect good sound from them no matter what software you buy. if you want good sound, you have to buy external speakers.

2. if you plan on buying an external sound card, you have to make sure you get one that fits your notebook. if you have notebook with a PC Card slot, you have to get a PC Card sound card, if you have an ExpressCard slot, you have to get an ExpressCard sound card.

 

I believe there are USB sound cards you can purchase, in case you can't find an ExpressCard solution.

 

That is not correct. My D820 has both slots.

You could achive this by connecting the line out of the audigy 2 zs with the line in/mic in of the notebook. But it doesn't make much sense.

For me, external soundcards are only usefull for games that require EAX or for studio-like recording. for mp3 listening or skype, the internal soundcard is enough. for watching dvd i would recommend connecting the sp-dif out to a 5.1 receiver.

 

Have you guys ever considered headphones and what kind of effect Audigy Software has on sound played through them?

 

tano, you can have an external USB audigy card no matter what laptop you have. I have Audigy 2 NX USB (see my sig) sound card. Creative also has a PCMCIA version - Audigy 2 ZS I believe.

big willEH, again, you're not actually going to get higher quality sound with the software. The biggest benefit is an equalizer and maybe 3D effects if you use them.

 

I have terrific bass and overall sound with Creative MB and external decent headphones. Sound does sound richer, and EAX support helps.

Software can filter crude sound from crude sound card to some degree. Of course, question is how much does it (if any) helps with SNR ratio.

Beside, cheapo sound cards are not much more than a software driver.

 

I am using the creative MB, on Dell 1210.

the bass boost, EAX and cleaning helps when using with headphones, it sounds a bit better. But when i plug it into the external speakers, it still sounds quite poor, compared to the desktop's Audigy PCI card.

However, if u are planning to use your lappy as a main system, then i would recommend it. It FEELS good that you have 'audigy' right??? thats what i thought! also, if u are quite moblie when your lappy, listening to mp3s, u dont have to have the hasal of connecting two soundcards.