Hercules Gamesurround Fortissimo III 7.1

Afer getting tired of the n-forces built in sound chip (this is a deluxe board) I wanted to try something different, so I read reviews on the web and decided on the fortissimo III. Now after being used to surround sound from a home stereo, and not some under powered pc speekers I grew kind of spoiled by the ease of use on the n-force board, just plug it in to your stereo and off you go, so I wanted somehting similar. I had the gamer audigy in my computer but it's lack of connectivity problems and it's lack of performance for the price forced me to use the n- force sound, and this is where the fortissimo comes in. As I said earlier this board has built in optical port so you don't have to dig around for cables that don't exist(audigy anyone, thanks for lying creative!!) and you can plug this sucker right in to your home stereo. The sound is actually a little better than the audigy's and comes through loud and clear on a decent set of speakers, and for those of you with cheap speakers stick with the audigy, It'll sound better although the audigy still seems a little cleaner audio wise and it's highs a little higher than the fortissimo III, but I can live with that for 50 american dollars compared to the 130 I spent on the audigy.

I wanted a card to replace my ageing Creative AWE64 ISA card, as it was reproducing DVD tracks very noisily. I looked for an inexpensive card (well under $100 Cdn) that would be "future-proof" and also have good technical specs. Signal-to-noise ratio was the most important, as that was where the AWE64 failed on DVD (it was still terrific for CD audio and CD-ROM audio). Although the Fortissimo doesn't quite reach Creative Audigy standards, it is just fine for the type of speakers most people connect to a PC. I use a LabTec LCS-2412 system (monitor mounted L+R plus desk subwoofer). I do not have a 5.1 setup yet, so I cannot comment on those aspects. Without access to test equipment, I would say it is a notch better than my old AWE64, and is much more versatile. The Fortissimo's real-life specs are: down 0.51db at 20kHz, A-weighted SNR -81.2, Harmonic distortion 0.0084%, IM distortion 0.039%, Dynamic Range 78.4db.

After purchasing the Hercules Gamesurround Fortissimo III 7.1 sound card recently for $100 AUD (about £36 GBP), I was pleasantly surprised by the software outfit it came in. Including Hercule's own MediaStation II and PowerDVD Pro EX DVD, I was instantly able to make my own CDs and start watching DVDs on my computer.

This card has 8 channels available over 6 3.5mm sockets and 2 optical digital out, where 2 of the 3.5mm sockets double as either a headphone out or surround channel stereo for one, or microphone or line level in for the another. Very nifty!

Compared to more expensive sound cards, the sound quality is quite ordinary. Connected to a quality 5.1 speaker system (VideoLogic ZXR-500), it never seems to be able to hit the highest of notes on DVD soundtracks, nor the lowest of beats in many R&B CDs. Of course, this is only noticeable if you've heard sound from one of the higher quality sound-cards (I heard music from Creative Sound Blaster Extigy at a friends place before purchasing my Hercules Fortissimo III), so to most people, the difference is negligible.

None-the-less, for its price, this is a quality soundcard, lots of channels, brilliant regeneration of DVD surround sound and great for gaming.

Overcoming its fairly minor flaws, the Hercules Fortissimo III is for any average gamer/dvd watcher who are enthusiastic about entering the age of surround sound, but who don't want too much of a burden being placed on their hip pockets.