On-board audio for budget solution?

[fluffy_little_something]

Yes, at 70 euros that Z model seems more appropriate.
Stumbled upon this list of Creative models with ASIO support, maybe it is useful for others as well:

http://support.creative.com/kb/ShowArti ... ?sid=66753

Interesting, just read on the Creative site, that some of their own cards are also based on Realtek chips, so they can't be that bad.

[rod_zero]

I totally agree that DA connversion quality is good enough even from cheap realtek onboard chip.

The main reason to buy a dedicated audio interface are the drivers, for improved latency and performance.

I said it before: if some manufacturer with good quality drivers (RME, Steinberg) made a simple USB stick with DA conversion and analog outputs I would pick it in a second, it's such a needed device for windows laptops. I don't want to unplug my big card and all the cables, and surely don't want to carry something like a fireface UC or even a Babyface pro, when I have to use the laptop on the go.

I sincerely believe cards without good asio drivers aren't worth the effort.

[fmr]

Yes, at 70 euros that Z model seems more appropriate.
Stumbled upon this list of Creative models with ASIO support, maybe it is useful for others as well:

http://support.creative.com/kb/ShowArti ... ?sid=66753

Interesting, just read on the Creative site, that some of their own cards are also based on Realtek chips, so they can't be that bad.

The chips aren't bad (but they aren't good either, IMO). But the software really sucks, big time. Creative better cards have their own chips, which have been based in E-Mu technology (the chips that equipped the samplers and synths since the E-III and E-Max II, including the Proteus series, etc.), but have been disappointing in this chapter in the last years, too, but it seems they are improving, both in terms of support for older models as in the quality of the drivers and software.

Anyway, they are not in the music market, but in the consumer market. I would still pay a little more and invest in something from a "music" company, like NI.

[fluffy_little_something]

Was just checking out the two dozen or so new motherboards for the new AMD processors and noticed that many of them feature a brand new Realtek audio processor, the ALC1220. It is not yet listed on Realtek's own website, so I am curious how that new top codec performs and whether or not it finally has native ASIO support/drivers.

[BertKoor]

a brand new Realtek audio processor, the ALC1220. It is not yet listed on Realtek's own website, so I am curious how that new top codec performs

I found an RMAA test result at the bottom of this page. That shows it's not too bad, but still obviously a 16bit codec. But it does perform better than the 1150 which was tested here.

and whether or not it finally has native ASIO support/drivers.

Ofcourse not. ASIO is a niche driver technology for audio enthousiasts. Gamers have nothing to win with it. And there's still Asio4All

[fluffy_little_something]

Hm, and why do you say "not too bad", when it says excellent in almost every aspect on your linked page?

[Dominus]

Hm, and why do you say "not too bad", when it says excellent in almost every aspect on your linked page?

Because it's "excellent" for playing back recorded sounds.

Not so much for playing soft synths and recording though. If you're going to drop a few hundred on a new mainboard and CPU for creating music, you *need* to have a decent ASIO device. If you need to save a little bit of money, look at used ones. Just research driver support and performance. I'm using an old RME Fireface 400 and it runs circles around any other card/unit I've ever tried.

[Kaine]

"Excellent" in that test appears to be far below where most people would expect an entry level Pro card to be.

For an example a £100 EMU card from a decade ago was able to manage -120dB(A) and THD+N -110dB the results above whilst fine for consumer level hardware, is unlikely to match even the lowest end dedicated interface at this time.

[robotmonkey]

If you want budget then get Soundblaster Z or RX. Very good sound and solid Asio drivers. As good as non dedicated recording-interfaces get.

You could also look at cheapo interfaces from Focusrite or M-Audio. You could get a good deal on sales.

[chk071]

Frankly, i'm not sure if it's really worth a discussion. A good audio interface is like 100 €. The one i just bought (Steinberg UR22) was 122 €, and has better sound, and latency than my dedicated sound card. Any soft synth you buy will be more expensive, and even if you're merely a hobbyists, i think it's well worth the expense, and some decent, entry level speakers too.

[fluffy_little_something]

Sure, I will get a Steinberg myself as well.
But not everyone has 100+ bucks to spend for something like that. And it seems that unlike 10 years ago, onboard audio has improved much more than dedicated audio interfaces, in other words, they have caught up quite a bit. Especially with those top of the line motherboards, which have top audio components such as capacitors.

To the one who said that those onboard codecs may be good for playback, but not for making music, why would the codec care what is fed through it? Isn't the processing done by the CPU, anyway?
I mean, what exactly does the codec do? What is the analogy for instance to onboard or even on-die graphics vs a dedicated graphics card?

[Dominus]

Sure, I will get a Steinberg myself as well.
But not everyone has 100+ bucks to spend for something like that. And it seems that unlike 10 years ago, onboard audio has improved much more than dedicated audio interfaces, in other words, they have caught up quite a bit. Especially with those top of the line motherboards, which have top audio components such as capacitors.

To the one who said that those onboard codecs may be good for playback, but not for making music, why would the codec care what is fed through it? Isn't the processing done by the CPU, anyway?
I mean, what exactly does the codec do? What is the analogy for instance to onboard or even on-die graphics vs a dedicated graphics card?

The components are better.

The drivers are not.

It's not worth messing with.

[BertKoor]

top audio components such as capacitors

Don't get me started on capacitors. There's only capacitors and extremely cheap capacitors. They either behave (charge / discharge) within specification or they don't. You won't notice any difference in the first two years.

[fluffy_little_something]

Yesterday my computer's power supply broke (there was a loud plop, the smell of burnt stuff, and the lights went out in my apartment). So I hastily bought a new one because of work, had to be cheap because I will soon get a new computer, anyway. So I got one for 20 bucks and noticed at home that it doesn't even have a PCI Express plug, so I had to switch to the on-board audio codec for mere listening, it sounds surprisingly good for an 8-year old chip. On the speakers I can't really tell the difference, except that the volume is less.
Have not tried the DAW, yet, I would have to install the Asio4All driver I suppose Maybe I will do that just out of curiosity
But I don't want to do much as the MB went crazy due to the power supply accident. Wouldn't even start until it finally did after like a 100 tries. Haven't dared to turn my computer off since yesterday, who knows if it would start again. Now I have to backup all files and stuff, just in case. And order the components for a new computer while I still can

[fluffy_little_something]

Oops, shouldn't have written that before listening to Kool and the Gang's Summer Madness, the high synth notes kind of get lost