budget sound card 7.1 with optical digital out

[Daniel Harvey]

Hi

im looking for a sound card, so that i can use my av receiver (onkyo TX-SR506) with my PC.

i have the Xonar DGX installed right now, however it is fairly old and as far as im aware it doesnt support 5.1 or 7.1. at least i cant get it to

so the only requirements are that it has to have an optical out and support at least 5.1, but ideally 7.1.

Also im not sure what it is called, but ive read that some sound cards can split non-surround sounds into surround. that sounds like a great feature if it were to work.

finally, some of you may ask
why don't i just use hdmi from my gpu to the receiver?
well, i have tried to this before, and i cannot get it even to pass sound or picture through the receiver

my pc specs should be in my signature


thanks in advance

 

[Daniel Harvey]

BEST
http://www.amazon.com/Creative-Blaster-Fatal1ty-Champion-SB1354/dp/B0060SXDRI/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&qid=1443371237&sr=8-12&keywords=sound+card
HIGH END:
http://www.amazon.com/Creative-Blaster-Audiophile-Performance-Headphone/dp/B00AQ5PK6I?ie=UTF8&*Version*=1&*entries*=0
This is a good high end option
http://www.amazon.com/PCI-Express-XONAR-ESSENCE-STX-90-YAA0C0-0UAN00Z/dp/B001OV789U/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1443371237&sr=8-7&keywords=sound+card

and this is a cheaper one
http://www.amazon.com/Blaster-Performance-Headphone-Forming-Microphone/dp/B009ISU33E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1443371237&sr=8-1&keywords=sound+card

and this is an even cheaper one
http://www.amazon.com/Creative-Blaster-Audigy-Performance-Headphone/dp/B00EO6X4XG/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1443372150&sr=8-3&keywords=sound+card

[b]BUT one question: [/b]You already have a Realtek® ALC887 High Definition audio card (that is having 7.1 connectivity) built into the motherboard so why buy a new one....

ALSO try connecting to your TV by using the intel HD Graphics 4600 HDMI output instead of the GPU's HDMI port....
If needed I can help you to enable NVIDIA(R) Optimus on your GTX 960

hi, thanks for the reply

i would certainly be going for a card around the 'even cheaper' option

the reason to buy a new one is because i need an optical digital output, which my motherboard doesn't have

ill try using the hd graphics' hdmi for the passthrough, however i believe my particular receiver is faulty as this feature has never worked

ive never heard of NVIDIA(R) Optimus however a quick google search suggests its just for notebooks?

 

[Daniel Harvey]

I worked for NVIDIA for a couple of years... I know how to enable it on any graphics card

Oh cool, yeah that would be good

What does it do on desktop GPU's though?

 

[Daniel Harvey]

oh wow that could be a useful feature

how do you do it?

 

[Daniel Harvey]

It is very complicated to do but i've done it many times....
easiest way: send it to proffessionals to do it for you
hardest way: do it yourself (unless u r a professional or me , I am a professional 😛)

haha, i think ill leave it then 😛
I only wanted advice on a sound card, yet suddenly we are talking about graphics cards 😛

 

[Daniel Harvey]

Click on best soln.. man
So lets close this topic

thanks for your help