# What socket does this soundcard use?....



## omslemming (Aug 30, 2012)

Hi im new to anything other then integrated motherboard sound, im thinking of ordering the Asus xonar d2x soundcard for my new build Asus Xonar D2X Soundcard | Ebuyer.com

I have an Asus P8Z77-V Socket 1155 VGA DVI DisplayPort HDMI 8 Channel Audio ATX Motherboard Asus P8Z77-V Socket 1155 VGA DVI DisplayPort HDMI ... 

Now I know the soundcard uses a pci-express socket, the motherboard in question has the following:
1 x PCIe 2.0 x16 (x4 mode, black)
2 x PCIe 2.0 x1 *4
2 x PCI

Now im aware my graphics card will use the x16 pcie socket, so my question is will the xonar card work in a x1 socket and is it compatable with the board in question alongside a graphics card in one of the other sockets.


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## erocker (Aug 30, 2012)

You can use it in any PCI-E slot. The card has the short slot which is the same size as a PCI-E x1 slot however it will work just fine in any of the longer PCI-E slots. On your board it would be any of the darker blue or white slots. The lighter (aqua blue) slots are PCI only.


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## cadaveca (Aug 30, 2012)

Great card, everything that erocker says applies. I've had mine for years now, and don't want any other.


Just a note though - in that board you'll want to install the D2X into the uppermost PCIe x1 slot(or one of the other PCIe x1 slots), and not into one of the PCIe x16 slots, as that will affect the PCIe bandwidth provided to your GPU.


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## omslemming (Aug 30, 2012)

awesome to know itll work  decided to splash out for aftermarket sound this time around, the reviews on this card sound awesome as well and the price is pretty nice.


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## BumbleBee (Aug 31, 2012)

why on earth do you need a $150 sound card?


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## zenlaserman (Aug 31, 2012)

BumbleBee said:


> why on earth do you need a $150 sound card?



If you have to ask that, you're not an audiophile


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## BumbleBee (Aug 31, 2012)

audiophiles don't use sound cards. no PC speaker or headset needs a $150 sound card. buy a Xonar DG or DGX.


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## zenlaserman (Aug 31, 2012)

BumbleBee said:


> audiophiles don't use sound cards. no PC speaker or headset needs a $150 sound card. buy a Xonar DG or DGX.



Many who care about their audio do, tho.  A soundcard takes up much less space and is cheaper than having a dedicated amp and related components.

My sound card was $150 7 years ago, and I'd gladly pay that much again! It does it's job and then some.  Equivalent soundcards might be cheaper now, but soundcards with their own DSPs still have a place for the discerning gamer, especially when gaming with headphones.


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## BumbleBee (Aug 31, 2012)

people who care about audio shouldn't use sound cards. they are low cost solutions and have many limitations. another problem with sound cards is poor support and these companies never revise them which is a problem because sound cards that are 5 years old built on a Burr-Brown chip that wasn't even the best they had to offer at the time probably doesn't hold up. the most popular chips these days are by Wolfson Micro and ESS. 

digital-analog-converters and headphone amplifiers come in all shapes and sizes.

Xonar DG has everything a boy needs. Cirrus Logic DAC, Cirrus Logic ADC, JRC Headphone Amp, Creative Oxygen DSP, Dolby Headphone, GX2.5


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## Crap Daddy (Aug 31, 2012)

BumbleBee said:


> people who care about audio shouldn't use sound cards. they are low cost solutions and have many limitations. another problem with sound cards is poor support and these companies never revise them which is a problem because sound cards that are 5 years old built on a Burr-Brown chip that wasn't even the best they had to offer at the time probably doesn't hold up. the most popular chips these days are by Wolfson Micro and ESS.
> 
> digital-analog-converters and headphone amplifiers come in all shapes and sizes.
> 
> Xonar DG has everything a boy needs. Cirrus Logic DAC, Cirrus Logic ADC, JRC Headphone Amp, Creative Oxygen DSP, Dolby Headphone, GX2.5



I have been following your posts in audio and have a great deal of respect. Just want to ask, there are two ways of getting the sound out of a PC, onboard audio or dedicated soundcard. Is there any other way since obviously a decent soundcard is a better option than onboard?


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## BumbleBee (Aug 31, 2012)

Crap Daddy said:


> I have been following your posts in audio and have a great deal of respect. Just want to ask, there are two ways of getting the sound out of a PC, onboard audio or dedicated soundcard. Is there any other way since obviously a decent soundcard is a better option than onboard?



thank you.

it's very easy to turn your PC into a digital transport device. all you need is a coaxial, toslink, HDMI or USB port.

I can take a standard toslink cable and connect one end to the toslink port on the rear of my motherboard and the other end to the toslink port on my Cambridge Dacmagic.







and once I do this all my music is sent to the Cambridge Dacmagic to process instead of the Realtek.


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## Crap Daddy (Aug 31, 2012)

BumbleBee said:


> and once I do this all my music is sent to the Cambridge Dacmagic to process instead of the Realtek.



That's a great piece of info for me. I can't afford a DAC yet so I use a Xonar D1 (PCI card) and it is connected to a Denon stereo amp and bookshelf speakers (when needed, Sennheiser HD518 connected to the amp) The Xonar is doing the digital to analog conversion and it is clearly a better source than the onboard.


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## BumbleBee (Aug 31, 2012)

Crap Daddy said:


> That's a great piece of info for me. I can't afford a DAC yet so I use a Xonar D1 (PCI card) and it is connected to a Denon stereo amp and bookshelf speakers (when needed, Sennheiser HD518 connected to the amp) The Xonar is doing the digital to analog conversion and it is clearly a better source than the onboard.



the Cambridge Dacmagic isn't cheap but there are affordable digital-analog-converters.

@ omslemming

at $150 you can get something even better than the Xonar DG and D2X however the problem with that is how much better can it make PC speakers or a headset sound that was low cost to begin with.. it's like overclocking an entry-level processor with a big expensive water cooling kit. you will squeeze every bit of performance out of it but you really should be using an enthusiast processor. one could also argue it's only $150! /shrugs


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## Solaris17 (Aug 31, 2012)

erocker said:


> You can use it in any PCI-E slot. The card has the short slot which is the same size as a PCI-E x1 slot however it will work just fine in any of the longer PCI-E slots. On your board it would be any of the darker blue or white slots. The lighter (aqua blue) slots are PCI only.



this, love my D2X great card.


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