Dell 9300 + Logitech X-530 help

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BobDoleX

New Member
Im not very familiar with the whole audio and computer thing so please excuse me if I dont know all the terminology for everything.

I recently recieved the Logitech X-530 5.1 surround sound speaker system with 2 front, 2 back, 1 middle speaker and a sub woofer. It has three input jacks that should plug into the computer.

The problem is that my Dell 9300 doesn't have the capabilities for the three jacks, so i was forced to buy 2 splitters which allowed me to plug all of them in. Now, all the speakers work, but I'm fairly sure it's not in surround sound. I'm guessing my computer has a descent sound card because the 9300 was described as an entertainment powerhouse.

My question is if there anyway i can recieve the full effect of my speakers without spending much more money or is what I did the best solution to my problem? Thanks
 
Try to see if all of the plugs will go into the subwoofer, and then if just 1 cable from the woofer go into the computer. I'm pretty sure that is how a lot of 5.1 surround systems work.
 
I dont believe that's how it works.

This is how its currently set up and it seems natural. All 5 speakers hook up to the subwoofer, but on the front right speaker (which controls volume and power), there is an extra cord that comes out of it which has the three jacks which are supposed to plug into the computer.

If it would help, I can provide pictures of how it's currently set up...
 
BobDoleX said:
Im not very familiar with the whole audio and computer thing so please excuse me if I dont know all the terminology for everything.

I recently recieved the Logitech X-530 5.1 surround sound speaker system with 2 front, 2 back, 1 middle speaker and a sub woofer. It has three input jacks that should plug into the computer.

The problem is that my Dell 9300 doesn't have the capabilities for the three jacks, so i was forced to buy 2 splitters which allowed me to plug all of them in. Now, all the speakers work, but I'm fairly sure it's not in surround sound. I'm guessing my computer has a descent sound card because the 9300 was described as an entertainment powerhouse.

My question is if there anyway i can recieve the full effect of my speakers without spending much more money or is what I did the best solution to my problem? Thanks
Click to expand...

yeah, you're def. not getting the full potential out of the speakers with the splitter. how many ports are available for audio? i'm guessing 3, one for a mic, one for line-in, and one for line-out. this would likely mean your computer uses onboard audio, which means your sound card is built into your motherboard. do your connections look like the ones highlighted in the photo in this link? is it in the same area, or is it on one of the horizontal slots below it? http://www.tigerdirect.com/images/itemdetails/desktop-cables/mini-audio-port.jpg
 
for ports, i only have two. I have a headphones one and a mic one. I also have "IEEE 1394 integrated - DVI, VGA, and S-Video, NO Serial & Parallel Ports", but i'd doubt those would apply here.

And, the connections that are used to hook up to the computer do look like that.

I did a little testing with them, when pluggin in any of the connections, the subwoofer works and individually, they control the front, rear and center speakers, if that helps...
 
BobDoleX said:
for ports, i only have two. I have a headphones one and a mic one. I also have "IEEE 1394 integrated - DVI, VGA, and S-Video, NO Serial & Parallel Ports", but i'd doubt those would apply here.

And, the connections that are used to hook up to the computer do look like that.

I did a little testing with them, when pluggin in any of the connections, the subwoofer works and individually, they control the front, rear and center speakers, if that helps...
Click to expand...

yeah, you need a new sound card. how much are you willing to spend (if any)?
 
BobDoleX said:
Probably around 20/30 bucks, can i get something good for that amount?

I've also been lookin for stuff on ebay. Is it something like this.... Used Creative USB Sound Blaster External Sound Card?

Also, i found these USB sound cards (USB External 5.1 Channel Sound Card w/Mic Jack S07). Will those do the job as well?

And is there something specific i should look for in a sound card in order to work with my system/computer? Thanks
Click to expand...

i don't know much about the lower end sound blaster cards, but here's one for 40 bucks. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16829102176

i can guarantee it'll be better than what you have now, but i don't know how good the card actually is...
 
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I dont think the sound blaster u linked me to would work because i believe that's made for a pc.

an internal one would be easier, but it is a laptop so i'm guessing that upgrades to it are somewhat limited. Unless installing an internal card is fairly easy, i'd rather go with an external.
 
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BobDoleX said:
I dont think the sound blaster u linked me to would work because i believe that's made for a pc.

an internal one would be easier, but it is a laptop so i'm guessing that upgrades to it are somewhat limited. Unless installing an internal card is fairly easy, i'd rather go with an external.
Click to expand...

yeah, i didn't know you had a laptop..
 
Beyond said:
yeah, i didn't know you had a laptop..
Click to expand...

sorry, i probably should've mentioned that before to clear up some confusion. i have looked at some pci (i think so) sound cards but they too have 2 inputs like mine. I've heard somewhere that I could possibly convert the microphone port into another usable port for the stereo? Is that true?
 
Yea you cannot get true 5.1 surround sound by using a spliter as the speakers need to get the frequency for the correct channels. Soundblaster Live such as this http://www.creative.com/products/product.asp?category=1&subcategory=206&product=10315 would work perfectly for you and is fairly cheap at around a $35. value (where I shop). I used to have those speakers and had them originaly running with a Soundblaster Live! 5.1 and later a Soundblaster Audigy 2 value and it worked great with both cards.

Edit:

Oh my bad.. you have a lappy duh sorry ;).
 
its ok, i've set it up and i guess it's not too bad. its no the surround sound effect i was looking for, but its still pretty good. thanks
 
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