# creative x fi titanium vs realtek alc 1150



## anonymousalex (Jan 30, 2016)

hi
i have a asus z87-k mb with onboard realtek ALC887
and i want to improve my sound quality,especially for gaming and movies in 7.1 surrround mode
which one is going to be better for me ?
x fi titanium or realtek alc 1150?
(i use razer tiamat 7.1 headset)
(i found alc 1150 in asus-asrock z97 m


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## FreedomEclipse (Jan 30, 2016)

Titanium


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## MIRTAZAPINE (Jan 30, 2016)

I would get the soundcard between those choices. If I have third choice I would go with an external dac and amp to avoid software problem and electrical noise.


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## johnspack (Jan 30, 2016)

Titanium.....
Add these drivers:   http://www.hardwareheaven.com/community/forums/pax-download-pcie-x-fi-series.181/


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## puma99dk| (Jan 30, 2016)

Onboard Audio codec's are getting better and better and with more manufactures actually dividing the audio from the rest of the board there is less interference, but to actually hear a difference u need highend headphones and more to come to a point where onboard can't drive ur setup anymore.

I am using external audio with my Asus ThunderFX and it's nice, i use to have a dedicated audio card aka Asus Xonar Esscense STX but bcs of pure driver suppose i got my hands on the Asus ThunderFX only bundled with the Asus Maximus V Formula/ThunderFX.


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## johnspack (Jan 30, 2016)

Definitely.  But for driving high end headphones,  nope.  I even need an amp to drive mine on top of my card.  But I like clean audio for music ect,  I find onboard to be way too noisy.
It's worth it to spend a little on a sound card.


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## anonymousalex (Jan 30, 2016)

johnspack said:


> Titanium.....
> Add these drivers:   http://www.hardwareheaven.com/community/forums/pax-download-pcie-x-fi-series.181/


if i use those drivers mentioned in those forums then i cant use creative drivers right ?
i mainly want to use 7.1 surround sound for games and movies not musics

currently i have the titanium installed on my pc and i watched some movies and even played some 7.1 games
the sound is amazing but i think the sound from rear positions are not good enough i mean i have to process sound in my mind for 2-3 seconds to find out if its from rear or right rear surround or not
some times i close my eyes and turn the mouse in fps games to find pos of my enemies
the front sound and left or right can be easy detected but  not the rear sound


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## bogmali (Jan 31, 2016)

OK OP you have this thread and now you created this what exactly do you not understand with on-board sound vs discreet sound?


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## Ferrum Master (Jan 31, 2016)

Not even a contest...

Dont use PAX. The latest creative ones are fine. You may use Daniel K driver if you have some rare OEM X-Fi. PAX are actually messed and tampered with volume gains based on subjective hearing.

And about processing... just turn up more the volume for the back speakers? Disable 3D effects.


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## RejZoR (Feb 1, 2016)

Then again ALC1150 is highly capable codec and most Z9x and X99 boards that are using it deliver pretty damn good audio. I still prefer Creative stuff, but I can certainly see myself using Realtek one as well.


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