multipurpose box

[airbrush]

Hey all,
I'm puting a new system together to be used for music and gaming.
I have been playing guitar for a long time so I hope to be able to
have some low latency recording ability.
The question is, soundcards/interfaces. Are there any "multipurpose"
cards worth a darn? I know that a lot of gamers use C-Labs stuff, for
the EAX/dsp and surround sound features.
The only options I cant think of are
1) a dedicated interface (usb/fireware) with a general purpose sndcrd
2) a deceint audio card doing both games and daw duties
3) running 2 soundcards
4) a second pc, one for music, one for gaming. (maybe next year)
Can you think of any other options or ideas? My budget for the
soundcard/interface is $150.00
Thank you for your time.
james

[amarule]

No reason why a pro audio card cannot be used for your gaming sounds. In your price range I would recommend the PreSonus Inspire 1394 FireWire Audio Interface.

[mtilli]

No reason why a pro audio card cannot be used for your gaming sounds.

+1. Who needs those surround sounds etc anyways.

[Shy]

Nowadays many games use either exclusively or at least offer software-only sound processing that's much better than EAX anyway (most famous examples: Doom 3, Half Life 2). The days of EAX's dominance are long gone.

[danbroad]

running all my games through an EMU 0404 PCI here. Most 'pro' soundcards kick audiophile arse out of the gaming soundcards, but lose out on the surround capabilities. If you don't have an inkling for 5.1 or 7.1, then get yourself a musicians card. A couple of choices would be PCI versions - Emu 0404, M-audio Audiophile 2496. As a guitarist, you should look at the Line6 interfaces, too. All of them offer high quality and low latency - it's just a matter of picking how many, and what type, of inputs you need.

Look around - try DV247.com in the UK for a well designed website consisting of all your choices. Then compare all prices before you buy..

Should pick up a great interface for less than £60.

[airbrush]

Thanks everyone for the input.
heh, I don't see myself using anything but stereo, or at the most
stereo w/ subwoofer. So I'll get good soundcard, probably the mAudio 2496.
On the interface front, I've been looking at NI Audio Kontrol 1, the
Edirol UA-101, Focusrite Saffire LE, and the TC Electronic Konnekt 24D.
Any opinions on these? I've been seeing a lot of good reviews on the
Kontrol 1 and the Edirol.
This website is awesome!

james

[danbroad]

the 2496 and 0404 are an interface aswell, with I/O from your computer.
The Saffire, Konnect and UA are audio cards aswell, with USB/FW connecting them to your computer. You don't need both. One or the other will do fine.