Need Help Picking out a Soundcard

[Xenocide2020]

hi,

i'm looking to buy a soundcard for my new computer, would like to spend around 30-60 dollars on it the lower the better. I'd be using it in my Bedroom pretty standard size 12x12 ft. I'd mostly be using it for Gaming, Music (Classic Rock, Hip-Hop, Rap, and Alt Rock), and occasionaly movies. the speakers i would be getting would be either 2.1 Cyber Acoustics 180 watt Acoustic Authority speakers, or 5.1 Creative Labs 71 Watt Inspire Speakers. And if this helps im getting the Abit NF7-S motherboard (nforce2 chipset) with soundstorm.

Also if possible could someone explain some features to look for in a soundcard.

thanks alot,

-Tyler

 

[agentzero9]

I would say make use of that nforce2 soundstorm and use the optical out with a reciever. That way you can get a nice pair of bookshelves for the bedroom and the choices are endless. Also no need to buy a seperate sound card.


If you do go the computer speaker route, the chaintech card seems pretty popular. As for the speakers, I'd STRONGLY recommend a good set of 2.1 speakers over mediocre surround sound setups you have in mind. And for 2.1 i'd recommend the MX5201s or the Klipsch 2.1s. If you are really on a tight budge don't settle for anything less than the Z2200.

But my first recommendation holds. There is no better soundcard than the nforce2 optical out connected to a decent reciever. That way you can get any speakers if you want and if you desire you can start off cheap and work your way up.

 

[xbreaka]

thats how im setup, the only downside is no mic imputs

 

[GodsMadClown]

I agree with the Chaintech AV-710 reccomendation.

Stay away form Logitech. They have a nasty habit of crapping out after the warranty expires.

You might want to take a look at the stock of Swans speakers that Newegg is stocking now.

[edit]

Of course, it looks to me that the Swans have much less of an off-axis response than those Cyber Acoustics. If you are looking for room-filling sound, you might like the Cyber Acousitcs better. <shrug> That's jut an off-the-cuff assesment. I havn't listened to any of this crap. I just have nothing to do at work.

[edit x2]
Apparently you can get a $5 rebate for writing a review if you do buy them.

http://www.pricegrabber.com/search_getprod.php/masterid=1429325

 

[Xenocide2020]

o yea and on a sort of random note.... what do RMS and OEM mean/stand for?

 

[GodsMadClown]

o yea and on a sort of random note.... what do RMS and OEM mean/stand for?

Respectively, they mean Root Mean Square and Original Equipment Manufacturer.

Root Mean Square (as you might guess from the name) is a statistical function, and is kinda like a fancier and improved way to compute an average. Among wattage numbers, they are the most believable measure, but honestly the measure can still be fudged all to hell.

OEM in the context of buying stuff from newegg likely means that it is just the bare part, without the software bundles and accesories that might come with the retail version.

 

[agentzero9]

thats how im setup, the only downside is no mic imputs

The NF7 should have a mic input directly on the mobo. It should work even if you are using the digital O.

 

[CSx-2011]

optical in and optical out.

Mic to receiver ---> spdif in

 

[Xenocide2020]

and what is Soundstorm exactly? i thought it was the soundcard but now i heard that it wasnt? can somebody help me out a little bit and also do you think the integrated soundcard and soundstorm combined will be enough for me?

 

[GodsMadClown]

[size=+2]What is Soundstorm?[/size]

It is motherboard-integrated sound with an implementation that conforms to a standard developed by nVidia and Dolby Labs. Motherboard manufacturers must use the nForce2 MCP-T south bridge and have an onboard SPDIF connection (optical or coaxial). The nForce2 is the only PC audio solution that uses the Dolby ICE (Interactive Content Encoder) to encode any audio signal real-time into Dolby Digital 5.1.
​

[size=+2]I want digital surround sound output on my gaming audio, but I don’t have Soundstorm. What can I do? [/size]

Sorry. You can’t do it¹.

Some computer speaker manufacturers have now designed systems with included decoders so that they can play back digital output. However, digital decoder hardware doesn’t going to come for free. It is likely that the additional cost of the decoder came at the expense of quality in the speaker and/or amplifier subsystems, in order to keep the price competitive. Decent analog connections don’t cost much. In the majority of cases, the quality of the amplification and speaker components is vastly more limiting than the quality of the connections. It is preferable to have the most of your purchase price going to pay for quality components. With analog output, fidelity is dependant on the driver and soundcard implementation to provide a quality analog signal.​

¹This might change in the future but is true for current available consumer hardware.​

[size=+2]Why should I use digital rather than analog connections? [/size]

[size=+2]+[/size]

• bypass cheap integrated sound on motherboard
• longer cable runs with less signal loss
• more tidy (1 cord rather than 6)
• bragging rights

[size=+2]-[/size]

• compromised quality on speaker and/or amplification to allow for the additional cost of external decoders
• more expensive cables
• jitter' on optical connections
• codecs / DACs on high-end sound cards might be better than those in external decoder.

The excecutive summary: Use analog connections. If you have a digital decoding receiver laying around, Soundstorm is an excellent way to use it. Don't worry about soundstorm unless you want to put down $200 for a reciever and aditional money for a stereo pair of speakers.