need some help from the pc guru's on sound cards

[JSpecV03]

Hey everyone, I watch alot of dvds and play lots of music on my labtop which is an older toshiba running windows xp. Ive been wanting to upgrade from my cheap factory dell speakers to a 5.1 dolby digital pc surround package, and im assuming the standard sound card i have in here wont work to properly mix the audio. I recently found out they have usb sound cards but im confused on what one i would need to get true dolby digital, dts whateever most DVDs are encoded in.
anyone have any suggestions on a pc sound card that will do what i want it to and a pc speaker system that sounds good?
thanks everyone.

edit: for the sound card something like this maybe http://us.store.creative.com/Sound-B...B0044DEDCA.htm
and then pc speakers http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Logitech...&skuId=7372274

[jpalamar]

I wouldn't do it. Your laptop probally do not have USB 2.0.

[Elliott18t]

look up your laptop to see if it has usb 2.0.

if your ever at bestbuy or something, let me know. Ill go check stuff out with you.

[JSpecV03]

take right from toshiba's website:


i have usb 2.0 so im good to go
ive also got have plenty of hard drive space and im using 2gigs of ddr2 memory

[05GT]

Generally speaking, if the card advertises 5.1 or higher, it will do what you are looking for.

I would highly recommend Creative. They have always been one of the best in sound cards and similar products.

Check out this for example. Keep in mind though, if you want better quality, it will cost more. The one in the link is : Playback: Up to 24-Bit/96kHz 5.1

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...926&CatId=4261


For speakers, Logitech does make good stuff. Harmon Kardon speakers are also very good. Sony is another you could look at. I would say you would be happy with any of the 3. Just rememeber to also make sure they are 5.1 or higher as well.

[JSpecV03]

harman kardon are amazing speakers, but alittle out my budget for this project. plus i dont have a receiver or anything and it looks like that logitech system provides me with evertthing, basically plug and play. im sold on the creative card, im gonna go look at them today. and im assuming to get the best possible sound, im gonna wanna use the optical cable?
thanks for the input everyone.

[05GT]

Originally Posted by JSpecV03

harman kardon are amazing speakers, but alittle out my budget for this project. plus i dont have a receiver or anything and it looks like that logitech system provides me with evertthing, basically plug and play. im sold on the creative card, im gonna go look at them today. and im assuming to get the best possible sound, im gonna wanna use the optical cable?
thanks for the input everyone.

No problem. Glad you are sold on Creative Labs. Good choice.

I just noticed the 1st link you posted, is the same product in my link lol. Guess I should have paid more attention.

Optical cable is digital, so that would give you better quality yes. Though I do question if the difference would be noticeable in your particular setup. If you need anymore help, let me know.

[JSpecV03]

Originally Posted by 05GT

No problem. Glad you are sold on Creative Labs. Good choice.

I just noticed the 1st link you posted, is the same product in my link lol. Guess I should have paid more attention.

Optical cable is digital, so that would give you better quality yes. Though I do question if the difference would be noticeable in your particular setup. If you need anymore help, let me know.

I most certinaly will. thanks again!

[Fazeshift]

Originally Posted by JSpecV03

and im assuming to get the best possible sound, im gonna wanna use the optical cable?
thanks for the input everyone.

Yes, but "depends" would be the more accurate answer. If the speaker set you purchase supports a TOSLINK input, technically the sound card isn't really doing much of anything - the speaker set is doing the Dolby Digital/DTS decoding. Unfortunately notebooks don't often include any optical or coaxial output, otherwise you would only need the speakers instead of a whole external sound card.

In some cases, the decoder and DAC's in the sound card will be of better quality than those in the speaker set. In that case, you would need to connect via analog cable (typically 3x 1/8" stereo jacks). In practice, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference. In other words, I wouldn't spend a whole lot of extra cash just for 3-6 feet of digital signal vs analog signal.

Another twist... I find that some PC games are easier to get 4.0/5.1 support working when the sound card does the decoding and is output via analog. Not sure if that will matter to you though. To be perfectly honest, 5.1 config on a PC (software) is a bit of pain when compared to home theater gear.

Cards I've used successfully (internal)... Creative SB Live 5.1 (circa 2000), Razer Barracuda AC-1. Speakers... set of Cambridge Soundworks PC speakers (analog input only, also circa 2000) and occasionally directly to my HT receiver (TOSLINK input). Currently using the old Cambridge SW speakers on the analog output of the Razor card... I found that works the best for most DVD apps and games.