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Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS in Windows 10 worth it?

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CptKlink81
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2019/09/15 01:48:07 (permalink)
Hello all question for you audio guys or hardware guys n girls in general. I have a Creative SB Audigy 2 ZS lying around and was wondering hmm haven't used this since early windows 7 wonder what its like in windows 10.  Ever since early windows 98 to early windows 7 I always had a sound card and never used built in.   And compared to built in even the latest in the windows 7 era was nothing compared to even at that time ageing audigy 2 ZS especially positional audio (helps alot in games).  My question is this. Is the Audigy 2 ZS still worth while to use in this day and age in windows 10 or stick with my built in realtek HD? (yes there is stable working drivers for it)

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 1600X @ 4Ghz
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    Hoggle
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    Re: Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS in Windows 10 worth it? 2019/09/15 02:52:40 (permalink)
    I would say yes it is since the Realtek HD has probably been around just as long with no major changes to it.  Since you have the audio card already it would be worth using it since built in audio isn't the best and made just to be a cheap way to add audio to a motherboard. The sound card on the other hand is built to make audio sound good and give a reason why people would spend extra for better audio.

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    Vlada011
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    Re: Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS in Windows 10 worth it? 2019/09/15 04:46:26 (permalink)
    You are lucky because your motherboard still support PCI Sound Cards.
    I'm not sure about quality compare to onboard solutions.

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    CptKlink81
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    Re: Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS in Windows 10 worth it? 2019/09/15 09:55:51 (permalink)
    Vlada011
    You are lucky because your motherboard still support PCI Sound Cards.
    I'm not sure about quality compare to onboard solutions.


    Yep Only reason I thought about it. Funny thing when I first got this motherboard. I diden't even realize it still had PCI slots. Alot of positive reviews for the B350 Tomahawk but almost none of them even mentioned the PCI slots.



    CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 1600X @ 4Ghz
    MoBo: MSI B350 Tomahawk
    Cooling: EK A240 Kit
    RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws V Series DDR4 3200 8GB
    GPU: EVGA GeForce RTX 2070 FTW3 Ultra
    Storage: SAMSUNG 960 EVO 250GB NVMe OS/Seagate SSHD 1TB
    Case: Raijintek Thetis
    PSU: Silverstone Strider 750 Plus 750W

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    CptKlink81
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    Re: Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS in Windows 10 worth it? 2019/09/15 11:59:46 (permalink)
    Well looks like my Mini retro gaming rig gets to live another day. Not enough room in my case with the Rad and fans in the way of the PCI slots.

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    CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 1600X @ 4Ghz
    MoBo: MSI B350 Tomahawk
    Cooling: EK A240 Kit
    RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws V Series DDR4 3200 8GB
    GPU: EVGA GeForce RTX 2070 FTW3 Ultra
    Storage: SAMSUNG 960 EVO 250GB NVMe OS/Seagate SSHD 1TB
    Case: Raijintek Thetis
    PSU: Silverstone Strider 750 Plus 750W

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    kougar
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    Re: Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS in Windows 10 worth it? 2019/09/15 21:50:50 (permalink)
    Onboard sound is way better than it was 15 years ago, can clearly hear the difference on everyday speakers.
     
    I have an old Xonar card I don't use anymore because the audio quality is indistinguishable from onboard sound despite using Audioengine speakers, at least to my ears. The onboard sound has better mic support, sound settings, and port input/output customization that the Xonar lacks. I don't use the stock Win 10 driver, it doesn't have any of those features and you need the latest audio driver from your mobo maker to unlock them. 


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    MSim
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    Re: Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS in Windows 10 worth it? 2019/09/16 01:23:04 (permalink)
    I would give the Audigy 2 ZS a shot. I still have my old Audigy 2 ZS and HT Omega Claro PCI card laying around.


     
    #7
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