Best budget and none budget sound cards.

[Suzuridani【JP】]

This may not end up being only sound cards but I want a sound card that can output 7.1 audio. I also checked to see if my motherboard by default can handle it and I can't find any results if it handles 7.1 audio. I also do not know if I have room inside my case for a sound card or if my motherbt supports one. Any help would be amazing! Price is not a concern to me.

Specs:
Motherboard: Asus prime x299-a
Video cards: 2 2080ti's
Hyperx memory: 128gbs
CPU: i9-9980XE
Psu: 1500w

If you need more spec details just ask.

[_I_]

most mobos can do analog 7.1
or the gpu can output atmos or hd or 7.1 using hdmi

[Suzuridani【JP】]

Messaggio originale di _I_:

most mobos can do analog 7.1
or the gpu can output atmos or hd or 7.1 using hdmi

This hardly answers my question. But thanks for answering only half of it. As I got astro headsets that do 7.1 and just want to make sure what sound card I should get or if should get any to get the best sound quality from these.

[Talby]

since you already have Astro they have really good dolby headphone surround (best for movies IMO)

As a legacy Creative fan, the old CMSS-3D was best for games in my opinion

That been displaced with SBX Pro (which was originally called THX TruStudio Pro before they sold that licensing to Razer), almost as good as CMSS-3D for games but is better for movies (but not as good as Dolby)

Unfortunately I don't think there are any more cards available that support the old CMSS-3D outside of used (and win10 will probably not support the old drivers for them) but if you want to give SBX a try, I picked up a Sound Blaster Play! 3[www.amazon.com] which is under $20 and works with any analog headphone/mic very well

The newer Sound Blaster G3[www.amazon.com] gives you Astro's Mixamp functionality at a fraction of the price along with a more modern USB C connection and portability - and not to mention a very good deal at $45 sale price

[Bad 💀 Motha]

If the Headset is USB, it never uses the Motherboard Audio or any Sound Card.

If it's Analog Headset, then what would be best is a USB DAC w/ Amp

[End0fDayz]

Sound card world doesn't always line up to money = better. Asus Xonar is under $100 and is a great card. All the other pricier cards tend to have some physical component to them (something that sits on your desk for example) but the actual card is not any better. Just look at the slot type the card uses and physically look at your motherboard and see if its there (most likely it is). The rest is plug & play.

[Bad 💀 Motha]

No one really "needs" a 3rd party sound card.
You're onboard audio will be fine, and if not, then the better option is a USB DAC w/ AMP