Needing Sound Card advice

[PoisonPoptart]

Ok long time reader first time poster and to be blunt when it comes to sound cards i am lost. what i am looking for is a decent quality sound card that will function with the turtle beach z6a headset that I'm also looking to purchases ( willing to change my mind on this model or brand in the event you have input on a better one ) do keep in mind that i am no audiophile i just want better than my cheap turtle beach x11's that I'm currently using

note: forgot to add in would like to spend at max $100 usd leaning more towards 50 to 75 dollars if its doable

My system
cpu I5-2500k
motherboard Z68aD3HB3 Gigabyte
ram 16gb of gskill ripjaws
GPU evga 560ti SC
powersupply Seasonic x series 750 gold

in the event that you need any more info please feel free to let me know I'll be checking on this thread often and thank you for your time in advanced

[Rodpad]

I'd suggest something from the Asus Xonar range.

[PoisonPoptart]

Ok thanks for the quick response but again i'm as basic as they come as far as knowledge on sound cards a quick newegg search for the Asus Xonar cards gave me a range of $25 to $595 now i'm well aware i don't need a 600 dollar card for what i'm going to be using it for however when it comes down to what makes a 50 dollar card better than a 25 dollar card i have no idea any further advice by chance or specific models?

[rokatoro]

Curious question. Is there anything wrong the audio jacks that are on your mobo? I only ask because I was under the understanding that unless your looking for high quality multichannel sound or audio editing the sound card built into your mobo was more that capable.

[PoisonPoptart]

the audio jacks on my current motherboard do not offer 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound the headsets that i'm currently looking at upgrading to have surround sound

[Rodpad]

The "surround" on headsets are pseudo anyway.

However nearly every motherboard from the past 10 years has 5.1 or 7.1 through 3 or 4 audio jacks (3.5mm).

Usually the Line-Out and Mic can be changed to become the Centre and Rear channels.

Download the proper drivers for your onboard sound. I imagine you're just using the default Windows drivers at the moment.

[BicycleMafioso]

If you are going to get the Turtle beach z6a, don't bother with a sound card, it's not nearly good enough to justify it.

[PoisonPoptart]

well as i've said i'm open for input on other brands / models when it comes to the headset i'm currently eyeballing the Corsair Vengeance 2000 that someone was talking about in another thread, but also please keep in mind that to ME the turtle beach z6a's are good enough to justify a sound card your opinion may be otherwise i'm simply seeking advice on which sound card i should be looking for not if i should get one or not

pretty sure that came out a lot more aggressive than intended however i think you may be able to get what i'm saying

[BicycleMafioso]

It isn't good enough to benefit enough from a sound card. That money is better spent on the headphones/headset itself, and you'll get far better sound out of it.
With the Vengeance 2000, a sound card wouldn't help at all.

[Rodpad]

What motherboard do you have PoisonPoptart?

[PoisonPoptart]

What motherboard do you have PoisonPoptart?

stated it in my first post but its the Gigabyte Z68A-D3H-B3

---------- Post added 2012-08-08 at 05:02 AM ----------

It isn't good enough to benefit enough from a sound card. That money is better spent on the headphones/headset itself, and you'll get far better sound out of it.
With the Vengeance 2000, a sound card wouldn't help at all.

was confused as to why it would not help at first on the vengeance 2000 but then remembered thats a wireless headset i would be looking for a wired version of that for myself also a question i understand your input on the fact that the turtle beach z6a's wouldn't be worthy of a sound card however how do you suggest hooking the headset up to my my computer without a sound card when it does require jacks for the left right ect ect and my motherboard does not have said plugins? i may be missing something here as its late here and kind of tired haha

[Rodpad]

My apologies, I skipped over that part in your original post.

From the Gigabyte website for your motherboard:

Audio
Realtek ALC889 codec
High Definition Audio
2/4/5.1/7.1-channel
* To configure 7.1-channel audio, you have to use an HD front panel audio module and enable the multi-channel audio feature through the audio driver.

5.1 works just fine on your motherboard using the rear audio ports. If you want to use 7.1 (pointless in my opinion) then you just need to make sure the two front audio jacks are hooked up (which I'm sure they are).

So you don't need a new sound card at all.

[Deleted]

He wants better sound and no on board 5.1-7.1 will compete with a dedicated sound card. As stated above something from the ASUS range will be just fine as for headsets/headphones i would say take a look at something from Sennheiser though you are on a pretty tight budget it's worth a look.

[BicycleMafioso]

He wants better sound and no on board 5.1-7.1 will compete with a dedicated sound card. As stated above something from the ASUS range will be just fine as for headsets/headphones i would say take a look at something from Sennheiser though you are on a pretty tight budget it's worth a look.

No low-end headset will benefit more from 40USD put into the sound card compared to 40USD put into getting an actual quality sound product.

A good stereoheadphone/headset would be much better and give him better surround.

[PoisonPoptart]

I am getting the feeling you are all thinking i'm stuck on a certain headset which i am not, Stravs basically hit the nail on the head i am looking for better sound the budget that i gave was for the sound card alone i have no issues with spending 150 on a headset if its worth the money what i'm looking for in the headset would be wired 5.1 surround sound primarily for gaming however needs to have decent base to it also

[Rodpad]

I'd recommend the Asus Xonar DX which is what I use then. It's pretty cheap compared to when I bought it a while back now.

[BicycleMafioso]

I am getting the feeling you are all thinking i'm stuck on a certain headset which i am not, Stravs basically hit the nail on the head i am looking for better sound the budget that i gave was for the sound card alone i have no issues with spending 150 on a headset if its worth the money what i'm looking for in the headset would be wired 5.1 surround sound primarily for gaming however needs to have decent base to it also

http://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica...ywords=ath-m50
+
http://www.amazon.com/Zalman-Zm-Mic1...rds=zalman+mic

Much better sound for the money.