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Windows 2000 Server, ABIT BH6, ATI All-In-Wonder 32MB AGP, Sound Blaster Audigy 2 NX
In a previous letter we wrote to this newsgroup:
Previously, we reported that our Windows 2000, ABIT BH6, AiW 32MB, and Extigy (USB) setup had a perfect TV picture, but major sound problems. The voice and music volume was extremely low and covered by loud buzz/hiss interference. We were told AiW 32MB TV sound would not work on an ABIT BH6. After reformatting the hard drive and reinstalling Windows 2000 Server to improve our system, we installed the Extigy and the newest AiW drivers and software expecting only the TV picture to work, as usual. Surprisingly, the AiW TV sound worked perfectly! We thought the AiW TV sound problem was over. As we continued to rebuild our system, we installed three additional USB components (one scanner and two printers) and minimal software. We later discovered that our TV sound was back to the loud buzz/hiss interference and no decipherable voice or music at all. We thought that maybe the additional USB components were some kind of drain on the Extigy, so we recently upgraded to a Sound Blaster Audigy 2 NX (USB) to improve overall sound performance. The Audigy 2 NX did not change the TV sound problem. Thus, we are going to reformat, restore perfect sound, then try to determine which additional device or software kills the TV sound. Does anyone else have a better approach? "Amir Facade" wrote in message ... Sounds about what I would try. Let us know. When we reformatted and reinstalled, the TV Sound had the same loud buzz/hiss interference, but the voice and music could be heard again. We changed the BIOS AGP aperture from 256 to 128, then back to 256, with no change in the TV Sound problem. We checked the TV sound for several days and it still had a problem. When trying the sound today it worked perfectly. The only things we have done to the system since we last checked the sound is installing Juno 4.0 and making adjustments to Zone Alarm 4.0. Could changes in any of these have affected the sound? Is it possible that the interference is coming from cabling? We haven't changed the cabling, but we have a lot of cables and wires crossing over each other everywhere. Even though the TV sound is working perfectly, "Control Panel ATI Multimedia Center System Compatibility Check" still says: WDM INF files are not installed onto the system. When installing ATI software we also got the same old message: UCI is not installed on your system. |
#2
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"New Question" wrote in message . .. We thought that maybe the additional USB components were some kind of drain on the Extigy, so we recently upgraded to a Sound Blaster Audigy 2 NX (USB) to improve overall sound performance. The Audigy 2 NX did not change the TV sound problem. Thus, we are going to reformat, restore perfect sound, then try to determine which additional device or software kills the TV sound. Does anyone else have a better approach? Swapping one USB sound card for another is not an 'upgrade'. All USB sound devices I have come across have sucked especially the Extigy. They also 'suck' in terms of the CPU resources they consume. For the cost of those two souncards you could have replaced your ancient BH6 with a cheap mobo/processor combination with far better performance. The quality of onboard sound that comes with most recent motherboards is more than good enough, indeed the onboard sound on Nforce motherboards is as good as an Audigy 2 that costs three times as much as an nforce motherboard itself. K |
#3
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"K" wrote in message ... Swapping one USB sound card for another is not an 'upgrade'. All USB sound devices I have come across have sucked especially the Extigy. They also 'suck' in terms of the CPU resources they consume. For the cost of those two souncards you could have replaced your ancient BH6 with a cheap mobo/processor combination with far better performance. The quality of onboard sound that comes with most recent motherboards is more than good enough, indeed the onboard sound on Nforce motherboards is as good as an Audigy 2 that costs three times as much as an nforce motherboard itself. The price of our Audigy 2 NX was less than $111.00, the Extigy will be sold to offset the price (We estimated the net price at about $50.00.) The price of Nforce boards range between $49.00 to $117.00. The external Audigy 2 NX, and the shielded speakers we use with it, is also used for our Sony DVD Player, which has no speakers of its own. Switching to internal sound would require new speakers for our Sony DVD Player. The Audigy 2 NX uses USB 2.0, the Extigy uses USB 1.1. The Audigy 2 NX also has 24-bit DVD-Audio Playback and can use 7.1 speaker systems, the Extigy lacks both. The top of the line Audigy internal is $199.00. The BH6 is ancient, but we plan on purchasing the ABIT AI7 this year, or whatever they come out with to support the Prescott, because we want much more than just sound improvements. We will replace the AiW with the top of the line AiW at the same time. But for now, we don't see how a net price of about $50.00 for incremental sound enhancement and enhanced resale value can do us any harm. |
#4
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"New Question" wrote in message ... The price of our Audigy 2 NX was less than $111.00, the Extigy will be sold to offset the price (We estimated the net price at about $50.00.) The price of Nforce boards range between $49.00 to $117.00. The external Audigy 2 NX, and the shielded speakers we use with it, is also used for our Sony DVD Player, which has no speakers of its own. Switching to internal sound would require new speakers for our Sony DVD Player. The Audigy 2 NX uses USB 2.0, the Extigy uses USB 1.1. The Audigy 2 NX also has 24-bit DVD-Audio Playback and can use 7.1 speaker systems, the Extigy lacks both. The top of the line Audigy internal is $199.00. The BH6 is ancient, but we plan on purchasing the ABIT AI7 this year, or whatever they come out with to support the Prescott, because we want much more than just sound improvements. We will replace the AiW with the top of the line AiW at the same time. But for now, we don't see how a net price of about $50.00 for incremental sound enhancement and enhanced resale value can do us any harm. I see. USB can be problematic as you add more devices because the bandwidth (11mbps for USB 1.1) is shared, together with the power supplied (500mA max). Even devices that have their own power supply can draw more than than what is recommended. It might be worth trying a separate USB card (for around $10) and plug just the NX into that. K |
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