Any PC Builders Out There?

Well, my build list in Neweggs cart is looking dismal. I keep getting out of stock and backorder notifications. I suppose there's a rush on components to upgrade before the new 50 series cards drop in 2 weeks.

 

What kind of build?

DDR5 mobo's and ram have dropped quite a bit over the last year, along with m.2 storage

 

Ryzen 7 7800x3d was out of stock so changed to Ryzen 7 9800x3d/MSI Mag x870 Tomahawk mobo combo (9800x3d out of stock this morning/can still buy motherboard)

Corsair 4000d case (probably a little tight for the new 50 series anyway)

These are still in stock...

Corsair 1000w-1200w psu
NZXT Kraken Elite 360 cooler
G SKill ddr5 pc5 51200 64gb
Soundblaster ae-5
Samsung 990 pro 2tb
5080

 

Interesting, haven't seen a soundcard used in years

What kind of speakers or cans are you going to run?

 

Not sure yet. I might try the on board audio first. I still have my Logitech z5500s, but I need to do a little more research to see if I can still make those work.

 

I used to have those speakers

You're wasting your money buying a soundcard with a Sabre DAC only to completely disregard it by having your Logitech use its own DAC

You pay money for a good DAC to run analog out of it

 

Or into it..


I'd dump the soundblaster, those things are flakey af. It's not doing you any favors to help re-use the logitechs either.

 

"Into it" would only mean a digital source for the DAC which is your computer already

I didn't look up that sound card to see if it had any other digital inputs but I can't imagine him running an SACD or similar to his soundcard

A DAC only works to convert a digital signal to an analog one and you normally pay a premium for better processing IE limited to no artificial distortion etc

 

I use a focusrite scarlett as a DAC for my monitors , and for input from guitar/microphones.

I imagine that old logitech needs a digital s connection or optical. Ain't seen one of dem in a while.

 

That motherboard has a SPDIF out.

 

I don't know if we're misunderstanding each other.

A DAC is unnecessary especially if he has a speaker system with a built-in DAC.

It is only beneficial to purchase a soundcard with a quality DAC if you're going to utilize its analog output.

You mentioned using analog in though - there are a plethora of options for an analog in that do not warrant a premium DAC (wrong tool for the job).

So really, in your situation you are actually using the DAC for its analog out, but also taking advantage of its analog input. Keep in mind your DAC itself has nothing to do with helping the quality of your analog input.

There are many motherboards even that allow the use of an output to be used as an input as well which he could take advantage of.

The Z5500S has digital inputs though (two of them) and you can change the source material on the controller itself.

 

Do not waste money on a sound card. For 90% of people, on board audio is good enough. It looks like the Z5500s support a TosLink optical connection? If so, check for motherboards that have one, it'll be called SPDIF. It's a digital standard so there's no real chance of interference from the motherboard anyway, so if you use that connection a sound card is a complete waste of money.

As an aside, sound cards died because modern motherboards use a gap in the motherboard substrate to isolate the on board audio components. Along with better filters and DACs onboard, this eliminated the issues with on board audio for most people. However, some audiophiles need to drive high impedance headphones and want a crazy high sampling rate. For that use, sound cards are still dead, they were replaced by USB external Digital to Audio converters. By going to an external DAC, there's even better separation between the motherboard and analogue audio source and the power for the more expensive DACs can even come from a separate outlet or be filtered by larger components than can fit on a sound card.

 

Ouch, I knew it was old but I didn't realize it was that old. Now I feel kind of stupid even spending anything on it, Even though I hate throwing stuff away

 

They're still common on mid to high end motherboards. Using a sound bar or mid range pair of speakers with their own DAC has kept the TosLink alive.

 

IMHO don't waste your money on a surround speaker system. If you want great sound, go to either a set of higher end gaming headphones with good reviews like the Steelseries Arctis Nova Pro's or jump up to a decent external DAC and a common set of headphones with the Sennheiser logo on them.

If you need speakers, grab something stereo from Polk, Edifier, etc. It'll sound great and you won't miss the surround in most games. If you do, again, use headphones.

 

He's talking about an old laptop...

But yes agree, I've got those cans and love them

 

I use the SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7P for the PS5, great headphones. Even the cheap Logitechs I use for my PC sound decent. I have 2 pairs of AudioTechnicas, one for bluetooth and one analog. I share my music with noone.

 

Were not.

 

Didnt see mobo linked, that's convenient though.

 

MANY (even cheap mobo's) seem to include a digital out as standard.

Really convenient for sure.

Even my 17 year old PC has a digital out