How to Configure Soundblaster Games
Creative has dominated the audio market with the Sound Blaster line of audio chips since 1989. Most video games are developed with the Sound Blaster in mind and most advanced audio settings found in video games are Sound Blaster specific. Knowing the definition of these settings and their effects on audio allows you to configure your games for optimal sound quality and performance.
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Instructions
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Start your game and go into the sound options.
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Adjust the volume to a comfortable level. Usually there will be multiple volume adjustments for various sound types, so you can fine tune your experience. For an example, you could lower the music volume and raise the sound effect volume. This configuration makes it easier to hear the specific sound effects. Alternatively, you could make the music volume louder for a more cinematic audio experience.
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Set up “Audio Mode,” “Speakers” or “Output.” This setting tells the audio engine in your game how many speakers for output. The possible options are: 2 Channel Stereo, this is for two speaker systems including headphones; 5.1 Surround, for systems that have five speakers and a subwoofer; and 7.1 Surround, for systems that have seven speakers and a subwoofer.
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Adjust the “Reverb.” This setting is an effect that causes the game audio to have an echo effect. Different games handle reverberation differently. Most games will repeat the sound effect every few milliseconds while slowly decreasing the volume each time it repeats until the sound is no longer heard. This can make sounds such as gunfire or footsteps appear more realistic. Available options for this setting are “On” or “Off.”
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Enable the “Hardware” setting. This setting sends the game audio directly to your sound card for processing. This prevents the processor on your computer from needing to process the audio data. Usually this will result in a performance boost in processor intensive games. In addition, it is important to note that most advanced audio effects and features will not work if this setting is disabled.
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Browse for a setting labeled “Audio Rate,” “Sample Rate” or “kHz.” This controls the number of times the broken-down audio data is reconstructed. The higher this number, the less audio information lost. Higher values will invariably lead to better audio quality. Lower values may increase the games frame rate. Choose the highest value first. Lower the setting if you hear audio glitches or the game's performance is unsatisfactory.
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Adjust the “EAX” setting. This setting enables environmental audio effects. For instance, if you are playing a game that has both indoor and outdoor environments, different effects will be applied within the two environments. This can usually help with the immersion. However, the quality of these effects depends upon the way the game was designed. The available settings are “On” or “Off.”
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Experiment with the “Sound Channels” or “Max Voices.” This determines the maximum amount of audio sounds that can be played at once. Higher settings yield higher audio quality. Lower ones may increase performance.
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Tips & Warnings
Not all of the settings will be available in every game.
References
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