I'm moving out into a flat all of my own (with my gf) and I'm looking to set the lounge up with either 5.1 or 7.1.
I'm not really looking to to spend a ton , I've spotted some ntech 5.1's at a very reasonable price, but I don't really know what to do for a sound card.

I don't really know anything about sound cards at all except that I need to be very budget wary with my purchase, but yet get a fairly descent sound experience out of it.

Any advice would be great, even some advice on speakers would be good.

Thanks in advance.

Some high end motherboards have onboard sound chips with support for 5.1 or even 7.1 setups, check your mobo manual.

For certified 7.1 Dolby sound at a reasonable price, check this out - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/HiTeC.html

Also, Creative Sound Blaster Audigy SE 7.1s run about £15-20, so that could be a better budget option

Well, for budget sound cards I would recommend against Creative's line as their drivers and sometimes other bundled software fair to work properly. I guess it depends on how low you mean by "budget".
Assuming you want to keep it pretty low, I would recommend this card:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16829118106

I can't really recommend any surround speakers as I have never had more than 2.1 on my own computers.

Thanks for the advice guys. One thing I should have mentioned is that I will need x64 support.

Quote: Originally Posted by Dex Some high end motherboards have onboard sound chips with support for 5.1 or even 7.1 setups, check your mobo manual. For certified 7.1 Dolby sound at a reasonable price, check this out - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/HiTeC.html Also, Creative Sound Blaster Audigy SE 7.1s run about £15-20, so that could be a better budget option

I first saw the ntech 5.1's for £40 (or near enough to that) on ocuk, and nice tip about the sound card, I'd rep if my points were worth anything at the mo .

Your rep points should be worth one point. You have enough rep and posts for them to count...

I could be wrong, but I think you'll have a hard time finding a decent sound card with decent x64 drivers...

Quote: Originally Posted by Dex I could be wrong, but I think you'll have a hard time finding a decent sound card with decent x64 drivers...

You are right Dex, there is still limited support for the x64 version of Windows. That is where Creative has an advantage, but only due to market share... not necessarily better cards. The newest Audigy has nice specs, but is far from the budget category.

Well my mobo is 5.1 ready and im already x64'd up on that front so I guess the next step is getting the speakers.

The ones I want are out of stock tho!!

SWEET DEAL ALERT!

nTech 5.1 Surround System - £25.85 incl. VAT!!

http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/s...tml?NOV-NTECH5

Excellent stuff Dex. I'll rep ya as soon as I've spread round the love some more. If anyone would be so kind as to jump in there and rep this uk pimp deal finder it'd be much appreicated!

I'm gonna try and dig out some reviews on this stuff!

I found the set I wanted originally...




£50 with delivery. Should have them on Thursday . My lecturer has the same set and swears by them.

Here are some specs:

-Main Application: Music/Movies/Gaming
-Subwoofer Power (Watts RMS): 50W
-Centre Speaker Power (Watts RMS): 20W
-Satellite Speaker Power per channel (Watts RMS): 10W (5 Channels)
-Overall Frequency Response: 30Hz-20KHz
-Control:
>Remote control and sub panel
>Master Volume, Woofer, Centre, Satellite
>Bass, Treble, 3D
>Flat, Rock, Jazz, Light, Pop
>Mute, Standby, Power on/off
-Input Mode: PC, DVD 5.1, CD, TV
-Virtual Surround Mode: 2.0 Channel, 2.1 Channel, 5.0 Channel, 5.1 Enhance

Now can some audiophile give me an honest apraisal of this card. I know its 7.1 but would I just be able to set it to 5.1? Is it worth investing in over my onboard sound? Reason I was looking is that the price is right and overclock.co.uk operate in a building 2 mins from my office.

Quote: Originally Posted by z0mbi3 Now can some audiophile give me an honest apraisal of this card. I know its 7.1 but would I just be able to set it to 5.1?

Well, it is a decent card for the price. At that price there are only a few cards that can match it. It really depends on whether you want the extra breakout box for a 5.25 bay (unnecessary if all you are after is better sound) as to whether you would need to spring for the next model up in the line.
As for running in 5.1, yes that is possible. I am currently running a 2.1 setup on a 5.1 card... same difference. Just plug in the speakers to the correct jacks for your application and you are good to go.

Quote: Originally Posted by z0mbi3 Is it worth investing in over my onboard sound?

Nearly any sound card is worth an investment over onboard sound, plus it frees up resources that would normally be used by the Southbridge.

Well I guess I'm sold then. Thanks Godfoot.