Hi there folks, thanks in advance for your advice.
I'm looking for a reasonable soundcard (around <$250 range) that is stable, solid, and predominantly used for running a bucketload of Quantum Leap VSTIs. Live recording as well, but not as huge a priority with this setup. I'm also running Windows 7 Pro x64, so driver stability is important as well. Using Sonar as main system. I also have 12 GB of RAM ready to go, and I'm planning to use it!
I was wondering about the following.
1) For VSTIs, does one soundcard make much difference from another in terms of performance, or does everything pretty much rely on the CPU nowadays?
2) In actual practice (rather than theory), does PCI/PCIe have any real-world advantage over USB devices in the context of VSTIs?
3) Without starting a card war, are there any standout cards for the <$250 price range? Note I don't need lots of physical inputs, just at least a decent stereo pair. But VSTIs will be my main focus. My previous card way back was an X-Fi Platinum, so I'm guessing most things will be a bonus
Thanks again for your comments!
I'm looking for a reasonable soundcard (around <$250 range) that is stable, solid, and predominantly used for running a bucketload of Quantum Leap VSTIs. Live recording as well, but not as huge a priority with this setup. I'm also running Windows 7 Pro x64, so driver stability is important as well. Using Sonar as main system. I also have 12 GB of RAM ready to go, and I'm planning to use it!
I was wondering about the following.
1) For VSTIs, does one soundcard make much difference from another in terms of performance, or does everything pretty much rely on the CPU nowadays?
2) In actual practice (rather than theory), does PCI/PCIe have any real-world advantage over USB devices in the context of VSTIs?
3) Without starting a card war, are there any standout cards for the <$250 price range? Note I don't need lots of physical inputs, just at least a decent stereo pair. But VSTIs will be my main focus. My previous card way back was an X-Fi Platinum, so I'm guessing most things will be a bonus
Thanks again for your comments!
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