P4C800-E Deluxe Sound Quality?

[Scott Gregg]

Hello,

I just ordered my system based around the P4C800-E Deluxe motherboard. I
got:

P4C800-E Deluxe
3.4 GHz P4
2 GB Corsair XMS 3200LLPro RAM
Asus 9800 XT Video Card
2 250GB Western Digital Caviar SE ATA Drives
2 75GB Western Digital Raptor SATA Drives
TDK 880G DVD RAM Drive

But, I opted to go with the onboard sound. Now I'm second guessing that
decision. So, I'd like to get some opinions: should I get the Audigy
card? Or, is the onboard sound good enough?

I am not sure what the onboard sound chip is, but I read in another
thread that the one used on the P4P800 board is a C-Media chip. I work
with a C-Media chip at work, and I'm not impressed at all with the C-
Media product. If the P4C800 also uses the C-Media chip, then that
pretty much settles it right there for me - I'll get the Audigy.

Also, can the sound be disabled through the BIOS? I know some can, but
other can't. I'm hoping (and assuming) that it can on the P4C800.

Thanks,

Scott

P.S. I have some really nice Cambridge Soundworks surround sound
speakers, so I _may_ notice a difference.

 

[JBM]

Hello,

I just ordered my system based around the P4C800-E Deluxe motherboard. I
got:

P4C800-E Deluxe
3.4 GHz P4
2 GB Corsair XMS 3200LLPro RAM
Asus 9800 XT Video Card
2 250GB Western Digital Caviar SE ATA Drives
2 75GB Western Digital Raptor SATA Drives
TDK 880G DVD RAM Drive

But, I opted to go with the onboard sound. Now I'm second guessing that
decision. So, I'd like to get some opinions: should I get the Audigy
card? Or, is the onboard sound good enough?

I am not sure what the onboard sound chip is, but I read in another
thread that the one used on the P4P800 board is a C-Media chip. I work
with a C-Media chip at work, and I'm not impressed at all with the C-
Media product. If the P4C800 also uses the C-Media chip, then that
pretty much settles it right there for me - I'll get the Audigy.

Also, can the sound be disabled through the BIOS? I know some can, but
other can't. I'm hoping (and assuming) that it can on the P4C800.

Thanks,

Scott

P.S. I have some really nice Cambridge Soundworks surround sound
speakers, so I _may_ notice a difference.

I don't know what sound chip the P4C800 uses, but
I'm using an Audigy 2 sound card on mine and it sounds
better than the on board sound to me.
Yes, the sound can be disabled in the BIOS.

Jim M

 

[Scott Gregg]

I don't know what sound chip the P4C800 uses, but
I'm using an Audigy 2 sound card on mine and it sounds
better than the on board sound to me.
Yes, the sound can be disabled in the BIOS.

Jim,

Thanks for the feedback. Really glad to know that the sound can be
disabled. Also thanks for the opinion on the sound quality. I'm leaning
towards the Audigy.

Scott

 

[kda]

Hello,

I just ordered my system based around the P4C800-E Deluxe motherboard. I
got:

P4C800-E Deluxe
3.4 GHz P4
2 GB Corsair XMS 3200LLPro RAM
Asus 9800 XT Video Card
2 250GB Western Digital Caviar SE ATA Drives
2 75GB Western Digital Raptor SATA Drives
TDK 880G DVD RAM Drive

But, I opted to go with the onboard sound. Now I'm second guessing that
decision. So, I'd like to get some opinions: should I get the Audigy
card? Or, is the onboard sound good enough?

I am not sure what the onboard sound chip is, but I read in another
thread that the one used on the P4P800 board is a C-Media chip. I work
with a C-Media chip at work, and I'm not impressed at all with the C-
Media product. If the P4C800 also uses the C-Media chip, then that
pretty much settles it right there for me - I'll get the Audigy.

Also, can the sound be disabled through the BIOS? I know some can, but
other can't. I'm hoping (and assuming) that it can on the P4C800.

Thanks,

Scott

P.S. I have some really nice Cambridge Soundworks surround sound
speakers, so I _may_ notice a difference.

I have the same MB and after listening to the onboard sound, I bought
the Audigy 2. I think I could hear quite a bit of difference ... not
so much in everyday computing, but the difference was remarkable in
games, music CDs, etc.

kda

 

[Scott Gregg]

I have the same MB and after listening to the onboard sound, I bought
the Audigy 2. I think I could hear quite a bit of difference ... not
so much in everyday computing, but the difference was remarkable in
games, music CDs, etc.

Thanks for the feedback. Sounds like it probably is the C-Media chip,
then. I'm about 99% convinced. I'm going to go price shopping...

Thanks,

Scott

 

[Anon]

I have the PrC800-E Deluxe and I use the onboard sound. I use top end 2.1
speakers (LR&Subwoofer). The onbouard sound is excellent with this setup.

If I were using it with the $3000 speakers in the other room, I would
probably get a top end sound card.

 

[Noozer]

Hello,

I just ordered my system based around the P4C800-E Deluxe motherboard. I
got:

P4C800-E Deluxe
3.4 GHz P4
2 GB Corsair XMS 3200LLPro RAM
Asus 9800 XT Video Card
2 250GB Western Digital Caviar SE ATA Drives
2 75GB Western Digital Raptor SATA Drives
TDK 880G DVD RAM Drive

But, I opted to go with the onboard sound. Now I'm second guessing that
decision. So, I'd like to get some opinions: should I get the Audigy
card? Or, is the onboard sound good enough?

Set it up and see what you think, then get a soundcard if you must.

....but WHY would you get any of the CRAP put out by Creative? They can't
even make their cards PCI compliant, their drivers/software is bloated and
buggy, etc...

 

[Scott Gregg]

Set it up and see what you think, then get a soundcard if you must.

I actually thought of that, but if it's crap to begin with (i.e. C-Media),
I don't want to taint my system with the presence of their drivers.

...but WHY would you get any of the CRAP put out by Creative? They
can't even make their cards PCI compliant, their drivers/software is
bloated and buggy, etc...

Well, I've had very good luck with them over the years, with very few
problems. But, you beg the question: what would you suggest?


Scott

 

[Scott Gregg]

I have the PrC800-E Deluxe and I use the onboard sound. I use top end
2.1 speakers (LR&Subwoofer). The onbouard sound is excellent with this
setup.

Thanks for the reply. At least it's not unanimous. So, this give me
reason to research further.

If I were using it with the $3000 speakers in the other room, I would
probably get a top end sound card.

Well, I don't know if that would be necessary to hear the difference. The
C-Media cards here at work make the sound skip like crazy, and that's
through a low-performance speaker. When you put a Sound Blaster card in
the same systems, they sound perfect.

Thanks,

Scott

 

[Anon]

Well, I don't know if that would be necessary to hear the difference. The
C-Media cards here at work make the sound skip like crazy, and that's
through a low-performance speaker. When you put a Sound Blaster card in
the same systems, they sound perfect.

My sound never skips, except when it is streaming net related. I listen to a
few mp3 and watch a lot of DVDs and have never experienced skipping with the
onboard sound.

Anon

 

[DaveW]

Get the Audigy. Your Cambridge speakers will really allow you to hear the
difference. And you'll be removing the audio load of the onboard sound chip
from the CPU.

 

[Anon]

Better sound might be a good reason to get the Audigy (or other plug in
sound card), but CPU load is not a reason. There is more CPU load from most
plug in sound cards than with the onboard sound of the P4E800-C. If you
don't believe me, run Windows Task Manager while listening, the CPU load is
very low, lower than most plug in sound cards.

 

[Joseph Lee Jennings]

Scott,
I was always a Creative user. i had the same decision as you when i got my
p4c800-e
motherboard. after i set it all up and tried the onboard sound i sold all my
old creative
sound cards on ebay. i have no regrets. this is all dependant on what you do
with your
rig and your personal preference. The on board chip is the Adi soundmax
Ad1985 chip.
It is not bad but finding the right driver package with the latest drivers
was a chore.
I would suggest you get the rig set it up and give it a try. If it does not
suit you
you can disable it in the bios uninstall the drivers and pop in a high end
pci solution.

Joe

 

[Scott Gregg]

Joe,

Thanks for the message. I'm glad to know it's not a C-Media chip.
However, your news has reached me too late. I just ordered my Audigy 2
Platinum card this morning after deciding that I didn't want to hassle
with the onboard sound. Oh well... At least I know I'll be happy with
what I have.

Scott