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    What NP9377 / NP9772 soundcards - Creative X-Fi MB3? Virtual Surround Sound?

    Discussion in 'Sager and Clevo' started by MonarchX, Feb 18, 2015.

  1. MonarchX

    MonarchX Notebook Geek

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    I am trying to compare audio cards of Alienware laptops and Sager/Clevo ones. Sager says it uses X-Fi MB3, which is great as long as it can actually use SBX Studio Pro. SBX Surround is the best surround-sound emulation there is for headphones, which is very important for gamers like me. There is Dolby Headphone, Creative CMSS-3D, Razer Surround, and Creative SBX Surround (part of SBX Studio Pro). These technologies produce accurate surround sound for downmixes 5.1/7.1 sound into stereo sound with positional audio cues, creating an effect that fools your mind effectively, allowing you to know from which direction the sound is coming from and how far it is. I am sure CS and BF4 gamers appreciate such technologies if they use headphones.

    So, if you go into device manager on NP9377 and NP9772, then what audio device do you see listed there? Some Realtek or actual Creative X-Fi???
     
    Last edited: Feb 18, 2015
    MonarchX, Feb 18, 2015
    #1
  2. TomJGX

    TomJGX I HATE BGA!

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    I believe it's Creative X-Fi in both laptops..
     
    TomJGX, Feb 18, 2015
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  3. MonarchX

    MonarchX Notebook Geek

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    Thank you! Please let me know if you find out for sure. The most important aspect is that it must support SBX Pro Studio (SBX Surround specifically), which is crucial for positional audio gaming.
     
    MonarchX, Feb 18, 2015
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  4. tmmedic20

    tmmedic20 Notebook Guru

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    tmmedic20, Feb 18, 2015
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  5. MonarchX

    MonarchX Notebook Geek

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    Thanks!!! Any chance you can tell me the Hardware ID from device manager for that Realtek chip? I apologize for bothering people with this...

    Also, that link you provided has people mostly talking about the Alienware laptops, which use Recon3D AFAIK, which in turn is worse than Realtek.
     
    MonarchX, Feb 18, 2015
    #5
  6. tmmedic20

    tmmedic20 Notebook Guru

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    Not a bother

    HDAUDIO\FUNC_01&VEN_10EC&DEV_0892&SUBSYS_15587482&REV_1003
    and
    HDAUDIO\FUNC_01&VEN_10EC&DEV_0892&SUBSYS_15587482

    And the link was just to a post explaining how the XI software works, it just happen to be in a AW18 sound discussion. Personally I uninstalled it, it has issues with my headset and ends up disabling my mouse/headset when it switches to communication mode.
     
    tmmedic20, Feb 18, 2015
    #6
  7. Prostar Computer

    Prostar Computer Company Representative

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    Yes, exactly right. Sound Blaster is software designed to compliment the audio experience. It's a Realtek audio chip and the driver is produced by Realtek.
     
    Prostar Computer, Feb 20, 2015
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  8. MonarchX

    MonarchX Notebook Geek

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    As long as it has SBX Pro Studio. it can do positional audio in games, so I know where my enemies are. Anyone here actually tried SBX Surround in games?
     
    Last edited: Feb 20, 2015
    MonarchX, Feb 20, 2015
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  9. pukemon

    pukemon are you unplugged?

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    I forgot the modes but I do recall the scout mode which is what I think you're talking about. Enhances sound and positional audio.
     
    pukemon, Feb 20, 2015
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