What's the difference between 2.1 and 5.1 speakers ?

[Mohamed El Moheb]

Which ones are better for gaming and listening to music?

 

[Emerald]

2.1 = two front speakers + sub-woofer

5.1 = two front speakers + two rear speakers + sub-woofer

 

[kanewolf]

It depends ... 5.1 speaker systems have 3 speakers in front of the listener and 2 speakers to the side/back of the listener. They also have a separate low frequency only speaker (.1) . A 2.1 speaker system only has 2 speakers in front of the listener and a low frequency only speaker.

Music is usually only a 2 channel source. But even with a 2 channel source, your surround sound decoder can do things to make it more enveloping.

Sometimes the choice comes down to the ability to wire in the extra speakers.

 

[Mohamed El Moheb]

Do I need a good sound card to go with the speakers or is the onboard soundcard enough?