Laptop Sound Card Options

Hi all,

I'm really new to this, but I was looking at buying a laptop, and I noticed there was only one sound card option...
Does PCS do other sound card options or is there a reason for only having one?
Or maybe should I get an external sound card, or are they not worth it?

I was especially looking at the Octane V, because I was looking for a laptop which would be able to play next-gen titles for a few years.
Or would there be a better option?

Thanks!

The onboard sound card should be fine. I have an Octane and for a laptop the sound is OK, although you will never get really good sound in a laptop. I have mine hooked up to a decent speaker system for home use but am happy enough with the Octane speakers when away. Worth noting I have the 17" which has a sub woofer, do not think the smaller one has.

Infinite said:

Hi all,

I'm really new to this, but I was looking at buying a laptop, and I noticed there was only one sound card option...
Does PCS do other sound card options or is there a reason for only having one?
Or maybe should I get an external sound card, or are they not worth it?

I was especially looking at the Octane V, because I was looking for a laptop which would be able to play next-gen titles for a few years.
Or would there be a better option?

Thanks!

Click to expand...

Why do you need a soundcard? There are very few uses outside of extremes that they're warranted anymore as the on board sound is so good in the main.

The onboard sound is fine. There's certainly no point buying one until after you've got the laptop and tried it out.

Doesn't the Octanes usually have a Sabre DAC or something similar as well, so their audio is already more upmarket?

The bottleneck to your audio experience is probably going to be your mid-range headphones / speaker setup.

I don't know that's what you have of course, but if you had high end hi fi gear I suspect you'd already have a USB DAC or similar anyway

I wasn't sure how good the quality on-board sound would be, but by the looks of it, it should be fine!
I don't have a laptop so I kinda assumed the on-board would be meh.
But as I said before, if there's no need that's great.

Thanks for the responses.

The Octane is probably the best sound I have heard from a laptop but that is also helped by its size, it is really a desk top replacement, so there is more room to house speakers and put them where they will function best, not just squeeze them in. That is a bit unfair to other laptops who do have decent(ish) sound but the extra room to work does (IMO) make a difference.

Agree with Oussebon, the main thing will be the headphone/speaker set up you have. The sound card will be fine with good stuff, music is a passion of mine and I have a nice Sony surround and Blu Ray set up for my main TV and the Octane through that to play symphonies is superb.

On a different note, while I would always recommend the Octane as it is a great bit of kit, the term desk top replacement is valid as it is not the most portable of devices, 4 kg and with a power brick which is actually bigger and heavier than most bricks. Providing that is OK with you I would certainly go ahead and get one.