Upgrade graphics or sound card ??

How Soon Is Now

This is my current setup.

Operating System
Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit SP1

CPU
Intel Core i7 920 @ 2.67GHz
Bloomfield 45nm Technology

RAM
6.00 GB Triple-Channel DDR3 @ 534MHz

Motherboard
ASUSTeK Computer INC. P6T DELUXE (LGA1366)

Graphics
Panasonic-TV (1920x1080@50Hz)
512MB GeForce 9800 GT (nVidia)

Audio
Creative X-Fi Audio Processor

I dont play games on my pc but listen to a lot of music and watch a lot of sd/hd video content. I have a bit of money after Christmas just wondering if i wanted the best possible audio and video playback quality what would be best to upgrade ?

The graphics card has done me grand up until now but if i taught i could get better picture quality id maybe upgrade. I have a decent tv so thats not an issue. I also have a decent home cinema system attached to the pc which is connected with an optical cable.

So long story short what would i be best to upgrade the graphics or the sound card?? or spend the money somewhere else on the pc altogether ?

By the way this is the cinema system i have incase anyone is wondering about specs what it supports etc...
http://icecat.de/us/p/philips/hts9810-12/home-cinema-systems-8712581389338-91-dvd-home-theatre-system-1728020.html

How Soon Is Now

Anyone any ideas?

challengemaster

Can't see any reason to upgrade if you're not gaming. You won't see any difference tbh

How Soon Is Now

challengemaster wrote: »

Can't see any reason to upgrade if you're not gaming. You won't see any difference tbh

I figured wouldn't be much different graphics wise but even sound card? I was looking at the Asus Xonar D2X 7.1 card which heard a lot good about. My sound system supports optical or audio cables i was always kinda unsure which work best on these kinda sound cards?

Serephucus

A better graphics card won't do anything for screen quality; that's entirely dependent on the screen.

As for the sound card, what speakers are you currently running, and what sound card do you have? By the looks of things you're already running a dedicated something, as the P6T uses an ADI chip (similar to Realtek, but lower SNR).

How Soon Is Now

Serephucus wrote: »

A better graphics card won't do anything for screen quality; that's entirely dependent on the screen.

As for the sound card, what speakers are you currently running, and what sound card do you have? By the looks of things you're already running a dedicated something, as the P6T uses an ADI chip (similar to Realtek, but lower SNR).

The cards creative xtremegamer xfi i got it with the alienware machine bought couple years back. I have a link up top for speakers im using its a cinema system and i have it connected using optical.

Serephucus

Not bad. As far as I can tell, those speakers don't support any sort of Dolby surround tech, so the only real improvements that could get got from a better sound card would be in terms of component quality, different op-amps, etc. which aren't hugely apparent unless you've got very sensitive ears.

Maybe throw the money into an SSD, or a quieter cooler or something instead?

How Soon Is Now

Serephucus wrote: »

Not bad. As far as I can tell, those speakers don't support any sort of Dolby surround tech, so the only real improvements that could get got from a better sound card would be in terms of component quality, different op-amps, etc. which aren't hugely apparent unless you've got very sensitive ears.

Maybe throw the money into an SSD, or a quieter cooler or something instead?

Just looking threw the manual here see what there is on it.

Sound
•D/A converter: 24-bit, 192 kHz
•Frequency response: 20 Hz-20000 Hz
•Output power (RMS): (@10%THD):8 x 75 W (Front/Front Side/Rear/Rear Side) +1 x 100 W (Centre) + 1 x 100 W (Subwoofer)
•Signal to noise ratio: >95 dB
•Sound Enhancement: Class "D" Digital Amplifier, Treble and Bass Control, ClearVoice, DoubleBass, Smart Surround
•Equalizer settings: Action, Classic, Concert, Drama, Jazz, Rock, Digital, Gaming, News, Party, Sports
•Sound System: Ambisound, Dolby Digital, Dolby Prologic II, DTS, Stereo


Connectivity
•Front/Side connections: MP3 Line-in, USB
•Rear Connections: AUX in, Component Video output, Easy-Fit speaker connectors, HDMI output, Interconnect (to Power Box), SCART1 (CVBS, RGB out), TV in (audio, cinch)
•Subwoofer (Power Box): AUX In (cinch, 2 pairs), Coaxial Digital input, FM Antenna, Interconnect (to Main Unit), Optical digital input.

Serephucus

Ah, ok, it does support DTS. Well if you get something with a DTS encoder - a lot of the ASUS Xonar cards will do it, as well as a few of the Auzentechs (they use an X-Fi chip as well, so the software would be the same as what you're used to - then you'd get that added to your music and movies. For me, I find it makes a huge difference in sound, making everything a lot fuller and richer.

How Soon Is Now

So do u think it would make a big enough difference to warrant shelling out about a hundred euro then??

The motherboard i have should be able to support most of these sound cards as well i imagine ? I can double check that meself.