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Which M-Audio card?

743 Views 9 Replies 4 Participants Last post by  obsidience
Hi All,

Some more newbie questions: I now have the case, a DC black desktop and I ordered the Mobo today, a Abit TH7II-RAID . I am putting together a P4 system and will probably go with a P1.7 or P1.8 cpu. I am now looking at what video and sound card to get. If this information makes a difference I will be using my system for mainly DVD watching. I will also later be capturing HDTV to the hard drive for time sifting (No games). The system will be used; temporarily on my Mits 65" TV, but later will be connected to a NEC 9pg crt projector. The sound will go through a Denon receiver. Naturally I want the best image and sound possible.

I have looked at the different sound cards on DC web site, but I thought I would check here first to be sure I was getting the right one for my system. I am leaning towards the Delta DiO for it’s optical in/out puts. What is your opinion on this card?

I have also been looking at the Radeon video cards , but I don’t know which one to go with. Is there one that is better for a htpc, then the others? What about the ATI Radeon 64MB AGP DDR RAM VIVO or the ATI All-in-Wonder card ? From reading this forum it seems that the radeon card is the card of choice, but which one? I am a little confused on what I would need. I would appreciate any help and opinions.


Don
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I'm using an M-wave audiophile 24/96. It is being fed to a B&K ref 30 via coax digital. I have never heard much difference between a coax connection and an optical one. When I was building my Htpc, I was very concerned that the sound quality would suffer, as I was using a top of the line Sony DVD. I was very surprised to find that the sound quality is GREAT. I'm not sure of the differences between the Delta DIO and the Audiophile (which is also a Delta card), but can tell you that the 24/96 will amaze you :)



As for the video card....I am using a Geforce2 64mb DDR, that came with the computer I bought. Read some of the FAQ's floating around here.....but I beleive that the All in wonder is not comaptible with Dscaler...I could be wrong.... Good luck :)
The Radeon AIW is not compatible with Dscaler and from my experience a cheap TV Tuner card with SVideo is twice as good as as the Radeon AIW. I know I have both.


It sounds to me like you are going high-end... I would suggest that you go with a Radeon 8500 with an Avermedia TV98 (I bought for $39 at buycomp.com) or wait for the Radeon 8500DV which should be coming out in a few months.


I would go with a Radeon over Nvidia because of the hardware video rendering of ATI cards are second to none. I know I have both.


As for the sound card question I have no experience with audiophile cards; I'm using a Philips Acoustic Edge hooked up to a Sony DD/DTS receiver in 5.1 mode. The Philips AE is a great card.


Best regards,


Obsidience
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Thanks Guys,


Will the Radeon 64MB DDR give me any better performance (PQ, stability, etc..) then the Radeon VE?


Thanks for the help.


Don
If you are not going to be playing any games the VE should work great.



Best regards,


Obsidience
Thanks Obsidience,

Your help is most appreciated.


Don
I use the Delta Dio simply because it does not use a breakout cable. It also has optical connections as well as SP/DIF.



...Jump out.
Thanks Wayne,

It's a pleasure to see you back :).


Best Regards,

Don
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Originally posted by starscomeout
Thanks Obsidience,

Your help is most appreciated.


Don
Your welcome stars! :)
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