Hey there .. I didnt know if to post this in the Audio or Hardware section :(

anyways I moved my PC to another room .. and in my room I got stuck with my Creative Inspire 4.1 speakers ..
my Laptop HP Pavillion de8371ea has only 2 plugs for audio: input mic. & output headset \ SPDIF ...
since I dont have enough plugs I decided to buy an external Sound card ...
those are the cards Ive found so far :
PCMCIA Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS Notebook Audio Card
CREATIVE USB SOUND BLASTER LIVE! 24BIT EXTERNAL
Zalman ZM-RSSC
Creative Audigy 2 NX
Creative Digital Music

what do you think ?
which should I pick ? do you have any other suggestions ?
I dont wanna spend too much on it though :(

I also got some problem with my Nvidia 7600 GO .. I cant seem to set its s-video output as Component although from what Ive understood the 7600GO series is HD .. like my PC card - 7600GT ..
hmm .. any idea on how to fix it ? if not I guess I will connect it to my LCD TV through DVI\VGA\PC connection .. or buy some DVI->HDMI connector ..


thanks in advance :)

Hey major9686... I'm guessing you're gaming on your laptop a bit... Personally, I would go for the cheapest solution if I was gaming on a laptop and needed multi-channel sound... after all, it is a laptop.  I wouldn't want to invest a fortune in it.

That said, all I do on my laptop (issued from my job) is play music and I found an additional use for my Griffin iMic (2 channel USB sound card with line input)... Perhaps that might be good enough for you with a mini-jack splitter to duplicate 2 channel sound to the rear speakers...  Heck that would be the cheapest solution to use with the internal sound on the laptop... Just a suggestion.

Best of luck,

Sith

(in reply to major9686)

quote:

ORIGINAL: SithTracy

Hey major9686... I'm guessing you're gaming on your laptop a bit... Personally, I would go for the cheapest solution if I was gaming on a laptop and needed multi-channel sound... after all, it is a laptop.  I wouldn't want to invest a fortune in it.

That said, all I do on my laptop (issued from my job) is play music and I found an additional use for my Griffin iMic (2 channel USB sound card with line input)... Perhaps that might be good enough for you with a mini-jack splitter to duplicate 2 channel sound to the rear speakers...  Heck that would be the cheapest solution to use with the internal sound on the laptop... Just a suggestion.

Best of luck,

Sith

have you checked those cards I posted ?
any of them good ? better than others ?

(in reply to SithTracy)

Never had a desire for one, but I think I read favorable reviews for the Creative USB SoundBlaster Live.

(in reply to major9686)

well .. I will wait for more opinions before I will buy something ....
where r all the mods ?

it used to be so much more lively here ..
I barely see new topics :(

(in reply to SithTracy)

quote:

where r all the mods ?

Good Question.  Wish I had an answer... though, it is the summer in the northern hemisphere.

(in reply to major9686)

quote:

ORIGINAL: SithTracy

quote:

where r all the mods ?

Good Question.  Wish I had an answer... though, it is the summer in the northern hemisphere.

dont even remind me that :(
Im melting here ..

(in reply to SithTracy)

I'm here daily

(in reply to major9686)

Hey,

An old sound driver can cause applications (especially newer games) to freeze, crash or simply not play sound. These issues are notoriously difficult to resolve as there can be many other causes; but troubleshooting should certainly include updating the sound driver. The following steps will show how to do this.

1. Get the exact model number of your sound card. This is important as a slight change in the model number can mean a great difference in the driver requirement.

2. Go to the sound card manufacturer's website. The native driver is usually your best choice if one is available for your operating system. The sound card maker will usually know how to make the sound card work for the operating system rather than the other way around. Also, the drivers on the sound card website will frequently be available as a self-installing executable so all you have to do is run the installation program. If a native driver is not available for your operating system, search the operating system's website for a driver compatible with your sound card.

3. Install the new driver for your sound card if the driver package did not install itself automatically. If you are using Microsoft Windows XP, click the "Start" button, then "Control Panel" and open the "System" icon in the Control Panel.

4. Select the "Hardware" tab and click the "Device Manager" button. Expand the "Sound, Video and Game Controllers" line item, double click the sound card and select the "Driver" tab. Click the "Update Driver..." button and select the radio button labeled "Install the software automatically (Recommended)." Follow the prompts from there and select "Finish" at the end.

5. Select the radio button labeled "Install From A List Or Specific Location (Advanced)" if the Hardware Update Wizard is unable to find your new driver. In this case, you will need to know the exact location of the driver.

Did it work? If not, it is recommended you a driver update tool.

Everyone who has ever used a personal computer may suffer from the perils of driver failure. DriverTuner can help you fix missing, outdated, or corrupted driver issues on your PC in just a few minutes! It can help you update the old drivers with the latest drivers for your computer to fix many reliability and performance issues and solve all sorts of hardware and software compatibility problems. It will boost your PC and maximize your PC performance!
Read More>>http://www.official-drivers.com/

(in reply to major9686)

To test my sound card, Many sound cards or sound processors come with software that you can use to configure and test sound card settings. Check the information that came with your sound card or computer.

(in reply to Lavenia961)