Soundcard

[Nathz0r]

Hi there I brought a PC from PCS, when I was building the PC I never took the sound card into consideration, I stream games and my microphone sounds awful I tried a steelseries 7.1 USB Soundcard but all I get is static, the mic sounds great other than that, I would like to upgrade my Sound card to 7.1 but wouldn't know where to start what would you recommend? the specs are

Case
STYLISH PIANO BLACK ENIGMA CASE + 2 FRONT USB
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-4770k (3.5GHz) 8MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® Z87-A: ATX, USB3.0, SATA6GB/S, SLi, XFIRE
Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz (1 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 760 - 2 DVI, HDMI, DP - 3D Vision Ready
1st Hard Disk
120GB INTEL® 530 SERIES SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 550MB/sR | 520MB/sW)
2nd Hard Disk
1TB 3.5" SATA-III 6GB/s HDD 7200RPM 32MB CACHE
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W RM SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Processor Cooling
INTEL STANDARD CPU COOLER
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT - AS STANDARD ON ALL PCs
USB Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 4 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit w/SP1 - inc DVD & Licence
DVD Recovery Media
Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit) DVD with paper sleeve
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Microsoft® Internet Explorer
Monitor
BENQ XL2411Z 24" 1MS 3D GAMING MONITOR


Thanks in advance.

 

[steaky360]

Adding a soundcard is really easy as most simply slow into the PCIe slots on your motherboard. Why 7.1 specifically? If you don't have a 7.1 surround setup you'll likely not get the benefit of the 7.1 card. If you're using it with a 7.1 headset that's USB you'll also not get any benefit out of the soundcard.

 

[Nathz0r]

Because I need my microphone quality to sound good, I have bought an USB 7.1 Steelseries soundcard but it sounds static and I can't get rid of it buit the microphone quality sound really good is there another alternative to 7.1 to get good quality from my microphone?

 

[steaky360]

7.1 refers to speakers (ie 7 surround speakers and 1 subwoofer), not a microphone. What mic are you using?

 

[Spuff]

Because I need my microphone quality to sound good, I have bought an USB 7.1 Steelseries soundcard but it sounds static and I can't get rid of it buit the microphone quality sound really good is there another alternative to 7.1 to get good quality from my microphone?

7.1 is all about the number of output channels, it's got nothing to do with quality of sound. A vocal microphone is mono, and should be input into a mono input, which is one channel.

 

[Nathz0r]

I have a steelseries V2 headset, The microphone sounds crisp clear with the USB Sound card but when I plug it into the on board sound card it sounds terrible.

 

[Spuff]

Why don't you just stick to the headset system if that gives you good results?

 

[Nathz0r]

When I use the USB Sound card I can hear static when talking through my microphone, and when I use the onboard sound card it sounds terrible, I have been told that if I upgrade to a dedicated sound card it will give me better results..

 

[Spuff]

I have a £23 headset and the mic has no significant 'static' via the headset's USB input. USB input can give you a totally clean sound. Unless your quite expensive headset has a worse USB interface than my £23 headset, than a different interface will probably make no difference. A duff mic will not be helped by the best interface in the world.
If you're wondering, my headset is:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B005LN5U42/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 (£35 now)

 

[Nathz0r]

All I am asking is would a dedicated sound card make my microphone clearer, Obvious if a USB Sound card does I would of thought a dedicated sound card would..?

 

[Spuff]

All I am asking is would a dedicated sound card make my microphone clearer, Obvious if a USB Sound card does I would of thought a dedicated sound card would..?

It's impossible to say. Your mic may be rubbish or faulty, and without testing it out on a known good interface you won't know until you try. If your headset interface can't make it sound decent I think you probably do have a rubbish or faulty mic.

 

[steaky360]

If the mic you are using is USB a soundcard (dedicated or not) won't make any difference to its quality.

However it sounds to me as though it is not a usb mic. Try just plugging it directly into the microphone in port on your motherboard and see how it sounds.

 

[Nathz0r]

I don't think you 2 understand what I am trying to say.. I have 2 Siberia V2 Headsets and they both sound the same Mic wise.. As I am not getting a valid answer from either of you I will just trial and error myself, I am going to buy a dedicated Sound card tomorrow, I will keep you updated on the results, thanks for your time anyway.

 

[steaky360]

I still think you should try to plug the headset directly into the ports on your motherboard and see how it fairs.

Was not aware you had two separate headsets (apologies if you mentioned it earlier)

 

[Nathz0r]

I have also told you that I have plugged my headset(s) into the ports on my motherboard and the microphone quality is terrible, but when I plug it into the steelseries usb soundcard it sounds crisp clear but has major static..

 

[Spuff]

Nobody can give you a 'valid' answer. It's impossible to know if your issues are due to the quality of your current input or whether the issues are caused by the inherent characteristics of the mic.
I believe the mic on you headset uses a 'mini jack' 3.5mm connector.

 

[steaky360]

Ok well my apologies I missed that, I only noticed you mentioning the USB soundcard. Well best of luck with a dedicated card and do let us know how you get on!

 

[Nathz0r]

Will do thanks for the replies.

 

[Spuff]

Another thing - have you checked the level in Window sounds is turned all the way up for your PC input (right click input, properties, levels)?

 

[Nathz0r]

Been a bought a new sound card works wonders Thanks for the replies anyway.