Sound chipset on Abit NF7-S

[John_2001]

In few months I'll buy MB ABIT NF7-S with Sound SoundStorm 5.1 chipset, and
Barton 2500+
Now I have P3, ASUS motherboard and Creative Labs Live 1024 sound card with
3D Surround.
Is it SoundStorm chipset better than my old SB Creative Labs sound card?
Can I continue to use my old SB CL on my new motherboard?

tnx

 

[John]

In few months I'll buy MB ABIT NF7-S with Sound SoundStorm 5.1 chipset, and
Barton 2500+
Now I have P3, ASUS motherboard and Creative Labs Live 1024 sound card with
3D Surround.
Is it SoundStorm chipset better than my old SB Creative Labs sound card?
Can I continue to use my old SB CL on my new motherboard?

Im pretty sure you can. Ive used mutiple cards in the past for
recording music - a Maudio + SBLIVE.

Right now I have a ASUS nforce board with I think the soundstorm
chipset but am using once again the Maudio for recording + SBLIVE for
midi instead .

Havent really tested it but according to the posts Ive read the
Soundstorm is supposed to be pretty good for games - better than the
old SBlive.

 

[John Russell]

In few months I'll buy MB ABIT NF7-S with Sound SoundStorm 5.1 chipset, and
Barton 2500+
Now I have P3, ASUS motherboard and Creative Labs Live 1024 sound card with
3D Surround.
Is it SoundStorm chipset better than my old SB Creative Labs sound card?
Can I continue to use my old SB CL on my new motherboard?

tnx

"better"?
If you connect it to a DD 5.1 surround system and arn't plagued by clicks
and pops too much it's fantastic. If you connect via analogue then you can
get awful problems resuting from the crap realtek DAC.

On the other hand if EAX is your thing then nothing beats creative. But
creative Live cards have clicks and pops in non-intel boards such as VIA,
and this is a non intel board.

 

[Morgan]

In few months I'll buy............

I bet they will be on another revision or two by then

 

[Ogre]

I use a NF7 board with a Soundblaster live 4.1 digital, sounds sweet
with the creative 4.1 speakersystem

Ogre

 

[Alan]

If I am correct, your SB is 2 channel? The sound on the NF7-S is 5.1, plus
it has SPDIF out. I comes with quite an array of equalizing adjustments,
very much an improvement over the standard SB and I suggest the SPDIF places
it above the Creative Audigy.

Visit www.avsforum.com for some great information on sound cards, you will
probably find information on the NF7-S sound also.

I have no problems with mine, sound quite rich and full.

Hope this helps,


Alan

 

[Simon Bussey]

LOL in a 'few months' a faster Barton cpu will cost the same as that Barton
2500+ and there WILL be newer and better M/B's available... I suugest you
evaluate what's on the market when buy the system...
...also I've found 'inbuilt' sound and video to be very poor on
motherboards.. more than adequate if you just want 'a video' card or 'some
kind' of sound then its usually a cheap and easy wasy to get sound and
video.. I can't speak for this particular chip as i've not heard it.. but
other 5.1 onboard sound chips have been low quality.. these chips are
usually high on 'features' (to sell the board) like 5.1 and spdif out etc..
but low on quality.. despite what some people think all 5.1 sound cards
don't sound the same.. and a good soundcard (like an audigy or audigy2) will
always sound better even with an analogue out than a cheap card with digital
out.

 

[John Russell]

LOL in a 'few months' a faster Barton cpu will cost the same as that Barton
2500+ and there WILL be newer and better M/B's available... I suugest you
evaluate what's on the market when buy the system...
..also I've found 'inbuilt' sound and video to be very poor on
motherboards.. more than adequate if you just want 'a video' card or 'some
kind' of sound then its usually a cheap and easy wasy to get sound and
video.. I can't speak for this particular chip as i've not heard it.. but
other 5.1 onboard sound chips have been low quality.. these chips are
usually high on 'features' (to sell the board) like 5.1 and spdif out etc..
but low on quality.. despite what some people think all 5.1 sound cards
don't sound the same.. and a good soundcard (like an audigy or audigy2) will
always sound better even with an analogue out than a cheap card with digital
out.

That was true with the usaual ac97 codec systems. The Nvidia APU is derived
from their work on the XBOX so are you suggesting the sound on the XBOX is
crap as well?

 

[Skid]

"better"?
If you connect it to a DD 5.1 surround system and arn't plagued by clicks
and pops too much it's fantastic. If you connect via analogue then you can
get awful problems resuting from the crap realtek DAC.

On the other hand if EAX is your thing then nothing beats creative. But
creative Live cards have clicks and pops in non-intel boards such as VIA,
and this is a non intel board.

Please note that he's asking about the Soundstorm in an Abit NF7, and not
the Realtek in an Abit IC7. And the board uses and Nvidia chipset, not VIA.
Totally different kettle of fish in both cases.

I'd pick the Soundstorm over an SB Live any day of the week.

 

[John Russell]

Please note that he's asking about the Soundstorm in an Abit NF7, and not
the Realtek in an Abit IC7.

You'll be pleased to know that the Nf-7s APU is a digital only device.
Anyone who uses analog out does so by using the DAC in the external ac97
chip.

And the board uses and Nvidia chipset, not VIA.

Creative are part of the great wintel consiporacy and seem to make little
effort to build their products with non intel boards in mind.

 

[dr_hardwrae]

In few months I'll buy MB ABIT NF7-S with Sound SoundStorm 5.1 chipset, and
Barton 2500+
Now I have P3, ASUS motherboard and Creative Labs Live 1024 sound card with
3D Surround.
Is it SoundStorm chipset better than my old SB Creative Labs sound card?
Can I continue to use my old SB CL on my new motherboard?

tnx

I have the NF7-S and have had a SB live 5.1 card in it. I have made a
direct comparison and the on-board (analog) sound is better than the SB Live
5.1; I have removed the card and have been using the on-board sound since,
as it is far superior.

No, you can't use both the on-board sound and the sound card; it must be one
or the other.

 

[Morgan]

But, for those people that need to, could you leave the SB card in and use
the Gameport...?

 

[John_2001]

"better"?
If you connect it to a DD 5.1 surround system and arn't plagued by clicks
and pops too much it's fantastic. If you connect via analogue then you can
get awful problems resuting from the crap realtek DAC.

what do you mean by clicks and pops?

On the other hand if EAX is your thing then nothing beats creative. But
creative Live cards have clicks and pops in non-intel boards such as VIA,
and this is a non intel board.

What is EAX? I use sound card mostly for games and MP3

 

[John_2001]

video.. I can't speak for this particular chip as i've not heard it.. but

other 5.1 onboard sound chips have been low quality.. these chips are
usually high on 'features' (to sell the board) like 5.1 and spdif out etc..
but low on quality.. despite what some people think all 5.1 sound cards
don't sound the same.. and a good soundcard (like an audigy or audigy2) will
always sound better even with an analogue out than a cheap card with digital
out.

I've use Cambridge SoundWorks speakers, and I think I'll continue to use
them.
They have 4 speakers (sattelite) + Subwofer.
The subwofer has actice amplifier and it's connected on audio out on my
sound card.
Is that analog or digital connection? What is the other one than?
Will I hear the differents between SoundStorm and Creative Labs Live sound?
Can I even hear 5.1 sound on my speakers?

tnx.

 

[dr_hardwrae]

I've use Cambridge SoundWorks speakers, and I think I'll continue to use
them.
They have 4 speakers (sattelite) + Subwofer.
The subwofer has actice amplifier and it's connected on audio out on my
sound card.
Is that analog or digital connection? What is the other one than?
Will I hear the differents between SoundStorm and Creative Labs Live

sound?

Yes; IMHO, the on-board sound is superior. YMMV.

Can I even hear 5.1 sound on my speakers?

With the on-board sound and your 4.1 speaker system (I have a 4.1 Logitech
speaker system), 5.1 is mixed down to 4.1. There is a seperate output for
the center channel and subwoofer, but you need a center channel speaker (and
amplifier) to hear true 5.1 sound.

 

[John Russell]

I have the NF7-S and have had a SB live 5.1 card in it. I have made a
direct comparison and the on-board (analog) sound is better than the SB Live
5.1; I have removed the card and have been using the on-board sound since,
as it is far superior.

No, you can't use both the on-board sound and the sound card; it must be one
or the other.

I have my Santa Cruz installed to use the gameport. Both cards are active in
Device Manager. You need to use Control Panel to set up your system to use
which device you want for output,input and midi. In my case I use the Santa
Cruz for the mic input as I suffer from the noise on analog caused by the
poor anlog design on the 1.x boards, and the crap realtec codec chip which
handles analog audio.

 

[John Russell]

what do you mean by clicks and pops?

Go to nforcershq.com and see all the postings about people wanting new
drivers to solve the clicks and pops. Basically you don't just get the sound
you also get "clicks" and "pops" along with the sound, in my case usually
when sounds start and stop.

What is EAX? I use sound card mostly for games and MP3

EAX is creatives system for allowing games to create enviroment effects,
such as echo. All cards should support EAX as it's now part of DirectX. Most
reviews still find the EAX effects produced sound best on creative cards.
Many gamers who migrate from creative to other products usually complain
about the poorer EAX.

 

[Alan]

John:

I don't know if this will help, but I get clicks and pops from my Denon
receiver and my Yamaha receiver. Both are high end Home theatre 7.1 and 5.1
receivers that amplify Digital Sound and they also offer DSP (Digital Sound
Processing).

It is only when I enable DSP that they produce these pops and clicks, which
is real annoying. Try to discontinue it's use for pure digital sound, (DSP
is the sound hall, rock concert etc. settings) you might find that it clears
the problem. I don't have it turned on with mine, and I get absolute clean
sound, no pops or clicks, and I have not upgraded any drivers from the
original disk.


Alan

 

[John Russell]

John:

I don't know if this will help, but I get clicks and pops from my Denon
receiver and my Yamaha receiver. Both are high end Home theatre 7.1 and 5.1
receivers that amplify Digital Sound and they also offer DSP (Digital Sound
Processing).

It is only when I enable DSP that they produce these pops and clicks, which
is real annoying. Try to discontinue it's use for pure digital sound, (DSP
is the sound hall, rock concert etc. settings) you might find that it clears
the problem. I don't have it turned on with mine, and I get absolute clean
sound, no pops or clicks, and I have not upgraded any drivers from the
original disk.


Alan

Nice idea, but unfortunately most people with the problem are using analog,
and I'm not using DSP on my DD5.1 decoder anyway.