Do I need an extra sound card?

H

hobbysta

Member
Hi, I ordered a system from you with the ASUS® P8Z68-V LX: USB 3.0, SATA 6GBs, ATI®CrossFireX motherboard.
I'm planning to buy a 5.1 speakers system to be able to achieve a full surround sound from my computer.
Do I need an extra sound card to achieve that or I'm going to be able to plug the speakers into a dedicated motherboard's port?
By the way, any suggestion on a decent set of speakers up to 200pounds, please? Thank you
 
Music Guy123

Music Guy123

Prolific Poster
Depends on the speaker system, most digital ones go through USB. Analogue ones generally go through a standard 3.5mm auxiliary jack I think. They are very easy to setup, don't worry, just right click the sound icon in the system tray, click playback devices and then select the speakers, right click it and set it as default. You can then play with the properties.
 
tom_gr7

tom_gr7

Life Serving
I would say it depends on which sound system you are buying

1. If you buy a sound system with an decoder that uses optical input you should be fine, as the decoder will process it into 5.1

2. If it doesn't have a decoder, it requires the PC to encode the sound into 5.1 beforehand, however, the mobos cannot send 5.1 Dolby digital over optical cable, unless you are watching a dvd, as the sound is already on the disk. mobo's cannot process the sound into a 5.1 Dolby digital signal to send over optical. SO if you are playing games and want Dolby Digital you will need a expensive sound card.

edit - if you want use analoge connections 5.1 will be fine. :)
 
Music Guy123

Music Guy123

Prolific Poster
I am afraid I am not the most experienced with 5:1, am so used to stereo! @tom, what happens if you use an analogue or a digital connection like a usb?
 
tom_gr7

tom_gr7

Life Serving
Music Guy123 said:
@tom, what happens if you use an analogue or a digital connection like a usb?
Click to expand...

sorry yeah I edited my post and added on analogue should be fine, as the mobo can use the different channels.

usb is generally fine, say if it was a 5.1 usb gaming headset, it would likely come with a little encoder/decoder and processes the 5.1 there.

I have had so much trouble trying to get dolby digital 5.1 though optical it was a nightmare. even the sound card i was using wouldnt do it, but i think these new fancy modern ones do though. but mobos defo dont process DD over optical, but as i said before if its already recorded on a DVD it will send it fine.

i have a feeling that doesnt really make much sense lol.

Op what sound system are you thinking of getting?
 
vanthus

vanthus

Member Resting in Peace
I know it's the consensus of opinion there is no point in getting a sound card unless you're an "audiophile" or recording music from a guitar for example,but I would have to disagree,
especially if your going to get high end speakers & want to get the full benefit of them.
The speakers will work with onboard as mentioned,so at the end of the day it's up to you.
You could try them out first with onboard then if your not happy,
consider a sound card.
 
Music Guy123

Music Guy123

Prolific Poster
Thanks tom, that is what I thought, I did think that 5:1 went through those two! It depends what speakers you get as to which card you choose or maybe don't get a card. I am afraid I am not really the best with choosing speaker systems, I build my own so can't really help you for buying!
 
H

hobbysta

Member
Well...where to start. First of all, I wouldn't call myself an audiophile but still the most expensive item I have is a stereo.
Anyway, I'm not going to listen to music on computer or watch any dvd/blu-rays as I have a dedicated devices for that.
I was thinking about getting myself a 5.1 computer orientated system only for gaming purposes.
I'm not expecting much, as I know what I may expect from speakers for one or two hundred pounds...
I just wanted to have pleasure of hearing different sounds from different sides when you play a game.
However, maybe I should concentrate on getting a better quality 2.0 or 2.1 system instead. I don't know...
I was thinking about Logitech Z506 Surround for less then 70pounds or Harman Kardon Sound-stick III for around 100.
 
H

hobbysta

Member
Hi Tom,
I would most happily go for it, although I made some research and found out that... "To drive these speakers you NEED the 3 sockets out of your sound card. Centre, Front left/right and Rear left/right. Splitters will not give you 5.1 surround. There is (was they may have removed it) a splitter box with the speaker, but all this does is make the sound come out of the centre and rears, in other words stereo out of more speakers."
The question now is, will my motherboard have 3 sockets to drive the speakers?
 
tom_gr7

tom_gr7

Life Serving
hobbysta said:
Hi Tom,
I would most happily go for it, although I made some research and found out that... "To drive these speakers you NEED the 3 sockets out of your sound card. Centre, Front left/right and Rear left/right. Splitters will not give you 5.1 surround. There is (was they may have removed it) a splitter box with the speaker, but all this does is make the sound come out of the centre and rears, in other words stereo out of more speakers."
The question now is, will my motherboard have 3 sockets to drive the speakers?
Click to expand...

i get what ya mean, wha mobo are you going for? an i will have a look online. :)
 
tom_gr7

tom_gr7

Life Serving
here's the connections on the mobo, should connect up fine.

tD15LjEqY23TwRB6_500.jpg

source http://uk.asus.com/Motherboards/Intel_Socket_1155/P8Z68V_LX/#specifications
 
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