Help needed sound card

FORCE-NO1

FORCE-NO1

FORCE-NO1

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Hi looking for some help regarding a dedicated sound card
I'm looking at getting a dedicated denon amp and 5.1 speakers system and would like to add a dedicated sound card to get best possible sound quality
I have been looking at the asus xonar essence stxll 7.1
But with this being my first time using or fitting a sound card I'm unsure
A is it as simple as fitting a gpu
B will I benefit from using a dedicated sound card with an external amp and speakers
C will this fit in my current system
Any advice or recommendations would be greatly appreciated
I use my computer for gaming 95% of the time my current specs are as follows

Alienware Area 51 r2
I7 5820k
32gb corsair dominator platinum
Gtx 1080ti x2 sli
2tb Samsung ssd
2tb hdd
1500 psu

My two gpu's are in the top two pcie slots and I have one pcie slot available under my bottom gpu
thanks
 
A. Yes. if it fits.
B. In most cases yes, but for gaming I think your choice is overkill.
C. Yes.

The STXII is a very good card, but I would only buy it if you were listening to a lot of music with good headphones and good headphones at that. For speakers and gaming I guarantee you will not notice the difference between that and something a little cheaper.

If you have space concerns I would consider an external USB DAC, like the ASUS Xonar U7. Save yourself £100 and get something that will do the same job.
 
Thanks for your advise
And yes I'm a little concerned about space I don't want to block any flow of air to my gpus as things are a bit confined as it is
Are the external ones just as good and I assume I connect to Pc via USB then for that to my amp is that correct
Thanks again
 
External are just as good,the actual DAC chip in the U7 is very good which is your main priority as it will plug straight into and amp through RCA. Air flow in cases is always a concern and internal cards can pick up EMI noise from the card which you will not get on the U7. It is a good little bit of kit.
 
I'm wanting to buy the denon amp and speakers package haven't decided on what package to go for
Would there be a connection issue or am I being stupid lol
I thought upgrading my sound card would produce better sound running through the amp or am I wrong
 
In entirely depends on whether the AV receiver in question has 5.1/7.1 analogue inputs. Probably rare these days and only likely on more expensive models. Otherwise, it will be HDMI or optical. Neither of which require an expensive sound card.

HDMI, and you won't need a sound card at all, the GPU and receiver will handle the sound processing.

Optical, and you just need something which can pass on the digital data for the receiver to decode. £50 or £200 sound card makes no difference in this case.
 
So how does that work for instance I have my display port lead to my monitor from my gpu do you also run a hdmi from the gpu to the amp I'm confused now lol
 
HDMI is better than optical as it allows for uncompressed sound, however HDMI requires video to work. You can't just send audio the AV receiver via HDMI. I'm not sure how easy that is to do, if running the HDMI from the GPU. Windows tends to see the AV receiver as another display, and that has for some people caused some issues with their monitor display set up. I think some people have used HDMI from the motherboard's HDMI, to get around that problem. There are forum members who know more about that than I do though.

Some just use optical, because it's generally less hassle, even though Dolby Digital or DTS is required, which uses compression. You would need a sound card though to provide Dolby Digital or DTS 5.1 encoding in real time.

The idea that a STXII for example provides better quality, only applies if using the analogue outputs; so headphones, stereo speakers (that have analogue input) or 5.1/7.1 speakers (that have analogue input, using the 7.1 add on board). That's why I asked if the AV receiver has 5.1/7.1 analogue input. Without analogue input, there's no point in buying a sound card like the STXII.
 
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You can do that if your motherboard has optical, but if the audio stream is not encoded with either Dolby Digital or DTS, then you'll only end up with a pseudo 5.1 mixed up from stereo. Dolby Digital Live and DTS Connect are used to encode the audio to 5.1 in real time.

If the motherboard you have has either Dolby Digital Live or DTS Connect, then you'll be all set. If not, you'll need a sound card. As long as the sound card has either or both, then no point over spending.

What motherboard do you have?
 
That's good question as I'm not sure of what motherboard is in the Alienware Area 51 r2
I do have an optical connection from the motherboard though so does that mean it supports 5.1 and if it does like you said I'm good to go strait through optical
Thanks again for all your help and advise really appreciate it only been using PCs for last couple of years just a mas learning curve that never ends lol
 
I've had a look and I can't see what motherboard is used. There is software that will give you details like that. CPU-Z will.

Only other thing is to try and and see if you are able to select Dolby Digital or DTS when you get an AV receiver.

Even if the motherboard doesn't support either DDL or DTSC, then adding a sound card after should be no problem. Although, you did mention about air flow being a concern by adding an internal card. Depends whether the internal card will be covering the GPU fans.

An external one will be just as good as long as it has either DDL or DTSC, but I'm not sure if the Xonar U7, which is a good and popular external card, has Dolby Digital Live. It uses something called Dolby Home Theatre v4. Dolby Digital Live isn't advertised, and it's not clear whether that is incorporated into Home Theatre v4.

There's also a Creative X-Fi surround Pro 5.1, which does have Dolby Digital Live; so that might be a safer bet than the U7.

It could be that using HDMI whether it be from the GPU or motherboard, might be fairly straight forward, meaning no need for a sound card at all. Could do with some input from someone who has a similar set up using DP for monitor and HDMI for audio to an AV receiver. If it's a pain in the butt, then go the sound card route if need be. If it's plain sailing, then that will be the way to go.
 
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A is it as simple as fitting a gpu
B will I benefit from using a dedicated sound card with an external amp and speakers
C will this fit in my current system
Any advice or recommendations would be greatly appreciated
I use my computer for gaming 95% of the time my current specs are as follows

A- yes
B- not as much as if you got a decent USB DAC
C- I'm not familiar enough with alienware machines

Soundcards inside the PC suffer from electrical noise interference whereas a USB DAC external to the PC will suffer less interference, usually resulting in better sound. If you want 5.1 sound, you will need a 5.1 DAC.

A more elegant solution would be to purchase a 5.1 receiver, which is an amp with a DAC built in. Whether that DAC is USB or SP/DIF you will be able to connect to it with your computer, then you just have one box that does everything. Less clutter.

Given the option, USB is a better audio transport than SP/DIF but either will suffice.

BTW Denon is not really a great high end HIFI brand and there are better British/Asian/American makes for similar cost that sound better. Consider Yamaha, Marantz, Arcam. TEAC makes some fantastic small form factor amps and receivers but not sure if they are 5.1 and they get a little pricey.
 
Not sure why you're saying that Denon aren't a great brand for HiFi, when that term really only applies to stereo. Yes, there are better brands available for stereo amplifiers, but that's not what the OP is looking for. Denon do make very good AV receivers though and are certainly worthy of consideration.

They and Marantz are one company, with Denon branded receivers differing to those under the Marantz brand name; which tend to favour lower profile sized receivers and are considered more musical.

USB is not an option with an AV receiver. HDMI or SPDIF; although direct 5.1/7.1 can be used as well. You only tend to get that with considerably more expensive AV receivers though.
 
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