5.1 Speakers off the MOBO..why not

[Peng]

Problem: I want great sound to a set of 5.1 speakers. I could spend $200 (Canadian) on a sound card and $150 on a set of speakers or I could spend $400 on a set of speakers and use my MOBO.

Current Plan:
MoBo
MB-P4-MIC-6728-LS - MSI P4,I865PE,FSB800,DDR400,LAN/AUD,SAT
Speakers
Klipsh Pro Media 5.1

Comments:
Klipsh pro Media 5.1's with analog inputs 6 channels I believe the mobo outputs 6 channel sound. Is this the best way to go??? Why go to a sound card, if i have to buy one then I cant have the Klipsh - i gotta by crappy speakers.

The goal is for gaming (Tribes vengeance - not out) and dvd playback.

 

[MegaWorks]

it's ok I use my MegaWorks 5.1 THX speakers on my Nvidia Soundstrom and it's excellent.

------------------------------------------------------
AMD Athlon XP T-Bred B DLT3C 1700+ @ 2.3GHZ (1.775v) 400FSB = 3200+
Abit NF7-S V.2 (nForce2-U400)
Corsair TwinX XMS 3200LL 512MB @ 2-3-2-6 (2.6v)
Sapphire Radeon 9500 Pro 128MB
Antec TrueBlue 480W
Thermalright SLK-947U with 92mm Vantec Tornado @2800RPM
Maxtor 91531U3 15GB
2x Western Digital WD400BB 40GB serials
Antec PlusView 1000AMG
Cambridge SoundWorks MegaWorks THX 550 5.1

 

[Peng]

Found a good review at http://www.extremetech.com/article2/

I guess I answered my own question.


Final Thoughts/What to Buy
When all is said and done, we can't unconditionally recommend any of these motherboard-based audio solutions. Each one comes with its own warning label:

Upside Downsides

AD SoundMAX Great software-based feature set including noise cancellation for speech recognition and voice apps; jack-sensing technology is a nice touch High CPU overhead

nForce2 Real-time Dolby Digital encoding, three DSP cores to power through audio chores. Low overall CPU usage AMD-only for now, limiting CPU choice. MSI implantation could be cleaner

Via Envy24 Low CPU overhead; good dynamic range performance Implementation we tested had no extra bells and whistles, and no extra software

AOpen Tube That old-school sound Noisy in close listening tests when idle, but sounded fine playing audio test material. Expensive compared to other solutions.

C-Media Decent performance in dynamic range tests High CPU overhead shown in all tests. So-so signal quality




Of the five, there are three that are worth a serious look: nForce2, SoundMAX and the AOpen TubeSound. This last choice is one where you'll have to make a conscious decision to live with the rosebud and thorns of tube-based audio. For hobbyists and tube devotees, though, there is no other choice.

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