Sound Card Compatability - MSI Z87-G45 motheboard

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Matt Dower

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Mar 28, 2013
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Hello everyone,

I have a MSI z87-G45 motherboard and Sound Blast Audigy 2 ZS sound card that I was using with my logitech 5.1 surround system on my old rig.

However this new motherboard only has PCIx1 slots and my sound card is a x8, so it doesn't fit.

I know some people have cut the sound card slot off, or cut a groove into the PCIx1 slot to fit it in, but I'm not doing that at all!
Is there some find of riser cable x1 to x8 I can get to fix the problem ,or do I need to get a new soundcard?

If someone could link me to the correct cable as I have no idea which one would be the right one!

Thanks
 
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thor220
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Matt Dower

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Mar 28, 2013
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Ohhhh the new cards use PCI-E slots instead of PCI?!
If you could please give me some suggestions that would be great!

Thanks
 
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thor220

thor220

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Yeah sure. First I need to know what you want to do with the sound card.

- Do you plan on using it with a speaker system with more than 2 speakers or headphones
- Are you an audiophile?
- Do you care about emulated surround sound?
- What's your budget?
 
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Matt Dower

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Yeah I would be using a 5.1 surround sound system.

I'm not really an audiophile, as long as it sounds decent and loud!

The emulated surround sound isn't an issue as I manly listen to music through the speaks when my friend around, otherwise I use headphones.

I'd say around £50 as my budget.
 
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thor220

thor220

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Within you budget range I would recommend that you stick with your on-board. You have a premium motherboard with decent built-in audio and it'll do a decent job of fulfilling your needs.

When you are willing to spend more, the asus xonar essence STX should be your next (and last, unless PCIe goes way lol) Sound card upgrade. It has excellent stereo options while also having a built in headphone amp.

Before you upgrade your sound card, you should think about getting better speakers first. Logitech makes good entry level systems but that's it. Their higher priced systems have a bunch of extra features that only really help games (it's the same for almost all gaming oriented sound products). Something like the klipsch promedia 5.1 (they also have a 2.1 set) would suite you well. The promedia line is one of the highest regarded when it comes to value.

I cannot comment on your headphones as you haven't provided the name.
 
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Matt Dower

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Mar 28, 2013
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My headphones are the Logitech G930 Wireless Gaming Headset 7.1Ch Surround with ANC Microphone.

How can I hook up my 5.1 surround sound to my on board, don't I need a sound card to get it all working correctly? It has like 5 cables, blue, green, orange, black etc etc one for each speaker, and the the sub.

That Asus Xonar Essence STX only has stereo, so how would it work with the 5.1 system?

Thanks for the reply :)
 
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thor220

thor220

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Your motherboard can handle up to 7.1 surround sound. It has 6 x 3.5mm ports on the back to accommodate any setup. It's even color coded the same as the speakers so just plug the green cord into the green port, and so on.

Nice catch with the STX there. It's the Asus Xonar Essence STX II that I meant. It comes with a 7.1 daughter board.
 
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