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Gaming Notebooks: The Full Story

Author	Stuart Andrews
Published	22nd Mar 2007

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Finally, we have speakers. Bearing in mind that the big advantage of notebook gaming is space-saving and portability, hefty 5.1 setups and even 2.1 setups are a no-go. The most convenient speaker system is a 2.0 stereo, USB powered setup – no fuss, no power-brick to worry about, and only minimal cabling. Sadly, the vast majority are weedy, underpowered and practically a waste of time for gaming. That said, Logitech’s V20 notebook set surprised us. For one thing, the form factor is very neat, with the cabling actually comprising part of the desktop stands. For another, the sound is very good providing you’re not expecting huge volume. There’s more warmth and strength than you have any right to expect from such slimline units, and even a surprising degree of stereo separation, creating a fine, wide soundstage with different effects emitting from different directions.

If you’re serious, however, powered analogue speakers are still the way to go. Creative’s GigaWorks T20 speakers are about as good as 2.0 PC speakers get, beating many 2.1 sub/satellite systems on tonal range and delivering a powerful, crisp sound that worked brilliantly with S.T.A.L.K.E.R. and Dark Messiah.

It’s always worth remembering that most notebooks ship with bog-standard, integrated Intel HDA specification audio. Sadly, Creative currently isn’t producing a USB version of its X-Fi soundcard range, but if you want to enjoy many of the benefits you could try the X-Mod. This slimline, i-Pod sized unit acts as an external stereo processor, using Creative’s Crystallizer and CMSS technologies to, first, enhance the highs and lows in your audio and, secondly, expand the sound into a virtual 3D mix. In practice, there is a noticeable boost in the quality of in-game music and effects, and while the CMSS virtual surround feature still can’t quite recreate true 5.1 audio – partly because it’s having to interpolate the information from a straight stereo signal – it certainly creates a more three-dimensional effect. For £45 to £50, however, it’s hard to say whether you’d be better served with the X-Mod and a conventional pair of headphones, or a proper 5.1 headset with the processing handled on the motherboard or a built-in decoder.