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I have a Dragon+ with onboard C-media audio. I started using it when Unreal Tournament started sounding bad on my SB Live X-gamer. I noticed that the C-media was not any where near as loud as the SB Live. After two weeks of using the C-media on a fresh XP install, I reinstalled the SB Live. It sounds so much crisper and a hell of alot louder. Using the latest drivers from Creative without any problems. How can people say the onboard C-media is better than an SB Live ?

I gave up my Hercules GTXP in favor of the onboard sound. I can't tell any difference bewteen the two other than now I have an extra PCI slot

The problem with the SB LIve (I have an Mp3+ version myself) is that their drivers have been VERY inconsistent lately.

I started using some generic drivers that Doc Silly recommended a while back because they worked better than Creative's (I used to get a lot of pops and burps while playing MP3s in Winamp while working).

I installed the latest Creative drivers the other day and did find that they've improved them dramatically.

However, I also have a mobo with onboard C-Media and have found that it sounds pretty darn good in games.

Main reason I switched to a c-media 8738 card was I got it for $13 shipped, then once I tried it I liked it. Got tired of the sb live problems and found out this cmedia card picks up sounds in some songs that the sb live card never did right so I stuck with it. Just sounds richer and fuller to me, and with none of the troubles the live card caused.

I also have a Drogon + . In my opinion and that is all it is an opinion. The C-Media sounds better than my SBLive X Gamer ever did. I hear sounds in games that I never heard before with the X Gamer. Music also sounds better to me with the C-Media sound. What sounds good to one does not to another so if the SB Live sounds better to you go for it. As for me, the SB is in the kids rig.

Well I was using the onboard Cmedia sound untill I got my wireless NIC and PCMCIA to PCI adapter. Computer would lockup in all games with sound drivers loaded, no sound drivers and no lockups. Put my SB Live Value in, same IRQ as the onboard and ZERO problems as of now. Weird stuff but oh well.

I find my Herc GTXP has more punch than the cmedia o/b sound with my Z560's. I like the mixer/EQ software and the breakout box too. Cmedia is still the best o/b sound chip by far tho. As far as anything Creative goes.......that overpriced crappola and it's ubiquitous bloatware ant allowed in my house.

Originally posted by FlyingPenguin
I started using some generic drivers that Doc Silly recommended a while back because they worked better than Creative's

DO you know where I can download these? I wouldn't mind giving them a shot. I have this really weird screech/pop when I get into windows for some reason and I'd *love* to see if that would get rid of it.

Here you go: http://web95.uranus.xtnoc.de/hosted/shs-sound/

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EDIT
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So you know, I've been working all day today on a website while listening to MP3s and the damn think is stuttering and poppong again with the Creative drivers so I'm going back to the unofficial ones on this website.

HIP:

The new drivers they have posted on there look a little wierd - they're in an asian language and the text comes up in gibberish. I installed them for the hell of it and it changes all the text in your mixer to gibberish. They also seem to be on Creative's Asia server so they're just the official drivers I guess.

I went back to the drivers I originally downloaded from this site last year. They're unofficial drivers and they are the drivers only (no surround mixer utilities). They've worked great on my system for the past year.

If you're interested I've posted them here: http://soldcentralfl.com/bob/unofficial_sblive.zip

They're only for Win9x and Win2K, however, not for WinXP.

They're labelled v5.12.01.3300c dated 8-29-01