Cheap sound cards

[Kristijonas]

I know little to nothing about sound systems, but I'm just wondering if I could purchase a cheap sound card and if it would be better than my integrated sound? My integrated sound is from this motherboard:
http://eu.msi.com/product/mb/H61MU-E35--B3-.html#/?div=Detail

The cheap sound cards I have a choice in are:
USB:
http://www.skytech.lt/garso-plokste-asus-xonar-u3uad-p-77667.html
http://www.skytech.lt/creative-xfi-pro-p-77886.html

Cards:
http://www.skytech.lt/sound-card-xfi-xtreme-audiobulk-30sb079200000-creative-p-18837.html
http://www.skytech.lt/sound-card-pcie-xfi-xtr-audiobulk-30sb104200000-creative-p-18838.html
http://www.skytech.lt/sound-card-pci-vx70sb107100003-creative-p-54713.html
http://www.skytech.lt/sound-card-audigy-bulk30sb057000000-creative-p-16447.html
http://www.skytech.lt/creative-sound-blaster-retail-p-86660.html
http://www.skytech.lt/garso-plokste-asus-xonar-box-p-71775.html

I don't know what speakers I will have, but they probably won't be anything special. If someone could tell me which of the cards I posted are really good or could compare/explain them, it would be great. The lower the price, the better, of course.

 

[SithSolo1]

I would just keep using the onboard and spend the money on speakers/headphones. The two cards labeled as X-Fi don't actually use the X-Fi chipset. They use the older Audigy 2 chipset. None of the other Creative cards are any better. The two USB cards might be a slight upgrade but I don't think they are worth buying as they are at the top of the price range you listed.

If you must have a sound card then get the Xonar DG @ 108 Lt. It would be a step up and has a built in headphone amplifier(needed if your headphones sound quiet at max computer volume) but you need to see if 108 Lt would bump you up to a better set of speakers/headphones or not first.


Edit: I don't know your price range and I don't know much about what is available to you but these speakers http://www.skytech.lt/logitech-x530-70w-rms-p-6612.html have over 500 good reviews on Newegg.com even though they are no longer sold over here.

Headphones: http://www.skytech.lt/razer-headpho...impedance-1khz-drivers-cable-12m-p-54464.html Bright color but the sound should be good, hehe

Either should sound fine on the integrated sound.

 

[Kristijonas]

Thank you for advice, SithSolo1!

What do you think about about these two together?
http://www.skytech.lt/microlab-b73-speakers-20w-rms-10w10w-p-18860.html OR
http://www.skytech.lt/microlab-m111...514w-wired-remote-control-wooden-p-40436.html
OR
http://www.skytech.lt/microlab-m880-speakers-59w-rms-16wx227w-p-18877.html

Together with
http://www.skytech.lt/asus-garso-plokste-xonar-p-71773.html

 

[SithSolo1]

I'm not familiar with Microlab speakers, they don't sell them over here, so I'd know whether they would be good or not.

 

[Kristijonas]

I don't want to create a seperate thread so I'll ask here. Are these speakers decent? http://www.kilobaitas.lt/Garso_kolo...atalogStoreDetail.aspx?CatID=PL_469&ID=394393
The price in US dollars is 70. I can spend up to about 100 dollars, but the problem is - the selection is not the best in my country. I'm just looking for speakers for gaming and music. Also if I'd take these Edifier speakers, should I also think about installing a sound card? Would it make any difference?

Two other alternatives available to me:
http://www.trustedreviews.com/Creative-GigaWorks-T20-2-0-Speakers_Peripheral_review
http://www.microlab.com/?r=21systemen&st=full&id=261

So which one of these speakers is the best and should I also purchase a sound card, like "asus xonar ds" ?

Now I'm thinking about http://www.neriba.lt/kompiuterine-t...lus-20-60w-rms-low-noise-hi-fi-amplifier.html

 

[sdifox]

integrated is fine if you just output digital to your sound system.

 

[Kristijonas]

output digital to your sound system.

Sorry, but what does it mean?

 

[sdifox]

Sorry, but what does it mean?

what are you using for sound output? computer speakers or a sound system? these days on board sound card is usually good enough. where it falls short is when you have a good sound setup, in which case you would just output digital to the sound system and the sound system will then decode it.

 

[Kristijonas]

Oh, I will be using 2.0 speakers connected straight to the motherboard of my PC.

 

[wirednuts]

the alc887 is a good sound chipset. well, its mostly all software anyway, but believe me if you think it sounds bad then you need to tweak your drivers or get new speakers.

i ran a xonar dx for a while, but needed to pcie slot so i removed it. to be brutally honest, i barely notice a difference. the xonar you could tell was slightly brighter sounding, a little more presence there, but otherwise the on board audio is very, very good.

most people dont realize realtek onboard audio doesnt install itself to the highest quality setting. in the sound properties you can change the sample rates up to much higher then it defualts to. it makes a dramatic difference if you have high end speakers.

 

[sdifox]

Oh, I will be using 2.0 speakers connected straight to the motherboard of my PC.

just use what is on the mb.