Transformerland.com

Hello all!

Now this definitely is off topic from the traditional Transformer chatter. I recently bought two new pcs. I have the graphics cards and the power supplies picked out for upgrading. I just don't know about the audio card.

I am looking to upgrade my sound card in my pc and I am comparing two models. The only problem is that I can't tell the difference between the two of them. If anyone has any hints about the differences I would appreciate hearing them!

I found both of these on Amazon (I won't post a link since they sell TFs). They are both in my price range. Which is about $50. And, they are pci-e. They are about $3 apart from each other.

Creative Labs SB0790 PCI Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio Sound Card verses Creative Labs SB1040 PCI Express Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio Sound Card

What's your vote?

OK.. Sound cards is an area where I might be of use.

The first thing I can tell you is both cards you listed use a different form factor. The first one is a PCI card which nearly all computers can use.

The second one you listed is a PCI Express (PCI-E) which generally are only found on newer computers. It's a nice feature if you want to save a PCI slot for a more important card like a wireless card or video card.

You'll want to make sure your PC can support a PCI-E card if you decide to buy that one.

Both seem like decent cards. I myself use a Soundblaster X-Fi card. Mine is called the X-Fi XtremeGamer. I bought this card because as the name states, it's designed for PC gaming.

If you're looking for any kind of multichannel cards or to hook your pc up to a home theater, the second one would be the one to go with. It has a dedicated output for Fiber Optic.

If you can find these cards on Newegg.com, You might be able to find a decent deal on the card and get real reviews. They'll be able to tell you opinions on the card and what kind of issues people may have with them.

Fricken A. Good catch. I was leaning towards the pci model and never realized it was PCI. For some reason I thought they were both pci-e. I double checked my pc specs and it does not have a pci slot. Thanks!!!

I'll head over to newegg and check out the reviews and price points.

Thank you Side-- err... Jetfire for your help!!

Did you ever end up deciding on a model?

Wow!!

Didn't remember this post!! Yes. I did. I ended up w/ a Soundblaster SB1040ef.

And, man do I regret that. It's not that its not a quality sound card. It's not officially Windows 7 compatible - it was meant for Windows Vista. I really sucked at doing my research. About once or twice a week the sound card drivers don't load and I have to reboot the pc. Also, the advanced audio features don't work either since they were intended for Vista.

Sorry again for not responding sooner.

Have you checked Creative's website for updated drivers for Windows 7?

Yep. And, there are work around drivers, but Creative doesn't officially support Win 7 with that particular model. I should have bought it directly through Creative and purchased a current model instead of through a reseller on Amazon.

That's no good.. sorry to hear that.