Integrated or dedicated card for z-5500

[tjosborne]

my motherboard has an intigrated realtec soundcard that doesnt sound too horrible but there is a bit of a hiss at louder volumes. so i was wondering if i possibly should get a dedicated one? or would it make much difference? i mainly play games and watch a few movies occasionally. i was looking at the creative soundblaster titanium hd, but read its a resource hog which i would like to avoid. im just looking for ideas so any comments or tips would be great

 

[HugoStiglitz]

what speakers do you have. are you sure its not those causing the hiss?

 

[amuffin]

The hiss is because of your speakers.

 

[tjosborne]

what speakers do you have. are you sure its not those causing the hiss?

logitech z-5500. i dont know if its them or not, but after spending $950 on speakers they better not hiss. it best be that intigrated card

 

[tjosborne]

and if it is from my speakers, is there any sound card that can fix it? sorry for the double post. i would tell you the exact realtec card i have but im not 100% sure. it was intigrated in a 3 way sli mobo,asrock p67, i know toms said it was enthusiast grade in newegg, its just not being sold anymore and my wife threw the box out. the motherboard is brown with blue and white pci slots. if im right it was 2nd gen extreme 4.

 

[diellur]

Look on the motherboard, it should tell you what it is somewhere.

I doubt the Z-5500s are the problem...used to have a set and had them plugged into various systems with nary a problem. Have you tried the different connections...direct and optical?

 

[randomkid]

logitech z-5500. i dont know if its them or not, but after spending $950 on speakers they better not hiss. it best be that intigrated card

Logitech Z-5500 don't hiss. It's very quiet you will never know if its on if the PC does not have any audio signal coming out.
But I have experience of it humming if I have of my cheap HDD dock on. So if you have other peripherals that you use during the time when you hear the hissing, try to turn them off one by one to see if anyone could be causing the hissing.

 

[tjosborne]

Best answer selected by tjosborne.

 

[tjosborne]

Logitech Z-5500 don't hiss. It's very quiet you will never know if its on if the PC does not have any audio signal coming out.
But I have experience of it humming if I have of my cheap HDD dock on. So if you have other peripherals that you use during the time when you hear the hissing, try to turn them off one by one to see if anyone could be causing the hissing.

you were almost correct with what the problem was. it was a light plugged into the same outlet that was causing the problems. i just ran an extension cord and plugged the lamp elsewhere. the speakers sound great now.