I'm getting a Razer Tiamat 7.1 surround sound headset. Will the integrated sound card suffice or should I buy a quality sound card?
1081397
The onboard sound will work with that headset yes, but in almost every situation I'd recommend using a third party PCI-E card for sound if quality is your concern.
1081398
I've never found sound cards necessary with most headsets. It should be fine with integrated.
1081399
If you are using it mostly for games, yes the on board card will be excellent. I love the quality I get out of my Logitech G930's!
202239
You would hear sounds that you couldn't before I choose this based on what I do most of time on my computer I already have surround sound and I use my Turtle beach X42 on this both are on optical, I used to use onboard sound for years until a friend of mine bought a card similar to this and I was shocked at how much I was missing!. If you do a lot of gaming and or movies and the like have surround headphones or speakers or plan on in the future this would be a smart upgrade.
1565679
Just my opinion, there is likely not to be any big difference, assuming you have a recent/decent mob. The sound card will give you more bells and whistles to play with - echoes, equalizer, etc. However, quality of sound is not likely to be noticeable. Hope this helps.
1651345
If you're using stock intel this is light years ahead. People buy soundcards mostly because the sound your pc comes with is terrible these days unless you've got a really high-end rig. Sound coming out of this with Sony extra-bass headphones is awesome.
1299941
If you have Turtle beaches then yes it should suffice just fine. I can't speak for other headsets though.
828294
The speakers are inevitably tiny. You could either get a surround sound that is optic fibre capable, or adjust your sound to "good enough". Let me give you a run down of how audio works on the tv. Treble is your high notes, bass is your low notes, and mids is more highs for this certain tv. There is an option for bass boost, you will want that. One of the things I'm glad i did(i live alone) is buy a wireless headset. Razer, or turtle beach makes a very...very nice set. They are 100$+ because its a 7.1 surround wrapped around your head. So if you watch tv alone, its worth getting. Other than that, with the adjustments i explained to you, have at it. If you need anymore assistance let me know! :)
460055
That really depends. The newer Realtek chips are pretty good, the ALC1150 in particular. The ALC888 is also pretty decent. Virtually any other Realtek codec, on the other hand, won't sound as good as this.Bear in mind if you're using a surround headset that plugs in over USB, those decode audio in software on the PC, bypassing any sound card you may have connected. You'll only benefit from this card if you're plugging into the analog inputs on the card, as you would with something like Razer's Tiamat 7.1.
1435887
I wouldn't necessarily go out and buy a sound card right away, but i you do anything from soundblaster will do you nicely:Sound Blaster Z PCIe Gaming Sound Card with High Performance Headphone Amp and Beam Forming MicrophoneThat would be one of your best bets, though you don't really need to spend that much. If you have a higher end gaming motherboard, you will probably even be fine just sticking with your motherboard's sound card for a while. If you end up not being happy with the quality (and these headphones are fantastic, so it will probably be your sound card) you can always just buy a sound card and upgrade later. One of the big advantages to towers over laptops. I wouldn't necessarily go out and buy a sound card right away, but i you do anything from soundblaster will do you nicely:Sound Blaster Z PCIe Gaming Sound Card with High Performance Headphone Amp and Beam Forming MicrophoneThat would be one of your best bets, though you don't really need to spend that much. If you have a higher end gaming motherboard, you will probably even be fine just sticking with your motherboard's sound card for a while. If you end up not being happy with the quality (and these... » Read More I wouldn't necessarily go out and buy a sound card right away, but i you do anything from soundblaster will do you nicely:Sound Blaster Z PCIe Gaming Sound Card with High Performance Headphone Amp and Beam Forming MicrophoneThat would be one of your best bets, though you don't really need to spend that much. If you have a higher end gaming motherboard, you will probably even be fine just sticking with your motherboard's sound card for a while. If you end up not being happy with the quality (and these headphones are fantastic, so it will probably be your sound card) you can always just buy a sound card and upgrade later. One of the big advantages to towers over laptops. « Show Less
2077638
It uses USB, with C-Media soundcard. To be honest, the Vengeance headset (and anything using C-Media embedded) is problematic. Search their forums and you'll find numerous threads about the sound channels reversing, randomly, during gameplay sessions. I have a RealTek Azailia audio chipset and I had to give up on these headphones.You're better off getting a regular stereo headset that plugs into your soundcard, and invest in the soundcard. Otherwise, these may work fine for you but be prepared for shoulder shrugs if you deal with Corsair.
2700
What makes this card awesome is the amount of settings you can change, I used this to fuel the razer tiamats 7.1, a very missunderstood headset, because it needs a great sound card, I have a intel xtreme series motherboard with the newest realteck sound chip, and if you just install the xonar with the regular drivers, there will be no diference, but if you install the unidriver, and move some settings, then this xonar card will blow your mind I guarantee it, I have a very extended review on the tiamats paired with this sound card, if u want it, just tell me, but if you just dont want to read that mouch, Im pretty sure that you will love this card over the integrated you own What makes this card awesome is the amount of settings you can change, I used this to fuel the razer tiamats 7.1, a very missunderstood headset, because it needs a great sound card, I have a intel xtreme series motherboard with the newest realteck sound chip, and if you just install the xonar with the regular drivers, there will be no diference, but if you install the unidriver, and move some settings, then this xonar card will blow your mind I guarantee it, I have a very extended review on the tiamats paired with this sound card, if u want it, just tell me, but if you just dont want to... » Read More What makes this card awesome is the amount of settings you can change, I used this to fuel the razer tiamats 7.1, a very missunderstood headset, because it needs a great sound card, I have a intel xtreme series motherboard with the newest realteck sound chip, and if you just install the xonar with the regular drivers, there will be no diference, but if you install the unidriver, and move some settings, then this xonar card will blow your mind I guarantee it, I have a very extended review on the tiamats paired with this sound card, if u want it, just tell me, but if you just dont want to read that mouch, Im pretty sure that you will love this card over the integrated you own « Show Less
519874
Actually. I heard that since the surround sound is actually software so it actually makes it echo. You are better of getting the g230 just because i know you would be happy with the headset
2699
Your board has Soundblaster cinema onboard. If you get the right software for that, it will be fine. It has a very decent onboard amp that is capable of driving headphones, and you won't find a significant difference in quality here. If you are getting any sort of hum, whine, static, or other noise when using the analog outs, you will probably get that with the Asus card also. In that case, you can use the optical digital out and use a decent DAC like the Fiio D3 or E3.
1834797
I have heard, from LinusTechTips on YouTube, that the ASUS Xonar sound cards are great. I have the DGX, one of the cheaper ones, and it sounds really good.
943124
it does leek very badly, and yes mine did pick up sound. Honestly I would stay away from Razer headsets, all there good at is mouses and keyboards, everything else is completely crap
1676593
This works with build in soundcards, but if you want better quality a dedicated sound card will make it better.
565784
I can't tell for sure. I bought that Sound Card for output mostly. The sound is great rhough. However the software included allows you do many things .Good luck
1821971
Yes, absolutely it is. Each individual speaker in the head set harmonise around your ears. You feel like your in the game itself more so than any other gaming headphones I have tried. The only problem with it is that since razer put so much to the sound quality of the tiamat the built-in mic is not the best. Like I said in my review the mic broke in mine but since the sound quality itself was so good I kept it and opted for a stand alone mic to skirt the issue.