Need help on buying 5.1 surround sound card for PC

armadasetyadi

Commendable
Jun 17, 2018
9
0
1,510
My mobo is MSI Z97-G43 GAMING. Does it support 5.1 surround? I'm planning to buy a mid-range price good sound card that supports 5.1 mainly for gaming and sometimes watching movies. I said mid range price because I dont want to spend a lot of money jusr for sound. The most important thing is that it supports 5.1.

Also do you guys have recommendation what sound card I should buy? I have searched on the internet, someones recommends ASUS Sonar DG 5.1 but when I read on the spec, it says headphone surrounds or something. I dont use headphone and I dont want to use "virtual surround using software" I want to use real surround speaker with 5 jacks.

Thanks all..
 

Paperdoc

Polypheme
Ambassador
Yes, that "7.1-channel" capability is the MAX the on-board system can do. The 5.1 system you want to use also is possible - it's simply a matter of setting the options using the tool provided. When you are completing the install of your mobo, one late step is running the utilities on the CD that comes with the mobo. A major part of that work is installing all the device drivers needed for your system, and that includes the drivers for the audio system on the mobo. It also includes the configuration and testing tool for that system, which normally places an icon for access to it on your desktop at bottom right - see your manual, p. A-2. When you plug in your speaker system, it will show you in its menus that a 5.1 (aka 6-speaker) system for output is available to choose, so choose it. To plug those speakers in, see the diagram for a 6-speaker system on p. A-5. Your speaker system will have three plugs, each with 3 contacts - tip, ring and sleeve. One (usually color-coded green) will be for the front left / right speakers, one (usually orange) will be for the front center and sub-woofer, and the last (usually gray) will be for the rear left / right speakers.

Look closely at the manual, p. A-3, about the auto-pop-up dialog. This is part of a feature with Realtek systems to allow you to re-assign jacks for non-standard purposes. BUT in my experience you MUST respond to it properly. The sequence is that you plug in ONE speaker plug and the pop-up appears, suggesting the default device may have been plugged into that jack. If you ignore this it will disappear after a wait, but it may NOT use that default setting - it may simply NOT send out a signal on that jack! So RESPOND, even if only by clicking on the "OK" button to confirm the choice shown on the screen. Then proceed to the next speaker plug. Etc.

Once the speakers are plugged in and confirmed, you can use the configuration utility (p. A-2) to choose your speaker system and then set its options for sounds. There probably are some places where you can run a little demo to confirm the system is doing what you want, and to set up balances between speakers.

Quite separately from the rear speaker jacks, the mobo has a header for connecting to the case front headphone / microphone jacks. In the Realtek configuration utility those jacks are configured separately. THAT is where you might have an option for simulated surround sound for headphones that could be used for the front jack only, and not affect what your 5.1 speakers get.
 

armadasetyadi

Commendable
Jun 17, 2018
9
0
1,510
Thank you very much for the reply.. After doing some research here and there finally I decided to buy logitech z506. I'm glad that i dont have to buy additional soundcard. For now i will stick to onboard soundcard. Perhaps later if i have spare money i would like to purchase soundcard. If i read forums correctly, the dedicated soundcard should produce better quality movie and wav sound (i'm a musician, sometimes i do classical composition too, but my pc build is mainly for gaming, sometimes when gaming i like to hear the game soundtrack too especially if they're orchestra :p ), but i'm not sure if dedicated soundcard like asus xonar affects game also.

One more question in case i want to buy soundcard: this mobo has PCIe 3.0, so which soundcard can you recommend that compatible with my mobo and my analog z506? Thanks in advance..

Edit: i'm not really into headphone. My ear hurts when using headphone. And it's not comfortable especially if i wear glasses. It's very unlikely for me to buy it. But i really appreciate the headphone advice. Thank you..
 

Paperdoc

Polypheme
Ambassador
I do not have enough detailed knowledge to advise clearly on the PCIe 3.0 slot use, but I can alert you to check that carefully. That is the latest and fastest type of slot for adding accessory cards, and its design is particularly suited to very high data rate devices like advanced graphics cards for gaming use. I strongly suspect that even 5.1 channel audio on a sound card does NOT need that kind of data transfer speeds, so you are better to mount the sound card in a "lesser" version PCIe slot, and reserve the fastest slot for a video gaming card.
 

armadasetyadi

Commendable
Jun 17, 2018
9
0
1,510
Actually my logitech z506 came yesterday. I needed roughly 2 hours just to install and set it up correctly. I'm very pleased with how it sounds and it's surround effect despite it being analog. I still need some suggestion on what soundcard i should buy to upgrade sound quality, using my msi z97 g43 mobo and logitech z506.. anyone?
 
How much do you wanna spend for such a soundcard?

But anyways the Z506 is not worth to get a high quality soundcard and therefore the onboard audio should be more than sufficient for it. I really think you won´t hear a difference. If you will, I would be very happy for you :)
 

Paperdoc

Polypheme
Ambassador
I'm inclined to agree with helpstar. It takes a discerning ear and a picky listener to find a significant difference in audio quality between a reasonably good system - which is what you have now and like - and a top-quality system. That latter would cost you a big chunk for a top sound card, and even more for super sound system that might require a really good amplifier and speaker set.