System Name | Kursah's Gaming Rig 2018 (2022 Upgrade) - Ryzen+ Edition | Gaming Laptop (Lenovo Legion 5i Pro 2022) |
---|---|
Processor | R7 5800X @ Stock | i7 12700H @ Stock |
Motherboard | Asus ROG Strix X370-F Gaming BIOS 6203| Legion 5i Pro NM-E231 |
Cooling | Noctua NH-U14S Push-Pull + NT-H1 | Stock Cooling |
Memory | TEAMGROUP T-Force Vulcan Z 32GB (2x16) DDR4 4000 @ 3600 18-20-20-42 1.35v | 32GB DDR5 4800 (2x16) |
Video Card(s) | Palit GeForce RTX 4070 JetStream 12GB | CPU-based Intel Iris XE + RTX 3070 8GB 150W |
Storage | 4TB SP UD90 NVME, 960GB SATA SSD, 2TB HDD | 1TB Samsung OEM NVME SSD + 4TB Crucial P3 Plus NVME SSD |
Display(s) | Acer 28" 4K VG280K x2 | 16" 2560x1600 built-in |
Case | Corsair 600C - Stock Fans on Low | Stock Metal/Plastic |
Audio Device(s) | Aune T1 mk1 > AKG K553 Pro + JVC HA-RX 700 (Equalizer APO + PeaceUI) | Bluetooth Earbuds (BX29) |
Power Supply | EVGA 750G2 Modular + APC Back-UPS Pro 1500 | 300W OEM (heavy use) or Lenovo Legion C135W GAN (light) |
Mouse | Logitech G502 | Logitech M330 |
Keyboard | HyperX Alloy Core RGB | Built in Keyboard (Lenovo laptop KB FTW) |
Software | Windows 11 Pro x64 | Windows 11 Home x64 |
System Name | Kursah's Gaming Rig 2018 (2022 Upgrade) - Ryzen+ Edition | Gaming Laptop (Lenovo Legion 5i Pro 2022) |
---|---|
Processor | R7 5800X @ Stock | i7 12700H @ Stock |
Motherboard | Asus ROG Strix X370-F Gaming BIOS 6203| Legion 5i Pro NM-E231 |
Cooling | Noctua NH-U14S Push-Pull + NT-H1 | Stock Cooling |
Memory | TEAMGROUP T-Force Vulcan Z 32GB (2x16) DDR4 4000 @ 3600 18-20-20-42 1.35v | 32GB DDR5 4800 (2x16) |
Video Card(s) | Palit GeForce RTX 4070 JetStream 12GB | CPU-based Intel Iris XE + RTX 3070 8GB 150W |
Storage | 4TB SP UD90 NVME, 960GB SATA SSD, 2TB HDD | 1TB Samsung OEM NVME SSD + 4TB Crucial P3 Plus NVME SSD |
Display(s) | Acer 28" 4K VG280K x2 | 16" 2560x1600 built-in |
Case | Corsair 600C - Stock Fans on Low | Stock Metal/Plastic |
Audio Device(s) | Aune T1 mk1 > AKG K553 Pro + JVC HA-RX 700 (Equalizer APO + PeaceUI) | Bluetooth Earbuds (BX29) |
Power Supply | EVGA 750G2 Modular + APC Back-UPS Pro 1500 | 300W OEM (heavy use) or Lenovo Legion C135W GAN (light) |
Mouse | Logitech G502 | Logitech M330 |
Keyboard | HyperX Alloy Core RGB | Built in Keyboard (Lenovo laptop KB FTW) |
Software | Windows 11 Pro x64 | Windows 11 Home x64 |
System Name | BY-2021 |
---|---|
Processor | AMD Ryzen 7 5800X (65w eco profile) |
Motherboard | MSI B550 Gaming Plus |
Cooling | Scythe Mugen (rev 5) |
Memory | 2 x Kingston HyperX DDR4-3200 32 GiB |
Video Card(s) | AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT |
Storage | Samsung 980 Pro, Seagate Exos X12 TB 7200 RPM |
Display(s) | Nixeus NX-EDG274K (3840x2160@144 DP) + Samsung SyncMaster 906BW (1440x900@60 HDMI-DVI) |
Case | Coolermaster HAF 932 w/ USB 3.0 5.25" bay |
Audio Device(s) | Realtek ALC1150, Micca OriGen+ |
Power Supply | Enermax Platimax 850w |
Mouse | SteelSeries Sensei RAW |
Keyboard | Tesoro Excalibur |
Software | Windows 10 Home 64-bit |
Benchmark Scores | Faster than the tortoise; slower than the hare. |
System Name | Juliette // HTPC |
---|---|
Processor | Intel i7 9700K // AMD Ryzen 5 5600G |
Motherboard | ASUS Prime Z390X-A // ASRock B550 ITX-AC |
Cooling | Noctua NH-U12 Black // Stock |
Memory | Corsair DDR4 3600 32gb //G.SKILL Trident Z Royal Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 3600 |
Video Card(s) | ASUS RTX4070 OC// GTX 1650 |
Storage | Samsung 970 EVO NVMe 1Tb, Intel 665p Series M.2 2280 1TB // Samsung 1Tb SSD |
Display(s) | ASUS VP348QGL 34" Quad HD 3440 x 1440 // 55" LG 4K SK8000 Series |
Case | Seasonic SYNCRO Q7// Silverstone Granada GD05 |
Audio Device(s) | Focusrite Scarlett 4i4 // HDMI to Samsung HW-R650 sound bar |
Power Supply | Seasonic SYNCRO 750 W // CORSAIR Vengeance 650M |
Mouse | Cooler Master MM710 53G |
Keyboard | Logitech 920-009300 G512 SE |
Software | Windows 10 Pro // Windows 10 Pro |
Which is better?
I'm looking for a device that will provide me with an optical output for my HTPC, so I could plug it to my reciever.
Processor | Ryzen 5900X |
---|---|
Motherboard | ASUS Prime X470 Pro |
Cooling | Arctic liquid freezer II 240 |
Memory | 2 x 16 Gb Gskill Trident Z 3600 Mhz |
Video Card(s) | MSI Ventus 3060 Ti OC |
Storage | Samsung 960 EVO 500 Gb / 860 EVO 1 Tb |
Display(s) | Dell S2719DGF |
Case | Lian Li Lancool II Mesh |
Audio Device(s) | Soundblaster Z |
Power Supply | Corsair RM850x |
Mouse | Logitech G703 |
Keyboard | Logitech G513 |
Software | Win 11 |
System Name | BY-2021 |
---|---|
Processor | AMD Ryzen 7 5800X (65w eco profile) |
Motherboard | MSI B550 Gaming Plus |
Cooling | Scythe Mugen (rev 5) |
Memory | 2 x Kingston HyperX DDR4-3200 32 GiB |
Video Card(s) | AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT |
Storage | Samsung 980 Pro, Seagate Exos X12 TB 7200 RPM |
Display(s) | Nixeus NX-EDG274K (3840x2160@144 DP) + Samsung SyncMaster 906BW (1440x900@60 HDMI-DVI) |
Case | Coolermaster HAF 932 w/ USB 3.0 5.25" bay |
Audio Device(s) | Realtek ALC1150, Micca OriGen+ |
Power Supply | Enermax Platimax 850w |
Mouse | SteelSeries Sensei RAW |
Keyboard | Tesoro Excalibur |
Software | Windows 10 Home 64-bit |
Benchmark Scores | Faster than the tortoise; slower than the hare. |
USB can be electrically isolated from the computer while the sound card is in the thick of it. Additionally, DACs run cool; computers are hot.A USB DAC will give you the same digital signal as a sound card.
System Name | Starlifter :: Dragonfly |
---|---|
Processor | i7 2600k 4.4GHz :: i5 10400 |
Motherboard | ASUS P8P67 Pro :: ASUS Prime H570-Plus |
Cooling | Cryorig M9 :: Stock |
Memory | 4x4GB DDR3 2133 :: 2x8GB DDR4 2400 |
Video Card(s) | PNY GTX1070 :: Integrated UHD 630 |
Storage | Crucial MX500 1TB, 2x1TB Seagate RAID 0 :: Mushkin Enhanced 60GB SSD, 3x4TB Seagate HDD RAID5 |
Display(s) | Onn 165hz 1080p :: Acer 1080p |
Case | Antec SOHO 1030B :: Old White Full Tower |
Audio Device(s) | Creative X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Pro - Bose Companion 2 Series III :: None |
Power Supply | FSP Hydro GE 550w :: EVGA Supernova 550 |
Software | Windows 10 Pro - Plex Server on Dragonfly |
Benchmark Scores | >9000 |
System Name | Starlifter :: Dragonfly |
---|---|
Processor | i7 2600k 4.4GHz :: i5 10400 |
Motherboard | ASUS P8P67 Pro :: ASUS Prime H570-Plus |
Cooling | Cryorig M9 :: Stock |
Memory | 4x4GB DDR3 2133 :: 2x8GB DDR4 2400 |
Video Card(s) | PNY GTX1070 :: Integrated UHD 630 |
Storage | Crucial MX500 1TB, 2x1TB Seagate RAID 0 :: Mushkin Enhanced 60GB SSD, 3x4TB Seagate HDD RAID5 |
Display(s) | Onn 165hz 1080p :: Acer 1080p |
Case | Antec SOHO 1030B :: Old White Full Tower |
Audio Device(s) | Creative X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Pro - Bose Companion 2 Series III :: None |
Power Supply | FSP Hydro GE 550w :: EVGA Supernova 550 |
Software | Windows 10 Pro - Plex Server on Dragonfly |
Benchmark Scores | >9000 |
System Name | Juliette // HTPC |
---|---|
Processor | Intel i7 9700K // AMD Ryzen 5 5600G |
Motherboard | ASUS Prime Z390X-A // ASRock B550 ITX-AC |
Cooling | Noctua NH-U12 Black // Stock |
Memory | Corsair DDR4 3600 32gb //G.SKILL Trident Z Royal Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 3600 |
Video Card(s) | ASUS RTX4070 OC// GTX 1650 |
Storage | Samsung 970 EVO NVMe 1Tb, Intel 665p Series M.2 2280 1TB // Samsung 1Tb SSD |
Display(s) | ASUS VP348QGL 34" Quad HD 3440 x 1440 // 55" LG 4K SK8000 Series |
Case | Seasonic SYNCRO Q7// Silverstone Granada GD05 |
Audio Device(s) | Focusrite Scarlett 4i4 // HDMI to Samsung HW-R650 sound bar |
Power Supply | Seasonic SYNCRO 750 W // CORSAIR Vengeance 650M |
Mouse | Cooler Master MM710 53G |
Keyboard | Logitech 920-009300 G512 SE |
Software | Windows 10 Pro // Windows 10 Pro |
System Name | Veral |
---|---|
Processor | 5950x |
Motherboard | MSI MEG x570 Ace |
Cooling | Corsair H150i Elite |
Memory | 4x16GB G.Skill TridentZ |
Video Card(s) | Powercolor 7900XTX Red Devil |
Storage | Crucial P5 Plus 1TB, Samsung 980 1TB, Teamgroup MP34 4TB |
Display(s) | Acer Nitro XZ342CK Pbmiiphx + 2x AOC 2425W |
Case | Fractal Design Meshify Lite 2 |
Audio Device(s) | Blue Yeti + SteelSeries Arctis 5 / Samsung HW-T550 |
Power Supply | Corsair HX850 |
Mouse | Corsair Nightsword |
Keyboard | Corsair K55 |
VR HMD | HP Reverb G2 |
Software | Windows 11 Professional |
Benchmark Scores | PEBCAK |
Ran that, sounded worse than my onboard audio from my motherboard.asus xonar essence ST, STX or ZXR + premuim headphones
for clearest sound quality
System Name | Ryzen Reflection |
---|---|
Processor | AMD Ryzen 9 5900x |
Motherboard | Gigabyte X570S Aorus Master |
Cooling | 2x EK PE360 | TechN AM4 AMD Block Black | EK Quantum Vector Trinity GPU Nickel + Plexi |
Memory | Teamgroup T-Force Xtreem 2x16GB B-Die 3600 @ 14-14-14-28-42-288-2T 1.45v |
Video Card(s) | Zotac AMP HoloBlack RTX 3080Ti 12G | 950mV 1950Mhz |
Storage | WD SN850 500GB (OS) | Samsung 980 Pro 1TB (Games_1) | Samsung 970 Evo 1TB (Games_2) |
Display(s) | Asus XG27AQM 240Hz G-Sync Fast-IPS | Gigabyte M27Q-P 165Hz 1440P IPS | Asus 24" IPS (portrait mode) |
Case | Lian Li PC-011D XL | Custom cables by Cablemodz |
Audio Device(s) | FiiO K7 | Sennheiser HD650 + Beyerdynamic FOX Mic |
Power Supply | Seasonic Prime Ultra Platinum 850 |
Mouse | Razer Viper v2 Pro |
Keyboard | Razer Huntsman Tournament Edition |
Software | Windows 11 Pro 64-Bit |
asus xonar essence ST, STX or ZXR + premuim headphones
for clearest sound quality
System Name | BY-2021 |
---|---|
Processor | AMD Ryzen 7 5800X (65w eco profile) |
Motherboard | MSI B550 Gaming Plus |
Cooling | Scythe Mugen (rev 5) |
Memory | 2 x Kingston HyperX DDR4-3200 32 GiB |
Video Card(s) | AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT |
Storage | Samsung 980 Pro, Seagate Exos X12 TB 7200 RPM |
Display(s) | Nixeus NX-EDG274K (3840x2160@144 DP) + Samsung SyncMaster 906BW (1440x900@60 HDMI-DVI) |
Case | Coolermaster HAF 932 w/ USB 3.0 5.25" bay |
Audio Device(s) | Realtek ALC1150, Micca OriGen+ |
Power Supply | Enermax Platimax 850w |
Mouse | SteelSeries Sensei RAW |
Keyboard | Tesoro Excalibur |
Software | Windows 10 Home 64-bit |
Benchmark Scores | Faster than the tortoise; slower than the hare. |
There is sound processing in the computer, yes. For example, if you enable "All Speakers," the CPU is applying the effect before sending the PCM wave signal.Sound cards are, or at least, were, able to offload the sound processing from the CPU over to the sound card. In the case of SPDIF, or HDMI, where the digital signal is passed along to an external receiver, there shouldn't be any sound processing on the computer at all (barring any effects that may be present on the computer, like CMSS, crystalizer, etc), right?
The computer encodes it and the receiver decodes it. The above still applies.What if you're passing along Dolby/DTS audio to the receiver? Does the computer decode that, or is it done on the receiver?
System Name | Pioneer |
---|---|
Processor | Ryzen R9 7950X |
Motherboard | GIGABYTE Aorus Elite X670 AX |
Cooling | Noctua NH-D15 + A whole lotta Sunon and Corsair Maglev blower fans... |
Memory | 64GB (4x 16GB) G.Skill Flare X5 @ DDR5-6000 CL30 |
Video Card(s) | XFX RX 7900 XTX Speedster Merc 310 |
Storage | 2x Crucial P5 Plus 2TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSDs |
Display(s) | 55" LG 55" B9 OLED 4K Display |
Case | Thermaltake Core X31 |
Audio Device(s) | TOSLINK->Schiit Modi MB->Asgard 2 DAC Amp->AKG Pro K712 Headphones or HDMI->B9 OLED |
Power Supply | FSP Hydro Ti Pro 850W |
Mouse | Logitech G305 Lightspeed Wireless |
Keyboard | WASD Code v3 with Cherry Green keyswitches |
Software | Windows 11 Enterprise (legit), Gentoo Linux x64 |
System Name | BY-2021 |
---|---|
Processor | AMD Ryzen 7 5800X (65w eco profile) |
Motherboard | MSI B550 Gaming Plus |
Cooling | Scythe Mugen (rev 5) |
Memory | 2 x Kingston HyperX DDR4-3200 32 GiB |
Video Card(s) | AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT |
Storage | Samsung 980 Pro, Seagate Exos X12 TB 7200 RPM |
Display(s) | Nixeus NX-EDG274K (3840x2160@144 DP) + Samsung SyncMaster 906BW (1440x900@60 HDMI-DVI) |
Case | Coolermaster HAF 932 w/ USB 3.0 5.25" bay |
Audio Device(s) | Realtek ALC1150, Micca OriGen+ |
Power Supply | Enermax Platimax 850w |
Mouse | SteelSeries Sensei RAW |
Keyboard | Tesoro Excalibur |
Software | Windows 10 Home 64-bit |
Benchmark Scores | Faster than the tortoise; slower than the hare. |
System Name | HELLSTAR |
---|---|
Processor | AMD RYZEN 9 5950X |
Motherboard | ASUS Strix X570-E |
Cooling | 2x 360 + 280 rads. 3x Gentle Typhoons, 3x Phanteks T30, 2x TT T140 . EK-Quantum Momentum Monoblock. |
Memory | 4x8GB G.SKILL Trident Z RGB F4-4133C19D-16GTZR 14-16-12-30-44 |
Video Card(s) | Sapphire Pulse RX 7900XTX + under waterblock. |
Storage | Optane 900P[W11] + WD BLACK SN850X 4TB + 750 EVO 500GB + 1TB 980PRO[FEDORA] |
Display(s) | Philips PHL BDM3270 + Acer XV242Y |
Case | Lian Li O11 Dynamic EVO |
Audio Device(s) | Sound Blaster ZxR |
Power Supply | Fractal Design Newton R3 1000W |
Mouse | Razer Basilisk |
Keyboard | Razer BlackWidow V3 - Yellow Switch |
Software | FEDORA 39 / Windows 11 insider |
The key with high end headphones is the amperage being fed to them. I don't know what type of amp is in those sound cards, but an external amp is usually the best way to go like a FiiO.
System Name | BY-2021 |
---|---|
Processor | AMD Ryzen 7 5800X (65w eco profile) |
Motherboard | MSI B550 Gaming Plus |
Cooling | Scythe Mugen (rev 5) |
Memory | 2 x Kingston HyperX DDR4-3200 32 GiB |
Video Card(s) | AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT |
Storage | Samsung 980 Pro, Seagate Exos X12 TB 7200 RPM |
Display(s) | Nixeus NX-EDG274K (3840x2160@144 DP) + Samsung SyncMaster 906BW (1440x900@60 HDMI-DVI) |
Case | Coolermaster HAF 932 w/ USB 3.0 5.25" bay |
Audio Device(s) | Realtek ALC1150, Micca OriGen+ |
Power Supply | Enermax Platimax 850w |
Mouse | SteelSeries Sensei RAW |
Keyboard | Tesoro Excalibur |
Software | Windows 10 Home 64-bit |
Benchmark Scores | Faster than the tortoise; slower than the hare. |
System Name | HELLSTAR |
---|---|
Processor | AMD RYZEN 9 5950X |
Motherboard | ASUS Strix X570-E |
Cooling | 2x 360 + 280 rads. 3x Gentle Typhoons, 3x Phanteks T30, 2x TT T140 . EK-Quantum Momentum Monoblock. |
Memory | 4x8GB G.SKILL Trident Z RGB F4-4133C19D-16GTZR 14-16-12-30-44 |
Video Card(s) | Sapphire Pulse RX 7900XTX + under waterblock. |
Storage | Optane 900P[W11] + WD BLACK SN850X 4TB + 750 EVO 500GB + 1TB 980PRO[FEDORA] |
Display(s) | Philips PHL BDM3270 + Acer XV242Y |
Case | Lian Li O11 Dynamic EVO |
Audio Device(s) | Sound Blaster ZxR |
Power Supply | Fractal Design Newton R3 1000W |
Mouse | Razer Basilisk |
Keyboard | Razer BlackWidow V3 - Yellow Switch |
Software | FEDORA 39 / Windows 11 insider |
I can't recommend sound cards anymore.
Personally, I prefer stereo headphones for gaming. They tell you what you need to know.
System Name | BY-2021 |
---|---|
Processor | AMD Ryzen 7 5800X (65w eco profile) |
Motherboard | MSI B550 Gaming Plus |
Cooling | Scythe Mugen (rev 5) |
Memory | 2 x Kingston HyperX DDR4-3200 32 GiB |
Video Card(s) | AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT |
Storage | Samsung 980 Pro, Seagate Exos X12 TB 7200 RPM |
Display(s) | Nixeus NX-EDG274K (3840x2160@144 DP) + Samsung SyncMaster 906BW (1440x900@60 HDMI-DVI) |
Case | Coolermaster HAF 932 w/ USB 3.0 5.25" bay |
Audio Device(s) | Realtek ALC1150, Micca OriGen+ |
Power Supply | Enermax Platimax 850w |
Mouse | SteelSeries Sensei RAW |
Keyboard | Tesoro Excalibur |
Software | Windows 10 Home 64-bit |
Benchmark Scores | Faster than the tortoise; slower than the hare. |
System Name | Pioneer |
---|---|
Processor | Ryzen R9 7950X |
Motherboard | GIGABYTE Aorus Elite X670 AX |
Cooling | Noctua NH-D15 + A whole lotta Sunon and Corsair Maglev blower fans... |
Memory | 64GB (4x 16GB) G.Skill Flare X5 @ DDR5-6000 CL30 |
Video Card(s) | XFX RX 7900 XTX Speedster Merc 310 |
Storage | 2x Crucial P5 Plus 2TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSDs |
Display(s) | 55" LG 55" B9 OLED 4K Display |
Case | Thermaltake Core X31 |
Audio Device(s) | TOSLINK->Schiit Modi MB->Asgard 2 DAC Amp->AKG Pro K712 Headphones or HDMI->B9 OLED |
Power Supply | FSP Hydro Ti Pro 850W |
Mouse | Logitech G305 Lightspeed Wireless |
Keyboard | WASD Code v3 with Cherry Green keyswitches |
Software | Windows 11 Enterprise (legit), Gentoo Linux x64 |
Obvious noise in onboard audio is not "normal."
System Name | HELLSTAR |
---|---|
Processor | AMD RYZEN 9 5950X |
Motherboard | ASUS Strix X570-E |
Cooling | 2x 360 + 280 rads. 3x Gentle Typhoons, 3x Phanteks T30, 2x TT T140 . EK-Quantum Momentum Monoblock. |
Memory | 4x8GB G.SKILL Trident Z RGB F4-4133C19D-16GTZR 14-16-12-30-44 |
Video Card(s) | Sapphire Pulse RX 7900XTX + under waterblock. |
Storage | Optane 900P[W11] + WD BLACK SN850X 4TB + 750 EVO 500GB + 1TB 980PRO[FEDORA] |
Display(s) | Philips PHL BDM3270 + Acer XV242Y |
Case | Lian Li O11 Dynamic EVO |
Audio Device(s) | Sound Blaster ZxR |
Power Supply | Fractal Design Newton R3 1000W |
Mouse | Razer Basilisk |
Keyboard | Razer BlackWidow V3 - Yellow Switch |
Software | FEDORA 39 / Windows 11 insider |
It's not really "obvious" but it's hardly ignorable once you hear it at the same time.
Hmmm... Now I have to debate if a little hiss in my onboard audio is worth an RMA to gigabyte.. Thanks... I guess.
System Name | Pioneer |
---|---|
Processor | Ryzen R9 7950X |
Motherboard | GIGABYTE Aorus Elite X670 AX |
Cooling | Noctua NH-D15 + A whole lotta Sunon and Corsair Maglev blower fans... |
Memory | 64GB (4x 16GB) G.Skill Flare X5 @ DDR5-6000 CL30 |
Video Card(s) | XFX RX 7900 XTX Speedster Merc 310 |
Storage | 2x Crucial P5 Plus 2TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSDs |
Display(s) | 55" LG 55" B9 OLED 4K Display |
Case | Thermaltake Core X31 |
Audio Device(s) | TOSLINK->Schiit Modi MB->Asgard 2 DAC Amp->AKG Pro K712 Headphones or HDMI->B9 OLED |
Power Supply | FSP Hydro Ti Pro 850W |
Mouse | Logitech G305 Lightspeed Wireless |
Keyboard | WASD Code v3 with Cherry Green keyswitches |
Software | Windows 11 Enterprise (legit), Gentoo Linux x64 |
I bet the hiss is either unmuted MIC input. Or poor cables, inproper cable wiring (ground shield only from one side). Very high gain second pre-amplifier stage.