Post your PC Specs!
- Thread starter desmin88
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XCVG
ModRetro Legend
I got new speakers last week. Klipsch HD Theater 300, it's a box kit with five speakers and a sub. Paid $200 for it. Originally was going to buy a pair of B-10s but this kit was only $200 and comes with a subwoofer. It's really hard to find a small enough sub for not ridiculously expensive, so I went for it. I was originally driving a 2.1 setup through a Lepai LP-2020, using the Realtek drivers to crossover the sub in software. It sounded pretty good but I wanted to use the center channel to get a better image, and the wiring was terribly messy. Today, I replaced the Lepai.
IGNORE the Tower of Power!
That's a Yamaha HTR-5540. It's actually my dad's old receiver. Paid $100 for it, he bought a new HDMI capable receiver to simplify our messy-as-*Can'tSayThisOnTV* home theatre setup upstairs. This is probably huge overkill for me, but the wiring is less messy and has more channels. I wish somebody made a little 5.1 receiver but they don't seem to exist. It's hooked up through optical to use the receiver's decoders and processing and stuff, but I switched over to 6 channel direct inputs because Realtek actually does a better job.
This is a 3.1 system. No surrounds... yet. Also looking at installing this or getting a soundcard.
IGNORE the Tower of Power!
That's a Yamaha HTR-5540. It's actually my dad's old receiver. Paid $100 for it, he bought a new HDMI capable receiver to simplify our messy-as-*Can'tSayThisOnTV* home theatre setup upstairs. This is probably huge overkill for me, but the wiring is less messy and has more channels. I wish somebody made a little 5.1 receiver but they don't seem to exist. It's hooked up through optical to use the receiver's decoders and processing and stuff, but I switched over to 6 channel direct inputs because Realtek actually does a better job.
This is a 3.1 system. No surrounds... yet. Also looking at installing this or getting a soundcard.
Bush
sweet justice
In my experience, RealTek audio was okay at best; a ten dollar X-fi card from the mid 00's was a hefty upgrade. I always had issues with interference and random things like hearing a buzz whenever I clicked my mouse. Seems like you've got a nice speaker/receiver setup going on, so I'd recommend a cheap PCI card to make better use of it. While integrated accomplishes the task, I was able to get a much better sound after 2 minutes of playing with EQ and settings on the new card vs. never finding a satisfying EQ with RealTek. Not suggesting you should spend more than $30 on a new soundcard, though.
XCVG
ModRetro Legend
No PCI slots, so I'd need a PCI-e soundcard. Don't really want to go with a USB DAC for various reasons. Apparently soundcards aren't too bad in terms of noise. Yes, you're still submerged in the noise of the computer but away from the noise of the motherboard, or something like that.
I haven't had interference issues with my Realtek setup, I just don't like the minimalistic drivers. I'm a notoriously cheap Playstation, so I'll probably just stick with what I have unless I see a good deal come my way.
I haven't had interference issues with my Realtek setup, I just don't like the minimalistic drivers. I'm a notoriously cheap Playstation, so I'll probably just stick with what I have unless I see a good deal come my way.
XCVG
ModRetro Legend
I want better surround processing and driver features. Actual output quality is secondary for me. Most USB DACs are 2-channel affairs with headphone amps, which is pretty much the opposite of what I want. I've heard of horrible driver issues with USB sound devices, which is a deal-breaker for me.
On the other hand, saving a precious slot is nice. Do you know of any good 5.1 or 7.1 USB DACs?
On the other hand, saving a precious slot is nice. Do you know of any good 5.1 or 7.1 USB DACs?
Abyss
I put the BRO in brony!
ODAC or Schiit ModiBush said:
I don't really know of any surround sound DACs. Personally I don't like surround and would rather have a 2.1 system with actually high quality speakers. I never had any issues with audio over USB with my Behringer DAC, which I would not recommend due to it producing popping sounds from time to time (it's a $35 DAC, so it's just garbage).XCVG said:
Fishybumpmaps
Newb
bentendo64
Active Member
Is your cpu running that hot at idle? Mine doesn't even get that hot at full load.....
Anyway, I got a "new" laptop. It's a Dell XPS M1710 with a 100GB hard drive, Core Duo t2600, and GeForce Go 7900 GS. It came with 1GB ram, but I stole the 3GB from my other laptop for it.
I just purchased a 2TB hard drive, so I can take three out of the four hard drives currently in my desktop out. One of them in there right now is a 250GB lappy hard drive, so I'll put that in the Dell and dual boot Windows 7 and Xubuntu.
I also bought a Core 2 Duo T7200 for it, cause the T2600 is sllloooowww. I can't even run flash videos under Lubuntu. I don't know if it has to do with the fact that the Core Duo is slow, or 32-bit OS's are slow. I have another laptop with a Turion 64 x2 TL-60 in it, and that runs flash just fine in linux....
Anyway, I got a "new" laptop. It's a Dell XPS M1710 with a 100GB hard drive, Core Duo t2600, and GeForce Go 7900 GS. It came with 1GB ram, but I stole the 3GB from my other laptop for it.
I just purchased a 2TB hard drive, so I can take three out of the four hard drives currently in my desktop out. One of them in there right now is a 250GB lappy hard drive, so I'll put that in the Dell and dual boot Windows 7 and Xubuntu.
I also bought a Core 2 Duo T7200 for it, cause the T2600 is sllloooowww. I can't even run flash videos under Lubuntu. I don't know if it has to do with the fact that the Core Duo is slow, or 32-bit OS's are slow. I have another laptop with a Turion 64 x2 TL-60 in it, and that runs flash just fine in linux....
Fishybumpmaps
Newb
Yeah its odd. Its over-clocked but usually runs around 37 when Idling. For some reason Its been unusually hot this week, might go in and do a little cleaning.
bentendo64
Active Member
Yeah, that could be it. Also, if you have the stock cooler, the thermal paste might be dried out. That happened to a friend's i5.
chocoboy
Member
Absolutely, and I don't deny that at all. I have older headphones that don't necessarily need the amplification, but it really helps them. I also use it for my school laptop and desktop at work, and the soundcards in them are just awful with interference. I also managed to pickup the E17 new for ~$70, so its not as bad as it seems.Mako321 said:
chocoboy
Member
I don't have much experience with it, but you could always try the Astro Mixamp if you just want simulated 5.1/7.1 through headphones.XCVG said:
If you just wanted the 7.1/optical output, you could try this as well. I believe I got it for ~$15 at Microcenter. Definitely a low-budget solution, but all I needed was optical out for a laptop, and this does that perfectly.
samjc3
#1 Female Member
I have a Soundblaster Zx. It works well, does what I need it to. That said, I exclusively run headphones (insert AKG Master-race commentary here), so I can't really comment on how well it does actual surround - simulated is damned impressive though.XCVG said:
I know some guys prefer the Xonar cards because you can roll your own opamps, but that's pretty high level audiophile flax, so I doubt it means much to you. (Especially since, so far as I know, most of the opamps you could swap in aren't as good as the stock ones.)
