Sound Cards

[saturnsown]

Trying to make a budget gaming PC I have been ignoring sound cards....mostly because sound now built on motherboards are so good now. Being that the machine is going to be just for gaming should I be looking at sound cards?

 

[mdd1963]

IMO, no....

In 1999, this might have been an issue, but, frankly I am surprised anyone pays $100-$150 for a sound card with decent onboard sound being built into 99% of most MBs.....

I've not purchased a sound card since the year 2000, and did lots of gaming....

 

[saturnsown]

My second question is my current speaker system is probably best described as a well aged 5.1. It is very possible it is 10 years old....should I update my speaker system?

 

[teaser]

only if your not satisfied with your sound quality......im using a kenwood 5.1 speaker system thats around ten years old and it still sounds killer,the only thing i've replaced is the kenwood amp with a Yamaha.......

 

[saturnsown]

Ok....so if I wanted to replace my speakers what should I look at?

 

[wdave]

Now replacing speakers is more of a subjective thing.
What i can recommend are a pair of 5.1 speakers from Altec Lansing that were branded by Dell.
http://www.directron.com/ada995.html
Are the ones I bought them off of someone on Craigslist for 90$ 2 or 3 years back. Their probably some of the best bang for the buck speakers money can buy quite honestly. I've just been floored by their quality time after time.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16836121120
Are the route to go if you want speakers new.

 

[4745454b]

While I like the Z5500s, the only reason people really feel they are good is because of the enormous amount of bass the sub can put out. If you ignore the sub you'll hear that the satellites aren't THAT good. Not saying they are bad, but they don't sound that good to me.

Keep what you have. If you want a real sound improvement then get a home theater setup. I was in heaven when I had my PC hooked up to my Pioneer 770W 7.1 receiver. Even though I only had a 5.0 speaker setup with not even the best speakers I was hearing things in games I never heard before.