Let there be sound.

[markyap73]

Greetings all....

Could I pick your brain cells for advice please? I am 101% new to this...so please bear with me.

I'm after the best sound possible from my PC, which i use for gaming, music and films. The set up I've got is: mobo Sabertooth Z77, MSi GTX980 4GD5. TV, Samsung UE32J5500 and Sony sound bar HT-CT60BT. I've got the PC hooked up to the TV using the HDMI, along with Xbone. TV is hooked to the sound bar using optical. I was toying with getting a new sound card as at the mo I'm using the on-board sound and I feel like it's not giving me the best sound.... please don't get me wrong, it's ok but can i get better with a sound card with what I've got (sound bar)? If I was to get a SC, what would be the best hook up and what would be the most suitable card?? Budget I've set is around £100ish.

Cheers

 

[rids57]

The way you have it hooked up you're not using PC sound at all.

The HDMI passes the audio in digital format to the TV and on to the sound bar via the optical connection and it's the sound bar that's converting the digital signal to analogue audio that you can hear. Adding a sound card would have zero effect as it wouldn't be used in any way.

 

[markyap73]

Ok...thanks for the info. Much appreciated for the reply. The wife will be happy that I'm not blowing money on the PC now (I'll treat myself to something else)