Okay...I know the Z560s are good, but...

...will they perform okay when hooked to my integrated sound on my motherboard?

If not, then I don't mind buying a Soundblaster Live! 5.1, but I'd like to keep costs down as much as possible, especially since I'll probably be spending about $130 on speakers soon.

Does onboard sound do these speakers justice? If not, the Soundblaster Live! 5.1 is only $33 at Micro Pro.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

This pretty much totally depends on who made your integrated sound - some is on par with an SB Live!, whereas some really stinks. What kind of mobo do you have?

 

It's an Intel board in a Dell Optiplex GX260...845G chipset, I think (not that it matters).

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

I think it is safe to assume that built-in sound in an Optiplex will be nothing special. I imagine it is stereo, which will not fully take advantage of a surround setup like the Z560s.

 

[Pooteh]

i'm pretty sure the limiting factor would be your z560s. atleast that you could hear on your z560s

 

[Rallispec]

regardless of soundcard.. their still gonna be loud as hell.

 

[Dhruv]

heard the cmi chipset is decent. i have the ac97 audio codec. its not very good. its digital 16bit i believe but its just average.

i would go for any separate sound card if you want to keep costs low.. weren't there some phillips seisimic edge or somethin 4.1 for like 20 bucks? check hot deals

but if you're spending 130 on speakers i really think you should spend some on the soundcard as well.

 

[NuclearFusi0n]

they will both suck total c0ck. what's your budget, i know quite a few nice cards for $30. Can you go to $50?

 

[Dhruv]

Originally posted by: NuclearFusi0n1
they will both suck total c0ck. what's your budget, i know quite a few nice cards for $30. Can you go to $50?

i don't think they suck total cock as you do.
they're not total worthless they still deliver digital audio, albeit not good.

i've been on ac 97 for a while now and haven't felt a real need to go any better. but then again i am on 30 dollar speakers, like i stated with his 100 plus speakers he should be going for a different soundcard.