So I recently built my first PC. It was for gaming and for every day media and web browsing. I'm pretty stiff when it comes to audio and specifically chose a motherboard that had solid inbuilt audio. But after doing some more reading I noticed a few additional benefits to having a dedicated sound card or amplifier. Can someone expound on whether those benefits are worth it? I'm using an ASRock Z87 Extreme4 with the 'Purity Sound' chip and 7.1 Realtek ALC1150 audio codec.
What do I need if I wanted to invest in an excellent sounding setup? A dedicated DAC or amplifier? A desktop unit or a sound card connected to the motherboard? Will I need to rewire the front audio and mic jacks on the case?
Also, although I don't have the money for them right now, I'll be investing in some proper gaming headphones and I was wondering whether folks could list a few perennial favourites? My budget is going to be around £200. Some might consider that high and thus would suggest anything, but I'm new to the gaming headset world and I'm interested to see what gamers and enthusiasts like to use. I'll then make a decision myself based on reviews and my own preferences.
And finally, though not so important, what kind of power does an external sound card require? I have a Corsair AX760 so power is not an issue at the moment, but if I want to run two GTX 770's in the future then I might be in trouble. I said I would when I built the computer, but I probably won't in the end. If I can find another one later this year at a good price, I might, but otherwise I'll just sell the 770 and get a 780ti or whatever the equivalent is a year from now. Theoretically, my i5-4670K shouldn't start to bottleneck for quite a while.
What do I need if I wanted to invest in an excellent sounding setup? A dedicated DAC or amplifier? A desktop unit or a sound card connected to the motherboard? Will I need to rewire the front audio and mic jacks on the case?
Also, although I don't have the money for them right now, I'll be investing in some proper gaming headphones and I was wondering whether folks could list a few perennial favourites? My budget is going to be around £200. Some might consider that high and thus would suggest anything, but I'm new to the gaming headset world and I'm interested to see what gamers and enthusiasts like to use. I'll then make a decision myself based on reviews and my own preferences.
And finally, though not so important, what kind of power does an external sound card require? I have a Corsair AX760 so power is not an issue at the moment, but if I want to run two GTX 770's in the future then I might be in trouble. I said I would when I built the computer, but I probably won't in the end. If I can find another one later this year at a good price, I might, but otherwise I'll just sell the 770 and get a 780ti or whatever the equivalent is a year from now. Theoretically, my i5-4670K shouldn't start to bottleneck for quite a while.