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    A Question on External Soundcards...

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by gohmifune, Aug 13, 2008.

  1. gohmifune

    gohmifune Notebook Enthusiast

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    Ok, I did some poking around in the forums with the search feature, and I came across the creative Soundblaster X-Fi that is used in the expresscard. Dell sells it seems, and frankly, the express card thing is really appealing, so I was wondering if anyone has experience with this and can compare it to other external/usb cards?

    Also, what would I expect with an external soundcard. I have some decent headphones, that generally do fine in my Sager 2090, but I meet some issues with frequency ranges and volume occasionally, and I figure a soundcard would be worth it.
     
    gohmifune, Aug 13, 2008
    #1
  2. wobble987

    wobble987 Notebook Virtuoso

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    i believe soundcards like the X-Fi dont play nice with vista.

    that xpress card one if i remember correctly is used for gaming with EAX or what not. to create 3d effect, or for processing/outputting 5.1 or 7.1 sound.

    i use Creative X-fi X-mod. a plug-n-play (no driver) USB external soundcard. i found the sound quality to be better than the built in sound of my MBP. if you got good speaker, disable the x-fi and cmss-3d function that this card has. but this card does not have any EAX capability but is compatible with MAC/Windows, proabably linux too, but not too sure.
     
    wobble987, Aug 13, 2008
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  3. Andy

    Andy Notebook Prophet

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    I use the iMic Griffin USB. It provides better sound quality than the integrated Realtek in my notebook. :p
     
    Andy, Aug 13, 2008
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  4. gohmifune

    gohmifune Notebook Enthusiast

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    Thanks for the input guys.
     
    gohmifune, Aug 14, 2008
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  5. WILLY S

    WILLY S I was saying boo-urns

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    Just got the expresscard soundblaster x-fi today, installed fine. No issues with vista.
    Sound's great, and is alot louder than my on-board.
    I'd recommend it.
     
    WILLY S, Aug 14, 2008
    #5