New speakers

[lillelj]

Hi guys

I know little if anything about sound cards and what not. I dont have a soundcard only onboard sound, if i get a nice big (ish) pc speaker system, is it a waste of money without a soundcard?? or is it still going to be a nice step up from my tiny little generic speakers i currently own. I do listen to allot of music and watch quite a few dvds. In a perfect world i would just get the speaker set as well as an x-fi card but i wont be able to afford it. or should i just buy a Hi Fi and plug it to the pc??? Any sugestions would be greatly appreciated as im hoping to make my mind up in a few hours time

Lillelj

[tHe_HyBrId]

I got these speakers a while back: http://www.********************/showpr...odid=SP-021-LG

And I am using realtek azalia onboard sound. And the music that those speakers produce is sweet. The Sub is M.A.S.S.I.V.E. 505W RMR 1010W Peak. The bass that they can produce is amazing. I listen to music daily, and am VERY pleased with the sound quality they give using onboard graphics. Plus, they fully support. They include effects changing for whether your watching a film, playing music, or don't want all of teh speakers on at once.

[tHe_HyBrId]

I got these speakers a while back: http://www.********************/showpr...odid=SP-021-LG

And I am using realtek azalia onboard sound. And the music that those speakers produce is sweet. The Sub is M.A.S.S.I.V.E. The entire system is 505W RMS 1010W Peak. The bass that they can produce is amazing. I listen to music daily, and am VERY pleased with the sound quality they give using onboard graphics. Plus, they fully support. They include effects changing for whether your watching a film, playing music, or don't want all of teh speakers on at once.
The plugs that can used for them are coaxial, Direct and Optical. And I find the volume perfectly fine set to 3 blocks even though these do go up to 20 blocks which is crazzzzy. I turn the volume all of the way down in itunes then turn the speakers up to 20 if I want FULL BASS. One note, the SUbwoofer is quite heavy, and the controller for volume etc is about half a foot length and 15cm wide. Maknig the Sub about (2ft) by (1 +1/2ft). Oh yes and again, the sound quality is still excellent on onboard audio .

[Lie495s14]

Nice Soundcard now and good speaker later is what i call waste of money.

a good set of speaker like logitec or creative would be nice for music and movie. i enjoy z5500 from logitch very much.

[lillelj]

Originally Posted by Lie495s14

Nice Soundcard now and good speaker later is what i call waste of money.

a good set of speaker like logitec or creative would be nice for music and movie. i enjoy z5500 from logitch very much.

Yeah its kinda what i was thinking, in the future i will get myself a soundcard (its on my list, just moneys tight). OK so a slight exageration on my part, the speakers im getting arent anywhere near as big as the ones you are recomending, the ones i want are the logitech Logitech Z2300 2.1 Speakers. So you reckon a seperate big hifi connected to pc, or these logitechs??

[tHe_HyBrId]

I recommend the logitechs because of the quality, just because the speakers you're looking at getting are smaller than the ones we have recommended, it doesn't mean that they are less quality. They are still from the logitech "Z" products, so those speakers will just be quieter than the Z5500's but retain the same uber quality.

[lillelj]

Well this soundcard is as cheap as anything, worth getting when i buy my speakers, or what other soundcard could you suggest, but please keep in mind that i wont spend like 80 quid on a soundcard, just dont have the money. but any other reasonable soundcards for similarly reasonable prices??
http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/produ...duct_uid=98938

[ROBSCIX]

IF your gonna buy good speakers then get a good soundcard to drive them If you skimp on one you will regret it. Good soundcard with bad speakers or bad souncard with good speakers. If you don't have the money SAVE!!
You don't want those reasonable soundcards...trust me.
IF you will spend all that money on a video cards why won't you spend money on the audio subsystem? Great sound helps out your gaming alot!
If you buy decent speakres now you can use your onboard until you get a good soundcard. Trust me don't skimp out. IF you want good audio you have to invest a little cash. Then you wil be done you probably won't upgrade your sound again for a long time to come...

[lillelj]

Originally Posted by ROBSCIX

IF your gonna buy good speakers then get a good soundcard to drive them If you skimp on one you will regret it. Good soundcard with bad speakers or bad souncard with good speakers. If you don't have the money SAVE!!
You don't want those reasonable soundcards...trust me.
IF you will spend all that money on a video cards why won't you spend money on the audio subsystem? Great sound helps out your gaming alot!
If you buy decent speakres now you can use your onboard until you get a good soundcard. Trust me don't skimp out. IF you want good audio you have to invest a little cash. Then you wil be done you probably won't upgrade your sound again for a long time to come...

Thats fair, i willl be getting the logitech speakers tomorrow. but for 15 quid which is peanuts shall i just grab that until i can save enough for a high end card, i mean, wouldnt it be better than my onboard for now.(im not worried bout losing 15 bucks). And i spend all that money on video cards because they come first and foremost in any gamers list, great sound will make it more enjoyable,no doubt about it, but it wont improve my performance(performance as in my ranking , i realise it takes some strain off the cpu but its still secondary to other pc components , for gamers.) thanks for the replies guyskeep em comin lol

[ROBSCIX]

NO, Those cards don't take the strain off the CPU although they will sound better than your onboard. If you want a good cheap card, try and find a Audigy 2 Value. These are actually great cards but I am not sure how much they are worth where your from. Any of the budget cards "should" sound better than a onboard but they don't take the strain off the CPU in fact in certain situtations they may actually add more. It's not such a big deal anywmore with modern CPU's but just so you know. If your planning on buying a killer set of Logitech's like the 5500's for instance be sure the next thing you buy is a sound card. No matter how good you think your onboard sounds, a add in card will sound better. Hope this help.

That would be:
Audigy SE
Audigy LS
Audigy Value
SB Live! 24 Bit
X-fi Extreme Audio -not Extere Music.

[lillelj]

Originally Posted by ROBSCIX

NO, Those cards don't take the strain off the CPU although they will sound better than your onboard. If you want a good cheap card, try and find a Audigy 2 Value. These are actually great cards but I am not sure how much they are worth where your from. Any of the budget cards "should" sound better than a onboard but they don't take the strain off the CPU in fact in certain situtations they may actually add more. It's not such a big deal anywmore with modern CPU's but just so you know. If your planning on buying a killer set of Logitech's like the 5500's for instance be sure the next thing you buy is a sound card. No matter how good you think your onboard sounds, a add in card will sound better. Hope this help.

That would be:
Audigy SE
Audigy LS
Audigy Value
SB Live! 24 Bit
X-fi Extreme Audio -not Extere Music.

Cool thanks ROBSCIX, by any chance do you know of a link to that Audigy 2 Value? much appreciated.

[ROBSCIX]

Don't know where you are. I would say around $40-50?
the Audigy 4's are a good deal too.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16829102011

[lillelj]

Originally Posted by ROBSCIX

Don't know where you are. I would say around $40-50?
the Audigy 4's are a good deal too.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16829102011

wow, thats so cheap, i am in the UK and i cant find a single one on the online retailers, they just keep refering me to the Creative audio SE like this one, are they the same?
http://www.********************/showpr...odid=SC-040-CL

ill have a look on ebay, the ones that often come up are the audigy 4 ZS is this also decent?

[ROBSCIX]

NO, Don't buy the Audigy SE. It is NOT the same thing not even close.
the AUdigy 2 Value and the AUdigy 4 contain a TRUE 10KX DSP chip that take care of all the Audio effects required by games. SO the card takes care of all EAX and effects in general. Your game audio will use little CPU cycles. the Audigy SE in Contrast contains NO 10KX, it is some weird DSP, long story short it doesn NOT handle the effects in games your CPU will have to take care of it. It is a concern maybe not so big considering the speed of modern systems. The A2 and A4 are just better cards..

[lillelj]

Originally Posted by ROBSCIX

NO, Don't buy the Audigy SE. It is NOT the same thing not even close.
the AUdigy 2 Value and the AUdigy 4 contain a TRUE 10KX DSP chip that take care of all the Audio effects required by games. SO the card takes care of all EAX and effects in general. Your game audio will use little CPU cycles. the Audigy SE in Contrast contains NO 10KX, it is some weird DSP, long story short it doesn NOT handle the effects in games your CPU will have to take care of it. It is a concern maybe not so big considering the speed of modern systems. The A2 and A4 are just better cards..

Ok i see, i cant find anyone in the uk selling an A4 on ebay, but i found this.....would you recommend it or not.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Audigy-2-ZS-SB...QQcmdZViewItem

[ROBSCIX]

YEs that is the Top of the line Audigy 2 ZS. Before the X-fi came out this card was the best Creative card you could get. More or less. That card will sound ver good. Grab it up. Are you getting a 5.1 surround speaker set? I seriously recommend these aswell they are so cheap these days and they are great for gaming and movies...they can be beat especially given the price of the entry level sets. $60 or so...

[lillelj]

Originally Posted by ROBSCIX

YEs that is the Top of the line Audigy 2 ZS. Before the X-fi came out this card was the best Creative card you could get. More or less. That card will sound ver good. Grab it up. Are you getting a 5.1 surround speaker set? I seriously recommend these aswell they are so cheap these days and they are great for gaming and movies...they can be beat especially given the price of the entry level sets. $60 or so...

Excellent, its pretty cheap so i think i will grab that one (about 30 pounds inc postage). I would have liked a 5.1 or above system but given my current situation its wasnt really practical for me and my family. (hard to explain, not really a space issue). thanks for all your help ROBSCIX.

[ROBSCIX]

No problem, you can always go the headphone route. Alot of guys swear by good headphones. This way you can have great sound and as loud as you want. There are even 5.1 sets out there that a few guys around here love...
BTW, Your welcome that's what were here for....