My old X-Fi Platinum soundcard seems to have shat itself, and I'm looking for a replacement. I'm no expert though, so I'm having a little trouble finding the best one for my money.
My selection is somewhat limited as I can't use a PCI sound card - I only have a PCIx16 slot free. I want the card to do at least the same amount/have the same quality as the Platinum. I mainly want it for BF2 (to use the Ultra High audio setting), and some music on the side. I have quite a bit to spend, but I'd rather not go over the top on something that has features I'll never use.
I'm looking to get it from the selection at PC Case Gear. There are other stores, but they don't seem to have many cards in stock.
The cards I'm looking at:
Asus Xonar series: Never used one, but they are apparently good. I'm not sure if they're supported in BF2, and they are quite pricey.
Creative Titanium series: The plain titanium card looks good, but there are the Fatal1ty editions available for more. What do those do better then the standard card, and it is worth the extra price? I am leaning towards one of these cards as I'm sure these will be as good/better then my old card, but I tried Win7 with the Platinum and I couldn't get it to work - the drivers were borked. I think the Titaniums will be better supported, but I can't be sure. I'm currently on XP, but I do want to get 7 when it's released.
Creative Go! USB stick: Not a PCIe card, but still looking at it. I seems to be as good as the Platinum, but I don't know for sure if it will work with BF2. It's quite cheap at only $65, but it seems to have cut down on several of the features. Will this do as well as the PCIe cards in upcoming games, like BF3/MW2/Crysis 2/etc?
Also, I'm going to use it with headphones - Sennheiser HD555s to be precise. How will these fair with the newer cards? If I ended up buying one of the more expensive cards, would I benefit from buying new 'phones too?
So, which series and what card should I go with?
My selection is somewhat limited as I can't use a PCI sound card - I only have a PCIx16 slot free. I want the card to do at least the same amount/have the same quality as the Platinum. I mainly want it for BF2 (to use the Ultra High audio setting), and some music on the side. I have quite a bit to spend, but I'd rather not go over the top on something that has features I'll never use.
I'm looking to get it from the selection at PC Case Gear. There are other stores, but they don't seem to have many cards in stock.
The cards I'm looking at:
Asus Xonar series: Never used one, but they are apparently good. I'm not sure if they're supported in BF2, and they are quite pricey.
Creative Titanium series: The plain titanium card looks good, but there are the Fatal1ty editions available for more. What do those do better then the standard card, and it is worth the extra price? I am leaning towards one of these cards as I'm sure these will be as good/better then my old card, but I tried Win7 with the Platinum and I couldn't get it to work - the drivers were borked. I think the Titaniums will be better supported, but I can't be sure. I'm currently on XP, but I do want to get 7 when it's released.
Creative Go! USB stick: Not a PCIe card, but still looking at it. I seems to be as good as the Platinum, but I don't know for sure if it will work with BF2. It's quite cheap at only $65, but it seems to have cut down on several of the features. Will this do as well as the PCIe cards in upcoming games, like BF3/MW2/Crysis 2/etc?
Also, I'm going to use it with headphones - Sennheiser HD555s to be precise. How will these fair with the newer cards? If I ended up buying one of the more expensive cards, would I benefit from buying new 'phones too?
So, which series and what card should I go with?