Is a sound card really necessary in a pc. my friend said that the motherboard and gpu sound should be good enough, can anyone help me out?
The onboard ones are ok for most things. The only reason I bought one is so I could use MIDI. You might find the onboard ones create a bit of hiss but they are far better than they used to be.
The sound will improve more if you get some decent speakers than if you get a decent soundcard. If you are going to do much gaming and watch dvds then it might be worth buying a soundcard.
The X-FI will improve your listening experience ALOT over normal intergrated sound. Also Intergrated Sound can produce pops too. The X-Fi has lots of advanced features and can do Hardware DTS and DD5.1 decoding, comes with some nice software too. Some good features on the X-Fi are: #Crystilizer - This can enable you to listin to your ripped mp3's in cd quality again, i find it adds more volume, morwe sharpness, bass, clarity aswell, really good, but it can distort the sound slightly depending on what your listning to #CMSS 3D - Upmixes to 3D, personly i prefer Stereo Xpand, increases overall sound level and gived you music in all speakers when using 5.1 # THX Setup Console - This has things like speaker size, distance, crossofer (were the sound frequency transfers from sattelites to sub so that the sattelites dont try to play low notes. #SVM - This is good at night time, reduces overall volume so you dont disturb your neighbours.
willz i see u have the logitech z-5500 speakers im debating between those or the z-5450 theres 20p difference in price. how do yours perform? are they good for the money? id be using them for music gaming and films.
for some reason i dont think they dont look as good as the z5450's cause my whole new setup will be in black but if i have to go for better specs over looks im willing
Most of the Z5500 is black, except for the contorl panel, the subwoofer is all black too, dont you think black and a little silver will look good together, all black looks abit..... ummm dark . These are specs logitech say about the speaker system: Surround - 5.1 > Logitech® Z-5500 Digital Surround - 5.1 > Logitech® Z-5450 Digital 5.1 Speaker System As you can see, Z5500, 10" driver in subwoofer, 6.5" driver in z5400 subwoofer. 3" Driver in Z5500 sattelites, 2.5" Driver in Z5400 sattelites. BTW, the Z5400 which is about £135 is the exact same as the Z5450 except the rear speakers are not wireless. The greater the drivers means better quality sound, moves more air so can go louder too as they have a larger cone area.
There £202 because they have wireless rear speakers, as i said, the Z5400 can be got for £135 as it does NOT have wireless rear speakers.
on amazon i think you may be able to find a set of Z680 for around £120, same specs as the Z5500, except the sub is smaller, its an 8" sub isntead of a 10" sub and the sub enclosure is smaller, the looks are slightly different too. Amazon.co.uk: Logitech Z680 5.1 THX certified Home Theatre Speakers with 505 watts: Electronics & Photo <, unfortunatly i dont think the offer is up anymore. Z5500 is a good buy though, the bass is VERY powerfull on it, lots of vids of it on youtube, i made about 11 lol.
Logitech Z-5500 THX® Certified 5.1 505 Watts Speakers - Retail < thats the price i bought it for, i trust overclockers the most though.
