7.1 Setup for ASUS P9X79 Pro

[DesertDryDock]

I have an ASUS P9X79 Pro motherboard that supports 7.1 surround and so far I have been using an old Logitech base and two speaker system. I have to admit I don't understand much about my boards capabilities against just buying a Logitech 5.1 system for $60 to $80 and plugging it in. If I just add speakers to my current system from the motherboard audio out I don't think there will be volume control on the added speakers. So I guess I need some help understanding what speakers to get to set this up...

 

[ubercake]

I have the same motherboard. I was fortunate enough to buy a CreativeLabs T7700 7.1 speaker set back in the day and use the analog outs with that. I have since looked for newer 7.1 PC speaker sets but have yet to find another analog set like that. No one makes more than a 5.1 system these days. In these speaker sets, usually all speakers and the sub are powered by a power amp in the sub.

You could also look for a used or cheaper 7.1 surround amp/speaker set. These usually have one s/pdif or coax input at most. Look for one with a s/pdif connection. You could just run a s/pdif cable from the motherboard to the surround amp, so you have another option.

Your other option is like you said. Get a good 5.1 setup and then for the side speakers, you could purchase a separate two-speaker set and plug them into the gray output on the motherboard. You could still control the volume of both through the OS, but you'd have to set the master volume on both the 5.1 and the 2-speaket sets at some max level where the volume/balance between the two is close.

 

[DesertDryDock]

Wheeew... I thought I was completely missing something. You know, I figured people were going to tell me to come out from under the rock and at least catch up with the invention of the wheel. I watched a video on You Tube that shows you how to convert two 5.1s into a 7.1 and thought "That's just silly, why not just buy a 7.1?" Then I found Amazon, NewEgg, ect void of any such object. Thanks for the list of options, I'll ponder for a while. I'm real good at buying the wrong thing the first time...