X-FI Extreme Gamer???

Basically I am looking at some of these cards on ebay, because when im on Xfire and talking to friends Xfire uses up to 16% of my cpu. When in games such as GTA IV it can lower my FPS which is really annoying. Would having a dedicated sound card help me out here? Using onboards at the minute.X-FI Extreme Gamer???
A dedicated soundcard will not make an unplayable game playable, and it will not make a big impact on your fps. were talking about maybe a few % less cpu at it's absolutley best, so i'd say no.X-FI Extreme Gamer???
You can only really justify buying a Creative X-Fi if you have a decent set of speakers. If you do, however, then make sure you get the Titanium Fatal1ty card - as much as I don't like Wendell, this card is the best bang-for-buck card you can buy. You could get the ASUS Sonar, but it costs a ridiculous amount. I doubt a dedicated soundcard would reduce the load on your CPU by much, so only get one if you actually want better sound than the onboard.
Believe me when I say this.. it's worth it! I have that exact sound card, and it is pretty incredible. It does help a little bit with taking a load of your CPU, but the main benefit is the sound quality and imaging you get from it. Even with just a decent set of stereo speakers, you will be blown away.
Going from onboard sound to a dedicated soundcard doent improve performance, but i would reccomend it because it makes a big difference in sound quality. When i bought my Soundblaster Audigy SE (old but still going strong) i noticed a good difference in sound. Games such as FEAR and call of duty sounded much better due to being able experience EAX 3.0. And this when im using my speakers and even my headphones.
Your particular sound card won't improve performance because it's an audigy SE, but it was shown long ago that a high-end sound card can in fact improve your frame rates, albiet by a very small amount in most cases. The effect is similar to having a high-end video card, because not only does the video card make your games look prettier, but it also processes them faster than your cpu could. To get this effect, you have to get something like an Audigy 2/4 for slightly older games, or an X-FI for current games.
[QUOTE=''hartsickdiscipl'']Your particular sound card won't improve performance because it's an audigy SE, but it was shown long ago that a high-end sound card can in fact improve your frame rates, albiet by a very small amount in most cases. The effect is similar to having a high-end video card, because not only does the video card make your games look prettier, but it also processes them faster than your cpu could. To get this effect, you have to get something like an Audigy 2/4 for slightly older games, or an X-FI for current games. [/QUOTE] I can't get why people recomend audigy 2 at any point, they sound horrible bad, infact they sound worse than current onboard soundchips does. I had one that i gave to my brother, because the motherboard sound on my MSI sound better and have ALOT less noise than an Audigy 2 does. (And then we have not been talking about the awful software included to the card) I now own an E-mu and thats a mile better than both but still i cant recomend anyone with a farily new motherboard that soundcard. Soundcards may increase the framerate by a *very* small amount but it will not make a diffrence for those having a low framerate.
A soundcard won't make a noticable difference in framerates. It will, however, provide you with beautiful sound quality that onboard simply can't match. I love my xtremegamer.
You need new ears. Your onboard does not sound better than an old Audigy 2. The problem is not the sound card, it's your ears or your speakers.
[QUOTE=''hartsickdiscipl'']You need new ears. Your onboard does not sound better than an old Audigy 2. The problem is not the sound card, it's your ears or your speakers.[/QUOTE] No really, you nead new ears, im quite good with ears/music as im an old proffesional musichan, not only that i work extra as an mixing technican from times to times. Come back talking trash when you put two condesator Rh鰀e micophones in your hands and try record in our studio. Audigy 2 = bad, really bad. For my sound i use the E-mu conected optical to my Harman Kardon AVR 5550 and from that to C66 speakers. And sometimes i've conected my E-mu via the studio, they use all fostex monitoring, and there i can tell u that try to record anything with the audigy and not soundig crap is impossible.This was your 86post.. O.o