Looking to Build a Desktop

[FirstBlood]

Onboard sound should work for just about anyone.

I bought a X-fi Platinum because with my disgustingly specific setup it's the only way to get proper sound fed to my wireless dts/DD surround headphones.

[Rumpy]

That makes sense.

I recently upgraded my computer. Went to Win 8 64 bit to max out my RAM to 8 gigs, got a new terabyte HD, and a GeForce 460 that broke in 2 days (replacing a 8800 GT). Microcenter was out of the 4xx's when I went back since they put them on sale so I ended up getting a GTX 550 Ti for $110. Having this much RAM rules, everything loads super fast despite my old processor. I spent like 400 and it's given my rig a new breath of life. I play somewhat older games on this (Company of Heroes, Mirrors Edge) and Blizzard games so I can run everything at Max at 1080 and it runs amazing. It's fun grabbing demos off of Steam to try shit out too. The 550 is waaaaay quieter than the 8800 which is an added bonus.

[kedawa]

I had to put my PC in a new case this year because the power supply in the slim desktop case died, and it was just easier to switch to a normal ATX tower than it would have been to find a power supply that would fit. Since I was no longer limited to low-profile cards, I decided to install an old Audigy card. I immediately noticed an improvement in sound quality. There's far less interference, which is really only noticeable at higher volumes, but it's more than just that. The integrated audio just sounded 'flat' somehow.

[cka]

did you have the software equalizer set to "flat"

[Diff-chan]

The PC I got in 2006 had disgustingly awful onboard sound so I got a USB headphones and then a X-Fi.

My PC today is just fine though.

[gamevet]

ASUS P8H61-M LX3 R2.0 Intel LGA1155 Motherboard = $60

or.....

ASRock H77M Mini ATX Motherboard =$69.99

Antec Earthwatts 650 watt power supply = $70

8 gigs of Crucial Ballistix DDR3-1333 = $40

Western Digital 500 GB HDD = $54

Evo Mid-Tower Case = $36

Samsung 22X Dual-Layer DVD burner = $18

EVGA GeForce GTX 560 SE = $136

Grand total is $414 plus tax.

I'd prefer a better motherboard, but for your needs it's more than enough. I just hate to see an i7-2600k not getting the royal treatment.

[kedawa]

did you have the software equalizer set to "flat"

I don't think it even had a software equalizer, and that's with the drivers from the manufacturer.
Of course, the Audigy wasn't exactly straight forward to install, either. I had to find hacked drivers and monkey around with windows to get the drivers to install because Creative are a bunch of cocks and refuse to sign their proper drivers and control panels for Vista

[MechDeus]

Is there anywhere which has prices in line with Microcenter and Newegg? My PC is veeeery slowly dying so I'll need a couple new parts; I'm trying to find a decent i5/mobo combo for around $200 and that's pretty difficult to get with a mobo that has overclocking capabilities.

[Mzo]

Fry's and TigerDirect?

[MechDeus]

Forgot about TigerDirect, thanks! Looks like they don't have anything to beat Microcenter, and if Fry's does its probably an in-store deal. I guess I'm looking at like $250, which isn't bad but since ill need RAM and want an OS SSD it'll be like $325 total and I didn't want to go that high.