# pci vs pci-e sound card



## brokenspirit (Oct 8, 2015)

I'm looking at getting one of the Asus Xonar soundcards. Is there any difference between the pci and pci-e versions? not too sure which to go for


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## Slizzo (Oct 8, 2015)

I recently bought an XD, as finding motherboards in the future with a PCI slot will be very difficult. If you're planning on keeping the card that long that is.

Also, be aware that the best bet for drivers for the ASUS card is the UNi drivers that are out there.


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## rtwjunkie (Oct 8, 2015)

brokenspirit said:


> I'm looking at getting one of the Asus Xonar soundcards. Is there any difference between the pci and pci-e versions? not too sure which to go for


 
Not too much difference in what quality you get for cards whether PCI or PCIe cards.  If you have a PCI slot on your current motherboard available to use and either a lack of enough PCIe slots or in unobstructed locations, the PCI card can be handy if you'll be keeping that motherboard awhile.

The good thing about PCIe sound cards is they don't have to go in a x1 slot.  They will work in x1,x4, and x16 PCIe slots.

I have DS and D1 cards at our house in PCI slots, and they work fine.  The drivers are even up to date for W8.1, just not W10.


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## FordGT90Concept (Oct 8, 2015)

They will sound exactly the same so long as the rest of the hardware is identical but as Slizzo said, PCI is a dying breed.  I'd buy PCI Express--audio card or not.  I'd only consider PCI if I'm out of PCI Express slots.


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## brokenspirit (Oct 8, 2015)

well basically i have pci slots available, or a pci-e x16 slot available. not fussed either way but if i go for the pci-e will it affect graphics card performace?


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## rtwjunkie (Oct 8, 2015)

brokenspirit said:


> well basically i have pci slots available, or a pci-e x16 slot available. not fussed either way but if i go for the pci-e will it affect graphics card performace?


 
I have a Soundblaster Z in a x16 slot, and I see no appreciable loss of graphic performance.  It may, but I sure don't notice it.


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## Jetster (Oct 8, 2015)

It depends what slot you have available. That's it

I've actually switched back and forth a few times when I switched boards. The Xonar sound cards hold there value so just get what you need


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## dont whant to set it"' (Oct 8, 2015)

HI all.
Shouldnt much of a difference, other than chosing between available slots, if any to slot it in.
Le(before 1st post and very quick scrolling) I had a sip of:
back to your...., ah Yes! dont know much about aftermarketm PC soundcard, software shouldnt be an issue, 99.(99999999)something percent.{driver wise}


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## brokenspirit (Oct 9, 2015)

thanks guys!


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## brokenspirit (Oct 9, 2015)

are both versions win 10 compatible?


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## Jetster (Oct 9, 2015)

Yes


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## Ferrum Master (Oct 9, 2015)

Older CMI8770 devices like Auzentexh X-Plosion does not work via ASMEDIA PCI bridges on newer boards... well I got one bug also using older PCI64 bridges usning X-Fi on some server boards too.

Older X-FI and X-Fi Titaniums have zero problems under win10 now. (and at last in Linux too, don't get SoundCore cards for Linux, Creative hates Linux) Xonar DX have mucho mucho bugs under win10 and I thew the card in the closet... I can't sell it now due to these bugs.

See from the Unixonar page... Yes they are right that Windows kernel has audio stack patches lately that affects software based audio cards...(Realtek too) X-FI just don't care about that... they do their DLL and resampling using their own stack.



> *Notes about Windows 10 RTM compatibility (updated 1 Oct 2015)*
> UNi Xonar drivers above v1.64 will work in Windows 10 but since the audio drivers are not yet made specifically for Windows 10 there could be some issues that you could run into depending on audio settings used. Different drivers could work differently so if you encounter any issues try installing the other UNi Xonar versions.
> 
> Apart from driver issues there could be issues solely from Windows 10 sound system that would be fixed with future Windows updates. There is also a small chance that some things could break with future Windows updates.
> ...


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