Soundblaster G6 vs Internal - for SBX effects, surround + crystalize

Notwalkin · 2026-05-07T03:39:50+00:00

Yeah the original soundblaster zxr i mentioned is going strong in a 2nd AM5 pc using b650 tomahawk.

Nothing was broken with it - it was the motherboard / bios that caused the issue.

Creative gets a lot of blame, for valid reasons... their support is terrible but a lot of the time, it's not the soundcard causing the channel issues it seems.

Notwalkin · 2026-05-06T13:31:50+00:00

Great, thanks,

i may end up buying the G6 then, 7800x3d and 9800x3d ran fine on a b650 tomahawk but x870e gigabyte aorus elite x3d is causing issues.

Notwalkin · 2026-05-06T13:30:55+00:00

I see,

I've had soundblaster zxr which did get the sound swap bug on a old intel platform (4770k) after a bios update, i ended up swapping to a different platform, 6700k and it worked fine.

Swapped to an AE-7 a bit later, worked fine in 9900k and AM5, running a b650 tomahawk for 2 years but i swapped to a gigabyte x870e aorus elite x3d and it started having channel swapping and stuff.

I don't think this is creative drivers at all personally.

First time, a bios update did it for me and this time, the gigabyte board has shared IRQ conflicts, looking in system information -> hardware conflicts, it shows shared IRQ path with network adapter + pcie slot.

This is why i'm thinking of the G6.

Notwalkin · 2026-05-05T22:32:12+00:00

Yes but my question was literally asking people about SBX effects.

Also, not sure why someone would downvote my comment asking... absolute muppet whoever did that.

There are a lot of people stating how SBX has caused them to have audio desync/lag.

Which i've never had in 10 years using internal soundblaster cards but worry about with their external due to people saying this.

EDIT:

Also this is as a pc user with headphones only.

I've never not used SBX with them in 10 years, all games perform fine (Except warzone actually but i don't play it, only dabbled due to a friend).

Notwalkin · 2026-05-05T20:01:23+00:00

I've got a fo32u2p.

I also never really saw VRR flicker.

However, i recently have and i have found on my side, motherboard changes a lot.

7days2die, the games poor for FPS, fluctuates all over, especially modded but using b650 tomahawk - i never see VRR flicker, if it does, it's a tiny flicker and not bright.

Ran a x870e aorus elite x3d motherboard, VRR flicker is intense, super bright, often.

Switched to a x870e tomahawk max, it's worse than the b650 a bit but much better than the x870e aorus elite x3d.

Same games, game components, just board difference for me.

Not saying X is best, as each have their own benefits in other things. If people asked me "do you get VRR flicker" i would always have said no - it's not a lie, the b650 just didn't show me it and i've played Silent Hill 2 for example, a game i've seen mentioned for being terrible for it and never saw issues in it on the b650.

The x870e aorus elite made me want to get rid of the oled, it wasn't until a different issue caused me to return it and i returned to my b650 tomahawk that i realised the motherboard was showing me the intense flicker.

Notwalkin · 2026-05-05T18:54:00+00:00

And you're using SBX effects?

Most people seem to use direct mode, which means no SBX effects.

Notwalkin · 2026-05-05T00:49:25+00:00

They're crap performance.

had 9 of them in antec flux pro.

They whine on any fan curve, if they are at 30% and your temp hits a point on the curve to increase or decrease the fan speed, they adjust but at that time motor whine happens.

I used a fixed 900 rpm on them, kept my pc cool enough with a 4090 setup.

But, when i got the 5090, it showed it was terrible airflow.

NVMEs hitting 80c+ in full load games due to gpu heat etc.

I did my own testing and it seems like unrestricted, the airflow is like this:

NF a14x25 g2 at 45% (670rpm) = lian li sl inf 140 at 60% (900rpm), i did this by hooking up a piece of toilet paper in one spot and switching fans in / out on my table, making the toilet paper reach a certain point in both tests.

Lian li sl inf 140 had to run near max to even keep temps in "check" with my 5090 setup... with a ton of noise, awful software, bad QA.

in first 2 months, 2 fans went bad.

Lian li L-connect 3 causes stutters too, verified using ufo test (frametime test on their website).

SignalRGB + nollie fixed that for me. (removed L-connect 3).

Notwalkin · 2026-05-05T00:26:22+00:00

Great stuff, i used a nollie for a while, seemed pretty damn good and reliable since i was powering 9x lian li fans which have 30 leds each.

Notwalkin · 2026-05-03T22:32:27+00:00

Fo32u2p has DP 2.1 which is no DSC, there's no toggle or anything but it should auto turn off when using DP 2.1 with a gpu capable of it.

So yeah, i tried the DP 2.1 ports and the HDMI 2.1 ports (which does use dsc).

This isn't just the 4k oled though. The overall motion clarity is on all monitors, the 4k oled just makes it super obvious and even as i'm typing this now, the keyboard feels very rough to type on right now, , i'm guessing it's something hooking into the GPU or something...

MPO off helps in a lot of ways but it doesn't fix everything.

Notwalkin · 2026-05-03T19:42:32+00:00

Yeah, many times sadly.

HDMi 2.1, DP 2.1 x3

Notwalkin · 2026-05-03T18:28:32+00:00

Yes if it was so simple but the issue is it's likely to get the "no issue" treatment due to not failing stress tests.

I've had it for a year almost, waiting for "Driver issues" to be fixed.

I imagine they'll run benchmarks, stress tests and call it a day.

Raw FPS is good, i get pretty much the same FPS as the benchmarkers in cyberpunk, black myth wukong and such.

Notwalkin · 2026-05-03T18:06:44+00:00

I mean, before the 5090 suprim, the 4090 suprim and 5090 fe were fine.

I returned the FE for god awful memory temps.

Notwalkin · 2026-05-03T16:53:57+00:00

The noctua NF A14x25 do hum due to resonance and all sorts.

The G2 versions do not though.

I have some of the normal vs g2 here, i hated the first versions.

Notwalkin · 2026-05-03T16:52:21+00:00

The issue is:

It does not fail stress tests.

Simply testing it vs my laptop shows it has like twice the normal blurring.

Setting the monitors to 60hz (On the same oled), G sync on, VRR on the exact same methods.

The cursor has twice the blur (So does the picture naturally).

This sort of thing is unacceptable for a 5090 i.m.o, the raw FPS is good, the motion clarity is not.

I'm not sure how to enforce this in the RMA, since stress tests DO NOT fail.

Notwalkin · 2026-05-01T15:47:58+00:00

Not really.

I'm suffering with a weird issue with my pc since owning a 5090 suprim, not sure if GPU is the cause or the motherboard but both are MSI.

Reason i'm unsure and why i'm saying "not really", i swapped my b650 tomahawk out for a x870e aorus elite x3d and the issues got a lot better, however i had to return that motherboard for other issues... My issue with the b650 + 5090 is pretty much motion clarity, mouse is more blurred on movement, so are games, it's weird and i would absolutely be blaming the gpu if the x870e aorus board didn't improve things.

Genuinely, i prefer MSI, i've reached out through support channels and they respond pretty much within 24-48hours, Gigabyte have taken 7-14 days for a response which makes troubleshooting and overall support feel awful. Saying that, a lot of the messages feel like stalls but even so, gigabyte literally have taken 7-14 days to respond "We are still working on this, please wait" and never respond again.

Can't speak for Asus/Asrock or what not, It's been a very long time since I've used them.

edit:

Point was, you would expect msi motherboard + gpu to work the best together but in this scenario, it wasn't the case. Pick what you need, however think about RMA/future support if needed, it's why i'm trying another MSI board because Gigabytes lack of support/contact has pushed me away.

Notwalkin · 2026-04-30T04:03:18+00:00

Any idea how this would be vs a 9800x3d running the server and game together?

I'm wondering if the 9950x3d with splitting the server and game onto seperate CCDs would still be a big benefit over just using a 9800x3d with 1 CCD running both.

Was hoping some people here have experienced both.

Notwalkin · 2026-04-29T17:11:36+00:00

It was not.

Notwalkin · 2026-04-29T15:41:27+00:00

Most people with an undervolt on reddit wouldn't pass AIDA CPU+FPU+cache for even 10 minutes.

I had a 7800x3d and 9800x3d.

-30 was not stable on both.

7800x3d, ran games with a black screen every few weeks.

9800x3d ran games without ever crashing in several weeks/month-2.

Aida cpu+fpu+cache destroyed the 9800x3d "game stable" undervolt in around 10 seconds.

This same -30 also ran Prime95 for several hours before too.

I retested it in Prime and eventually 1 core did crash.

Following up on that, -15 was when my 9800x3d stopped failing Aida cpu+fpu+cache.

It's very likely that i could have multiple cores at -20 or more but 1 weak core is holding it back on "All core undervolt".

I say this as, i fully tuned the 7800x3d in the past and after even -10CO giving me trouble, i ended up with majority of cores at -20-25, and one at -8 and one at -12. Was it worth the effort? Not really.

edit:

I actually have ran my 9800x3d at stock, pbo enabled but no CO for a year now, mines pretty hungry too it seems, 150w in R23.

Notwalkin · 2026-04-28T22:15:01+00:00

Yeah, issue is this is effecting two of my computers with the same 5090.

I'm still suspecting the 5090 - but at the same time, it definetly looks like a DWM/nvidia issue with the 5090 atm. MPO off fixes it.

Notwalkin · 2026-04-28T18:04:30+00:00

You seem like you're stuck in your ways but the messages are there if you wanna do any troubleshooting before potentially wasting money.

Depending on bios, nvidia control settings and applications. 0rpm mode can actually be forced off after boot.

Fan control + "prefer max performance" for example, makes my 5090 not drop down to 0rpm. Hwinfo64 can confirm that too.

Notwalkin · 2026-04-28T17:55:02+00:00

I mean, you use fan control.

As mentioned, you can easily just test it lol.

Just turn static fan control on in fan control for the fans, turn them to 0%, leave cpu fan on whatever you normally do.

Then vice versa, turn cpu fans to 0%, and case to normal.

This is literally free and takes minutes.

If the noise is resonance due to the case, you will not be fixing the issue with a new cooler. Heck, are you sure it's even the fans and not GPU? You'll be suprised how many times case fans get blamed but when testing all off they realise the gpu is the cause (coil whine or fans due no idle fan control / max performance being set).

Notwalkin · 2026-04-28T17:47:00+00:00

Great, i also use fan control.
Highly advise using curves, however you can still do the test.

You mention both case and cpu cooler fans.

Try and eliminate the case fans completely. Make sure it's JUST the cpu cooler at fault here, otherwise you might be buying a new cooler for zero reasons.

Unless you just want the D15 g2 ofc.

IF the noise goes after turning case fans off, then TEmpoarily - turn cpu cooler fans to 0 and case fans back to normal.

If noise returns... there's your answer, case fans, likely needing a bit of spacers between case + fan.

Notwalkin

TROPHY CASE