no sound from computer

[TheMalcolmConnection]

Honestly, I bought the Turtle Beach card and got GREAT sound from it. Very cheap.

[mheisig]

Originally Posted by TheMalcolmConnection

Honestly, I bought the Turtle Beach card and got GREAT sound from it. Very cheap.

Great sound is a very relative term

I had a Turtle Beach card a few years ago with a midrange speaker setup and it was ok. I then upgraded my speakers to a bangin' setup and realized the shortcomings of the Turtle Beach card.

You really only need an expensive card if you've got high-quality speakers, otherwise you're just wasting money.

I personally just trust the Creative Labs (Sound Blaster) name - they've been doing it better for years and I'll spend an extra $20 or so for a name I can trust.

[TheMalcolmConnection]

Seriously though, that's very strange. I just found that image on Google image search.

[That Guy]

if your really "serious" about sound, you'd get an RME card and $4000 worth of powered pro monitor speakers (events or mackies)... you hear all kinds of stuff on CDs you never noticed before, though unless audio is your job, I seriously doubt its worth the cost.

your onboard sound should be fine, I use an audigy, but SB cards are tied to their driver CDs, so don't lose them.

I'd guess the SB live 5.1 (what i believe you have) may have had some kind of software conflict and its also possible a power surge or various other cause flipped a bit or two on the hard drive in the wrong place... kinda hard to tell from hundreds or miles away though.

[mheisig]

Originally Posted by That Guy

if your really "serious" about sound, you'd get an RME card and $4000 worth of powered pro monitor speakers (events or mackies)... you hear all kinds of stuff on CDs you never noticed before, though unless audio is your job, I seriously doubt its worth the cost.

your onboard sound should be fine, I use an audigy, but SB cards are tied to their driver CDs, so don't lose them.

I'd guess the SB live 5.1 (what i believe you have) may have had some kind of software conflict and its also possible a power surge or various other cause flipped a bit or two on the hard drive in the wrong place... kinda hard to tell from hundreds or miles away though.

I think you're confusing "serious" with "sick" or maybe "filthy rich."

Audiophiles can spend some insaaaane amounts of cash on audio equipment. I think it's really a sickness or something. I know this guy, I kid you not, who sold his car to fund his audio system. He biked to work like 10 miles away. I guess he's probably healthier now too, who knows...

[That Guy]

Originally Posted by mheisig

I think you're confusing "serious" with "sick" or maybe "filthy rich."

Audiophiles can spend some insaaaane amounts of cash on audio equipment. I think it's really a sickness or something. I know this guy, I kid you not, who sold his car to fund his audio system. He biked to work like 10 miles away. I guess he's probably healthier now too, who knows...

well, there's a difference you can actually hear the difference with real pro monitors. Once you decide to go the million dollar, gold plated everything, $2,000 monster cable surge protector route though you're just tossing money away. after about 6-10k$ you won't notice any difference.


of course you could if your music was all recorded and produced in a 192 or 384khz environment and you have speakers that could actually deal with that and the equipment to not degrade the signal from start to finish... but since that doesn't exist outside a single pyramid amp with 2 96khz stereo speakers, its not actually possible.



if you're lisstening to mp3s and oggs then the difference between onboard and an augidy probably won't be all that noticeable either, since the audio is already lossy compressed. actual DVD audio might sound different though, if you're the type that watches them on your pc...

[MTK]

I'm not that serious...

I do listen to music on my computer all the time though, and I have a subwoofer hooked up.

If I buy a similar new sound card, should that do the trick?

[mheisig]

Originally Posted by Mattyk72

I'm not that serious...

I do listen to music on my computer all the time though, and I have a subwoofer hooked up.

If I buy a similar new sound card, should that do the trick?

Seeing as I haven't inspected your machine myself, I make no guarantees about anything

I would say that at this point it sounds like you've pursued all the likely troubleshooting avenues, and dropping a few bucks on an entry-level sound card would be a pretty decent idea.

[TheMalcolmConnection]

In a word: yes.

New sound card = problem solved.

It "could" be the PCI slot you had the old card in, so I would put the new card in another slot when you get it.

[MTK]

Originally Posted by TheMalcolmConnection

In a word: yes.

New sound card = problem solved.

It "could" be the PCI slot you had the old card in, so I would put the new card in another slot when you get it.

Would it be worth trying the old card in a new slot first?

[mheisig]

Originally Posted by Mattyk72

Would it be worth trying the old card in a new slot first?

While you've got the box open you might as well - don't get your hopes up though.

In all my years of hardware troubleshooting I've only had one PCI slot go bad, so I'd say the chances are slim to none.

[TheMalcolmConnection]

They go bad more often than you thought. I support almost 500 Dells and we've had more than a dozen go bad in the past year. It would definitely be worth trying. You'll have to get the driver from Dell, BUT it would maybe save you some cash.

[mheisig]

Originally Posted by TheMalcolmConnection

They go bad more often than you thought. I support almost 500 Dells and we've had more than a dozen go bad in the past year. It would definitely be worth trying. You'll have to get the driver from Dell, BUT it would maybe save you some cash.

Damn! A dozen within a year? Has that been consistent over a long period of time, or is Dell's QA going downhill?

Maybe I've had better luck because I typically only deal with high-end, enthusiast level mobos I had a Dell years ago...swore I'd never by pre-built systems again.

Of course I'd hate to be the guy who has to custom-build 500 machines for your company, so I see your point

[TheMalcolmConnection]

http://ftp.us.dell.com/audio/R69382.EXE

Here's the link to the drivers for your sound card. I'll check the Creative site and see if there are any more updated drivers.

[TheMalcolmConnection]

http://ccftp.creative.com/manualdn/D...Patch_LB_3.exe

Actually, try that link. It's probably a newer driver.