Do I need sound card for Razer Tiamat 7.1 v2

[Trig Gaveol]

Sorry for my inexperience in this area. I am going to try include as much detail as possible while making it to the point.

 

Background: Until now, I was using laptops for everything including gaming. However, my gaming laptop is 2 years old and therefore I decided this time to build my own desktop computer; I am thinking of building a mini itx one, therefore the space for my PCIe slots is limited on the motherboard/case; The way I use Tiamat 7.1 v2 now with my laptop is through the external sound card from Sweex which supports surround sound (see below in "More Info").

 

Question: In order to have surround sound in this headset while playing games on the new desktop I am trying to build do I need a sound card (assuming I am not using an external one) (which means that I will need to look for 2 PCIe slots on motherboard and case)? And would sound card on the motherboard (price doesn't matter) improve the sound in comparison to the external one for this headset (ultimately I am asking which one is better for the purpose of gaming, and if they are the same then I won't need to look for mini ITX motherboards with 2 PCli, ...) (I believe I can also plug them in my motherboard directly as it has the plugs, but I would imagine a dedicated sound card would make the experience much better).

 

(I looked on the internet if I need the sound card for a headset with 7.1 surround sound but all the results (discussions) I found related to people having USB connected headsets that provided surround sound artificially through software and didn't have the front, back, center, surround plugs that I have, therefore they didn't need a soundcard)

 

Thank you very much! I appreciate you taking time to read this message and of course to reply in case, you can help. 

 

 

 

P.S. If there is a post addressing any of my questions (as the search didn't find anything relevant; and I might have missed it), feel free to post a link.

 

More Info:

The external sound card I have been using: Sweex External sound card: http://www.sweex.com/computer/audio/sound-card-usb-71-550512283

The motherboard I wanted to buy until I realized I might need a sound card (will be waiting for your response to know if I will buy it): https://www.asus.com/Motherboards/ROG-STRIX-Z370-I-GAMING/

[Blasteque]

5 minutes ago, Trig Gaveol said:

 

More Info:

The external sound card I have been using: Sweex External sound card: http://www.sweex.com/computer/audio/sound-card-usb-71-550512283

The motherboard I wanted to buy until I realized I might need a sound card (will be waiting for your response to know if I will buy it): https://www.asus.com/Motherboards/ROG-STRIX-Z370-I-GAMING/

I would say that if you're happy with the Sweex, then keep using it.  On-board sound (what comes with a motherboard) can be very hit-or-miss.  I've never had an on-board sound chip handle surround sound perfectly for everything; there's usually some game that doesn't work right.  The only exception I have experience with is a Gigabyte board that came with a Creative sound chip.  That ended up working just as well as a Creative sound card.

 

So, I would caution against assuming the motherboard's sound will work exactly as you want, they seem to do stereo fine, but multi-channel surround can be a struggle (other people probably have had a different experience).  The safe thing to do is to put the system together and try it.  If it doesn't work, then use the Sweex.  (I don't think you'll hear much difference between that and an average PCIe sound card, but I don't have any experience with Sweex myself.)

[Icefly]

I'm to lazy to read all of this but from what i got from your text i can say this:

Is it even possible to use real 7.1 with just the green 3.5 jack? Because for normal speakers you need all 6? i guess? idk..

I mean, makes sense that all 7.1 headsets have USB... or not?

 

Correct me if im wrong. I would like to know.

[Electronics Wizardy]

5 minutes ago, Icefly said:

I'm to lazy to read all of this but from what i got from your text i can say this:

Is it even possible to use real 7.1 with just the green 3.5 jack? Because for normal speakers you need all 6? i guess? idk..

I mean, makes sense that all 7.1 headsets have USB... or not?

 

Correct me if im wrong. I would like to know.

Well any headset that has multiple drivers for surround is bs. Thats not how hearing works, so 2 channels for headphones is all you need.

[EsaT]

3 hours ago, Blasteque said:

(I don't think you'll hear much difference between that and an average PCIe sound card, but I don't have any experience with Sweex myself.)

That Sweex uses C-Media CM6206 chip whose signal quality is there with Realtek's low end chips.

https://www.svethardware.cz/recenze-sweex-71-externi-zvukovka-za-hubicku/27085

 

Though not that those cheapest trinket drivers from load of garbage truck would care about signal quality.

 

 

2 hours ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

Well any headset that has multiple drivers for surround is bs. Thats not how hearing works, so 2 channels for headphones is all you need.

Aren't you now insulting bs?

Multiple drivers are ship/t load of lawyers, marketroids and politicians worth of bs.

[Trig Gaveol]

At the time when I was looking for how to connect my headset to my laptop I didn't find anything better than what Sweex offered, so... If you know something better you are welcome to suggest me  Thank you all for criticism