Onboard sound (realtech) vs Soundblaster.

[The_Vulcan]

The other night I was camping a flag and told my team mate I can hear someone about to walk into the door.

He then wanted to know how I could hear that, asked did I have my sound cranked way up.
(I never do).

It then reminded me of when I once played using my onboard sound..
It’s hard to describe but it was terrible.
It’s like sounds are missing.
Sounds that should be in the distance sounded like they were close.
The sound didn’t really sound directional.

Seeing as a lot of people don’t go for a sound card I was wondering on how much are they missing out on. How often I am able to sneak up on people because they don’t here my foot steps coming.

Does anyone else know what I am talking about ?

[daveee]

Generally it depends on a combination of your speakers/headphones + soundcard.

I have some $50 Aopen soundcard, but I still sometimes can hear more than people with X-fi's etc when they say they can't hear what I am hearing. Though that might be due to the fact that I have an awesome pair of headphones.


But yeah X-fi's etc are generally better for positional audio and environmental effects due to their higher EAX support (up to 5.0 or something now).

[Captain_Wolf]

I think this has to do with being able to use EAX. If your sound card doesn't support EAX you are at a major disadvantage.

Though I don't know the exact science of it. Someone more brainy than me care to explain?

EDIT: Sync post. lol.

Also I think I remember hearing/reading something about the sound of footsteps being increased in this patch. They definitely sound louder than in 0.7 IMO.

[neftaly]

You can't beat quality closed-cup earphones (I use a set of Sennheiser HD201's) and an X-Fi.

[VisOne]

Often people who don't have EAX enabled can here allot of things they shouldn't be able to, a good example was Lucid he never used EAX and he could here enemy tanks starting up on the other side of the map.

[Slavak]

You can't beat quality closed-cup earphones (I use a set of Sennheiser HD201's) and an X-Fi.

HD515's :D

[+SiN+ solo60]

Often people who don't have EAX enabled can here allot of things they shouldn't be able to, a good example was Lucid he never used EAX and he could here enemy tanks starting up on the other side of the map.
:)

in bf2 wars i can hear the arty firing from a long way off.. its good i can warn my team tho.

EAX gets buggy on my machine sometimes. I only use onboard, but i have good headphones.

I have used both soundblasters and onboard, and most new onboard stuff is fine for PR.

[Wokeye]

I have an old soundcard (SB Audigy 'value' LOL) and find that I can hear vehicles at distance, when some others can't. Don't think I get as many footsteps closer in, though.

[CHARGER_76]

I can see dead people...

[The_Vulcan]

I was thinking it might have something to do with channels and how many sounds the card can play/mix simultaneously.

To many at once and it just starts ignoring some.


find that I can hear vehicles at distance, when some others can't.


It is funny when you say tank in comming, and everyone's like where ?

I can hear it and know pretty much exactly where it is even if I can't see it. Same with choppers... Look left, right, hone in on it and then pop appears right infront of you.

[AncientMan]

X-Fi and Medusa 5.1 headphones make me hear everything, and make my ears hurt when someone fires the SAW closeby. Can hear footsteps about 20m away, which helps quite a bit. Can hear vehicles about 1km away.

[GI.Gazza]

Just wonering what you guys that use Senheiser headphones do for a mic. Is there something available to say clip on or such. I have a $250 set of Sennheiser headphones but don't presently use as have mic build into other logitech headset.

[Bammo]

Gazza - I am in the same boat as you - I have a $300 set of Grado headphones that are the ducks guts but I wind up using the $20 specials as they have a boom mike built in. I sometimes use the 5.1 speakers instead of the headphones and just hang them around the neck where I can still use the mic. Love to have a good desktop alternative though...

Back on topic - I have a new motherboard with onboard 8CH HD audio - not sure what settings to run it on. At the moment I am on hardware and medium and it seems to work OK but still not as good as my old SB Live! card...

We really need to do a full-blown, step by step comparison to find out what is the best combination of hardware and software settings to use. Everyone assumes that other people "know" what is best but from what I have seen we are all basically just guessing :)

[Chuc]

Ouch bammo :P

I got a setup that I've been confortable with for the past 4 years, a pair of speakers and a subwoofer off the ground, all in front of me. Speakers being just a tad in front of my keyboard.

The only addition is a microphone, which is a cheap 15 buck conbination headset/microphone (only one ear), I only have the microphone component on, so all my sound comes from speakers. Plus I look leet (or incredibally lame) with a half-headset on.

[Bahlye]

Bammo ..I still haven't got "your old SB live " card to work,I've put it in,but haven't got it working...Can't find the driver,or if I have the right driver off the sb live site it doesn't seem to work...so am still using the old one that came with the pc...
I installed the closest driver I could find but when Ilug the speakers in the jack I get nothing...
Am at work still so I can't tell you the model...4780 or something..:(

[Wokeye]

We really need to do a full-blown, step by step comparison to find out what is the best combination of hardware and software settings to use. Everyone assumes that other people "know" what is best but from what I have seen we are all basically just guessing :)
It does seem that way.

I would love to see a good/thorough/quantitative comparison, but the number of hardware and software combos means it would be a big undertaking.... Game Setting X Game X Gfx card X headphones X different users x driver x Operating System. etc

[Slavak]

I took the mic off a cheap ass pair of headphones, Won em at a lan (worth about $10 at dse) and just put the mic over the back of my ear and put the headphones on top. Cheap and nasty but it works.

[Bammo]

Bahyle,

I've several drivers here - for some odd reason they can be hard to find. Too big to email, let me know your mailing address and I will pop them onto a CD for you.

Funnily enough, I am busy downloading drivers now for my onboard sound. I removed a spare HDD from the PC earlier and it completely killed my sound. Had to remove the drivers to do a reinstall only to find I didn't have a copy on the HDD. Finding the drivers was easy enough, downloading them at 2.4kb/s isn't!

For some reason, audio drivers on the web are a PITA, dunno why...

[Bahlye]

cheers Bammo..I will pm you in de morning......I just got home from work after installing a dvd player in a WK Statesman...I knew it wouldn't be a quick job when I saw in the manual "connect bu/bl to power input on park brake(wtf!).

Thx m8.. I am sleepy, beer and wiring diagrams that don't match up wear me out...(thank god for google,had to translate the forkin instructions....fool brought it off e-bay,and the the only part I had any chance of understanding was in German...no English instructions...That cost them another $100 for being dumbarses ...)

[neftaly]

A good quality desktop mic will do.

I don't know if you guys remember when I sounded like I was underwater for a while during 0.5; I had modified another pair of HD201's to have an earphone jack on the side. I then had a throat mic that I "borrowed" connected to that. It was totally awesome, but it made me sound really weird (those mics are only good on a low-quality radio link :P).

[Gu^n3r]

i have onboard sound, i've noticed sound differences between my computer and those at lans, though what i find is that people don't attempt to listen to those smaller details, there more focused on the big picture and have never attempted to understand all the details of whats going on.

it's something i naturally(after 700+ hours) developed in Americas Army as sound in that game is bloody critical, with out it your good as dead, after i stopped playing AA and came back to bf2 i generally noticed the difference of hearing foot steps(and what kind of foot steps) and different sounds then what i previously did before playing AA.

it can be hardware/software related although if your system is capable of using voip for bf2 with onboard that should be enough.