If I purchase a home theatre speaker system with an included reciever, can I use it with my PC?

Question

My sound card is integrated. It's a 7.1 Realtek audio integrated card. I'm pretty sure there's no digital input output option, only a couple of 3mm jacks.

By the way, my computer's model is the Dell Inspiron 530.

What wires and/or plugs would I need to make this possible?

Answer 1

I had the same problem you did a while back. If you don't feel like putting money down for a new sound card, but three 3.5mm to RCA cables and hook it up to your receivers Multi Ch Input. This works pretty decently, I always listen to music and it sounds awesome. If you don't know, The Multi Ch Input has six RCA inputs, one for every channel. Use the Green, orange and black outputs from your computer, or find out which ones output what speakers and Bam, cheap surround sound from your computer. This will only work if you have the Multi Ch Input, so if you don't the only other option would be to upmix it from 2.0 to 5.1 through your reciever. It would work, but not as good. Hope this helps.

Answer 2

On the 530 with only the integrated card, you're right - I think there are only 6x 3.5mm minjack sockets. Unfortunately, none of these will give you quite what you want. They're fine for connecting a powered speaker package, but the one thing missing is a digital output.

If you're investing in a good home theatre system, I'd recommend getting a new sound card as well. Optical, digital or S/PDIF are output options you're looking for on the card, depending on what the receiver inputs are of course. Just ensure you have a match and buy the appropriate cable.

This will also mean you have really simple connectivity from you PC to your home theatre system, and potentially better sound quality anyway for two reasons:

1) you're dealing with a digital signal rather than analogue

2) the card may also have better sound performance (S/N or signal-to-noise ratio) than the integrated card as it's one step removed from motherboard electronics. This is important if you're investing in a good receiver and speakers - if you start with a good signal, you'll get a better sound.