Which sound card for creative inspire p5800 5.1 speakers

alexnt · August 31, 2019

I changed hardware recently because my sabertooth z97 died and I got an msi b450 tomahawk.

I noticed that the sound is a bit different,at least when listening to music.

Sabertooth had a realtek ac1150 codec and b450 has an ac892.

I enjoyed more the sound of my previous mobo on p5800 speakers.

So if I get a sound card will I see any difference on sound?

Turtle Rig · August 31, 2019

11 minutes ago, ganja7 said:

I changed hardware recently because my sabertooth z97 died and I got an msi b450 tomahawk.

I noticed that the sound is a bit different,at least when listening to music.

Sabertooth had a realtek ac1150 codec and b450 has an ac892.

I enjoyed more the sound of my previous mobo on p5800 speakers.

So if I get a sound card will I see any difference on sound?

Depends. what your use for the sound card is ? On board sound has come a long way, so I am sorta shocked that your old gen mobo you say sounded better! That baffles me. Whatever it is, it is realtek be it Azelia or HD Audio. I don't know if you game, but I hope you know all wired or wireless gaming headsets are either stereo or their 7.1 virtual surround. The ones that are stereo do not provide positional audio. So you wont hear people behind you or beside you are in front or center etc. Long time ago I got a Razer Tarantula that had 4 drivers in each cone and you had rear speakers side and center. Each HP cone had 4 drivers in it. Now a days all wired and wireless gaming headsets are USB powered giving your virtual surround 7.1 which has improved a lot of the years. Do you need this positional audio ? If yes, then a sound card will do nothing as the headsets are all USB powered, so they have a built in amp. I don't even know if this is gaming related but if you already have a 5.1 speaker system I advise you to uninstall drivers and get the latest drivers for your HD Audio. If your dissapointed with how your 5.1 speakers sound I think you can provide some EQ and get it to the level of the Z97 one. Unless your a hardcore audiophile you can do without a sound card and use the onboard and for HP's get a nice 7.1 surround but there is a lot to choose from. Firstly what sound cards are you looking at they are not cheap. Theres 5.1 but most are 7.1 .. If you dont have or use a gaming headset then your relying on the onboard audio to give you sound. As I said they have come a long way. I can't say get a sound card and your problems will disappear or something. If your hell bent on buying a sound card then look at ASUS Xonar cards. Except for the fact its 3.5mm jack it is still amazing quality.