Best Gaming Sound Under $100

[Sevillian273]

Can anyone recommend a good sound card for gaming under $100? I'd like to take advantage of 5.1 ch sound in games. The HT Omega Striker 7.1 looks pretty good but it seems to be geared for HTPC's... I dont know how it would perform in games. Ive read that the Creative cards need a plethora of drivers and software to work right and alot of folks seem to frown upon that.



http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16829271001

[Khalil]

your motherboard already has ADI AD1888 SoundMAX 6-channel CODEC
S/PDIF out interface.
That is 5.1 surround, however if you want a separate card here is one that worked well for me accept on 64 bit OS.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16829118109

There is better but you motherboard can't take PCI-Express

[Sevillian273]

The onboard sound seems to have issues with FarCry 1. It gets choppy during heavy action or sometimes for no apparent reason. I have to restart the game several times to make it stop but all it takes is a level change or a big explosion to set it off again. Its VERY annoying.

My mobo only has 3 audio ports: Line-in, mic-in, and Line-out. I dont know how to get 5.1 with that. My speakers (logitech x530) have 3 separate outputs but Im using the included adapter to get 2channel on all 5 speakers.

Bottom line: When something happens behind me, I want to HEAR IT behind me!

EDIT: That looks like a decent card. 60 bucks is pretty reasonable I think. Did you have any issues with the 'Montego' drivers? Based on the reviews, I'll need the C-media reference drivers.

[Khalil]

Never had issues with this card. Used tons of them.

[Hi Ho]

I have an HT Omega Striker 7.1 and it works great. I loved my Creative X-Fi as far as hardware was concerned but the drivers were terrible and bloated. The HT Omega card has a very light driver package that just works. The sound quality is superior to onboard.

[glc]

My mobo only has 3 audio ports: Line-in, mic-in, and Line-out. I dont know how to get 5.1 with that.

The Soundmax control panel will allow you to configure all 3 jacks as appropriate outlets for 6 channel sound.

[Sevillian273]

I downloaded the sound drivers for my board from Asus's website. It did not include 'soundmax control panel' and there are very few config options in XP's "Sounds and Audio devices". I googled but I cant seem to find a download.

[Excal]

i can second that omega striker is an good card i have one and love ittttt i say its worth it if you do more then just game ie movies,music or just a nice set of speakers omega is a great company there support is the BEST i had a problem one time and i emailed them on christmas and got a reply email 3 hours later NOW thats service. sick of creavite products drivers and terrible support omega ftw