Creative SoundBlaster 128PCI vs. Intel High Defintion Audio 7.1

[Casheti]

I have Intel HD Audio 7.1, and I have an old Creative SoundBlaster 128PCI lying around, and I was wondering if the SoundBlaster might help my performance in games? Surely it would, because it takes a strain off of the processor. Any suggestion greatly appreciated.

[Aevum]

keep the onboard HD sound, the pci128 isnt worth it,

[mikechinym]

pci128 is too old
at least u had a live card with 5.1 with ac3 decoder

[Casheti]

Well, are you sure?

[malware]

Well, are you sure?
Absolutely sure. If you want a no onboard sound card you'll have to look for the new 24-bit live or audigy 2 and above.

[Specsaver]

I do not think anyone tested one against the other. Although I would *think* HD Audio should perform better it is possible you get better fps with a dedicated card.

Try it for yourself in a few games. Putting card in should not take you more then 5 minutes and XP should have a driver for it already. Just make sure you disable onboard sound in BIOS.

[Casheti]

Ah, but see here man, my stupid case is only Micro-ATX, and there are 2 PCI cards taking up the slots, and I dont even know WTF they are. They just came with the comp.

[Polaris573]

I dont even know WTF they are.

Look in device manager or download a diagnostic program. You could even post pictures and someone might recognize them. It's probably a good idea to know what's in your computer ;)

[Casheti]

Trouble is I can never upload pictures. My intenet is too slow. And I have a 5MP camera, so they are too good quality, therefore bigger file sizes.

[Thermopylae_480]

What type of connections do the PCI cards have on their I/O sheilds? e.g. firewire, USB, Coax, ethernet, DVI/VGA... etc.

Keep the onboard sound for now, it's almost certainly better than an older SoundBlaster, but I a more recent Soundblaster would be nice.

[Casheti]

Well, one has ethernet, and its an Incredibly small card, and I found out the other was my built in TV Tuner. So, seeing as I dont use that ethernet port, can I just yank that s**t up outta there?

[G.T]

Could be a plan Stan. ;)

[Casheti]

So I can take it out or not?

[Polaris573]

Go right ahead as long as you don't need it.

[Casheti]

ok