Windows XP
AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 3800+
3070MB RAM
NVIDIA GeForce 7800GT
Mobo: ABIT KN8 Ultra
Built my computer a couple years ago and have been using old Altec Lansing ACS33 speakers with my onboard mobo sound (On board 7.1 CH Audio CODEC (ALC850) Realtek AC97 Audio).
I want to upgrade to new speakers and install a sound card if one is really necessary. Will a sound card really make a big difference in comparison to just using the onboard mobo? I'm not a gamer. I just want to be able to blast some tunes once in a while and have it sound good and bumpin! 
I'm considering these:
Sound Card
Speakers
Thoughts and suggestions appreciated. Thanks.
A sound card will get rid of a lot of the hiss that comes from the cheap/no isolation used with onboard sound. Definately, a must if you are going to be using decent quality speakers.
By the way, creative labs (the makers of the sound blaster series of cards, including the X-Fi you are looking at ) has a factory store on ebay. If you don't mind refurbished, they have a
X-Fi Fatl1ty FPS 7.1 for $129.99 shipped (or Make an Offer which means you may be able to knock a few dollars off of it), which has the added benefit of being a wider card (with slightly better components), the 5 1/4" drive bay break out box which is really nice. It gives you the addition of front mounted inputs and outputs (say for headphones) and a remote control to use. So you can control the volume, skip songs etc. away from your computer.
The speakers you are looking at seem like they will bump some tunes. Look like some nice computer speakers. My buddy got some klipsch 5.1's for around $200 a few years ago and they will absolutely rattle the room. These should perform similarly (albeit it appears that the highs can suffer at high volume on these).
Edited by PedroDaGR8, 19 December 2008 - 10:53 PM.
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