So my PC apparently has an integrated sound card. Which either makes this impossible or very difficult for someone like myself who hasn't yet delved into the need of a sound card before. My motherboard ONLY has PCI Express 2.0 slots. (Link: http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/AMD_AM2Plus/M3A32MVP_Deluxe/ ) From what I can see, it has no designated sound card slots. A lot of the sound cards I'm running into look like this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=pcie+sound+card What I'm looking for is a good 7.1 Channel Sound Card. Are there cards out there that will fit and/or function in a PCIe-2.0 Slot? Perhaps there is something someone can point out that I'm just not seeing.
Doesn't seem like your mobo has any pci express x1 slots, so none of those will fit into your current mobo. Here is an image to show you waht pci express x1 slot looks like. Something like this will fit your mobo http://us.store.creative.com/Creative-Sound-Blaster-Audigy-SE-PCI/M/B000LP0R3E.htm but i doubt you'll find 7.1 soundcard for that mobo.
PCI-E 2.0 is backwards compatible with 1.1 and 1.0, the same way PCI-E 3.0 is backwards compatible with all other previous versions. PCI-Express deals with lanes, a graphics card can use up to 16 lanes, often written as x16. In multi-GPU setups the graphics cards are often brought down to 8 lanes to each, this is because the CPU doesnt have enough lanes to give a full 16 to both cards. There are things called lane multipliers that take the 16 lanes coming in, and send 32 lanes out. Now this isnt a true full 32 lanes of bandwidth as it must compress the data coming in from those 32 lanes down to 16 in order to be sent on to the CPU. Depending on how much bandwidth is actually needed by the graphics cards, and how well the multiplier chip can compress the data, you can get pretty good performance even when using a multiplier. You cannot add a lane multiplier to your motherboard, it is design into it by the manufacturer. Often the higher end boards of the "low end" platforms use these chips, such as the ASUS Republic of Gamers motherboards. As for slots, each slot can only be electrically as many lanes as it is physically. However, a PCI-E slot can be physically large but only have enough lanes for 4x electrically. You can see this sometimes by looking into the slot and noticing that the pins only go halfway down. Motherboard makers do this for compatibility reasons with large cards that *can* be run in lower lane configurations. Now that we got all the technical stuff out of the way we can move on to sound cards that use PCI-E lanes. As we said before, PCI Express is all about how many lanes are given to a card. If you use a PCI-E x1 card in a large PCI-E x16 slot then it will only use 1 lane, since that is all it has the electrical pins to use. This means that ANY PCI-E card of a lower lane requirement can be used in ANY PCI-E slot that at least meets the minimum lanes. You can also use a PCI-E 1.1 card inside a PCI-E 2.0 or even 3.0 slot, and it just uses the bandwidth needed for the 1.1 configuration. You are also able to use SOME PCI-E 3.0 cards in PCI-E 2.0 slots, and it will just be limited on bandwidth even though it uses its full lane requirements. Now, I would suggest you buy an ASUS Xonar sound card. HT Omega also makes great cards. Those are the best sound cards you can get IMO, but if you really want an extra 1-2 frames per second in your games then look at the Creative XFI cards. If you truly want the best audio quality, you need to look into External DAC/headphone amp units. However all the good ones of those are only 2-channel (stereo). MY specific suggestions are these cards: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829271005 (best, but designed more for home theater use or high-end speakers. You will need RCA to 1/8" adapters if you need to use regular minijack plugs like most computer stuff uses) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829271007 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829132006 (the best of cheap cards) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829132019 (I would prefer an HT Omega in this price range) And to get the best use out of the high quality sound card in video games you should also have a good quality headset, like the Sennheiser PC360. Or a PC320 if you cant afford that http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006RF9HX8...nd=2663130991323362554&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt= As a final note, just remember that if you are trying to get 7.1 channel audio to your home theater speakers that are connected via a receiver, then a sound card isnt even used. In that case the audio is sent out digital and all decoding is done in the receiver.
So to verify I read that correctly: So despite the larger size of the slot - the PCIe-2.0 will accommodate a card with smaller lane size, so long as its still a PCIe even if it doesn't take up the entire slot? (2.0 or earlier version) EDIT: I have an eye out on that HT Omega ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829271007 ) that you had suggested, I'm liking the specs on it.
Why not just get a USB soundcard? They all but eliminate most noise issues and do surround sound and S/PDIF just fine. Plus, they have the added benefit of being extremely compatible with Vista and up OS's. I recently saw one I've personally owned (and still use in one of my setups) on Newegg for under 30 bucks.
There are really USB DAC's for under $30 that sound good? S/PDIF doesnt matter when outputting from a sound card because his motherboard will work perfectly fine, the decoding isnt done in the computer at all so using a USB "sound card" for that would be a waste of money. All that matters in this case is the analog output. I would love to try a $30 USB sound card to see how it sounds if you recommend me a good one, but I have never heard anything decent from them until you get over $100.
well... are we talking apples or oranges? Are we looking for solution to a problem- or ultra hifi, audiophile grade componentry for critical listening? I think its a good time to ask the OP why he wants a soundcard. Is it for the 7.1? If so, then why not simply use the S/PDIF and let you receiver do the work? Or, would you just be using amps or amped speakers running off the analog line outs that you would gain with an eight channel sound card? I hope not! I took the stance that the OP is looking for something to solve a problem. Maybe noise or compatibility. Maybe he's just doing it for the hell of it. Great. Let me make life very easy for you. Most games only put out non-discreet matrixed surround. Lets make life easy and get something plug and play that he could also take with him for laptop use. And USB soundcards are so much more infinitely quiet in the amps because of how the power is delivered. I did no checking into what motherboard was being used, so I was not aware that his already has S/PDIF. You are correct, though. No sense in buying if thats all it would be for and his system is functioning. I say that because I'll be damned if I can get the onboard S/PDIF to work right in one of my satellite XBMC rigs. I went for that $30 USB guy to make things simple. I use the analog and optical both. Sounds fantastic. I also have a $25 USB Creative Labs X-Fi ( no longer in production http://www.techspot.com/articles-info/55/xmod.jpg ) for a hackintosh build because the onboard was not compatible with the apple os. Works a treat. Is the DAC amazing? Of course not. The component cost alone would be more than the retail. Truth be told, its the same damn stuff that you find on the motherboard. But the thing is, those are just fine for most home audio equipment and most users ears. In reality, its NOT the DAC's fault for a lot of the heinous noise you often get with onboard sound. Its usually either quality of power/power supply and/or shitty grounding on the motherboard. (Think about that laptop we've all used that you can actually hear the hard drive spinning up through the headphones. ) So original poster, What problem do you seek to accomplish witha new soundcard that your onboard doesnt handle well enough?
Doxy, its also worth pointing out that link you posted is a 7.1 (eight channel) soundcard. Its capable of 24-bit/96khz resolution. Thats much more powerful than the USB options I have proposed. To implement the last two channels (move from 5.1 to 7.1) you will lose the ability to connect a mic. The mic and line input jack also doubles as a pair of the outputs for the side channels. Good news is Windows and TeamSpeak are sophisticated enough to handle you plugging in your mic to the onboard sound while simultaneously playing back audio on whatever soundcard you choose to get, if mic jacks arent available. A final point another of those jacks also doubles as an S/PDIF out that connects to a special adapter that you may or may not be able to acquire anymore. A Creative SB0002 adapter. It would work.
I recently bought a Razor Tiamat 7.1 - but my system has no sound card, so the headset will not run or act as a 7.1 (or even 5.1) headset without a 7.1 Channel sound card. Until then, it will only run as a 2.0/2.1.
Found it on amazon which allowed me to redeem some cash back rewards on a credit card I have. Bought the Claro II and its only gonna cost me $72.89 from its original $185 ~ Will be here tomorrow. Thanks a bunch for all the help btw.
Nice. Don't forget to post your impressions!!! I'd love to hear what you think. Oh! And since you went the internal route, don't forget to crank dat rez!