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5.1 sound card

  • 23-06-2007 8:23pm
    #1
    pickarooney
    Moderators, Arts Moderators Posts: 35,738 Mod ✭✭✭✭


    To get the best out of my new 5.1 speakers and to allow me to use both the front, central and rear speakers, a microphone and a TV-card on line-in I reckon I need a new sound card with 5 jacks, but most of the 5.1 cards I've seen on sale only have 4.
    Is this normal or am I missing something?

    Secondly, will a PCI sound card automatically override an on-board card or will I have to disable the on-board card in the BIOS? There are mic and headphone jacks on the front of my PC which I use regularly. Are these likely to be linked intrinsically to the on-board card and if I replace that will these jacks no longer function?


Comments

  • #2
    8T8
    Closed Accounts Posts: 4,757 ✭✭✭8T8


    With a PCI sound card you will need to disable the on-board sound in the bios though there is no technical reason you cant use both it just means reassigning whichever sound chip as the primary one in Windows sound control panel.

    For the front panel connections it depends on the sound card some come with the headers for the connections on the card, some don't, some use there own drive bay with the connectors & some have a custom header like Creative's.

    As for connecting it all up the this guide covers the essentials for 5.1 analogue setups.
    http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/268/1


  • #3
    pickarooney
    Moderators, Arts Moderators Posts: 35,738 Mod ✭✭✭✭pickarooney


    Thanks 8T8
    For the front panel connections it depends on the sound card
    By this do you mean the original sound card or the newly installed one? It's hard to see in the specs of candidate cards if they have this feature - is there any way to know for sure that if I order a card I'll be able to connect it to the existing front-panel jacks?
    Incidentally, I found a couple of cards on sale with 5 jacks - green, black, blue pink and orange - which is what I imagined I would need.


  • #4
    8T8
    Closed Accounts Posts: 4,757 ✭✭✭8T8


    The new one is what you will need to connect to the front panel audio connectors if you want to use them.

    To find out if a card has the required header for the front panel audio jacks the best thing to do is look at the specifications, find reviews etc.

    Here is a guide on how to make a connector for the custom header on the Creative X-Fi cards. Buying the cable is not so easy as Creative only give it to select PC makers though hunting eBay for it might turn something up.

    The Auzentech Meridian 7.1 soundcard has all the inputs you need plus the front panel header so you can hook that up. Check out the manual for more info.


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