How to use 5.1 channel speakers on old motherboard?

[Diablo]

I'm planning to buy a new computer soon and a 5.1 channel speakers are also on the list and I'm gonna buy that 1st. So, I wanna use those on my old computer. But the problem is my old motherboard has supports only 2.1 channel.

I found these cheap solutions. Please tell me if they're any good.

http://www.addictivetips.com/windows-tips/how-to-connect-51-speakers-to-your-computer/

http://www.ebay.in/itm/USB-Sound-Card-Adapter-Audio-Input-Output-5-1-Channel-/260906534948?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_203&hash=item3cbf3dc824

Btw my new motherboard also does not support 5.1

[ZeroPenguins]

You probably already know this:

Yes those USB sound card do work, but I'm not sure about the quality of the sound, hopefully it's not as bad. It is still pretty crap even when comparing to a onboard sound card since it goes over the usb port which is a lot slower. Might be better if you got a PCI soundcard, well that is if you want better sound quality.

Edit:

Wha? Your new one doesn't support 5.1, now that is a big bummer, might as well buy yourself a good soundcard of pick another motherboard.

[RikuoAmero]

That USB device you have linked looks like a piece of shit, pardon my French. It's not even a brand I've heard of. For one thing, its far too small to have ports for a 5.1 speaker set. At the absolute best, at that size, it would connect to a set of headphones and use Dolby processing to simulate surround sound on your stereo headphones (and that's if it HAS Dolby in there, I highly doubt a no-name company that made that thing would be able to afford Dolby licensing).

Basically, if you're not willing to swap out your motherboard, get a sound card. You'll have to tell us what motherboard you're using (or the model of your computer, and please don't just say Dell or Toshiba, that would be the company, I'll need the model number). Since your motherboard is clearly ancient, you won't be able to use modern PCI-E x1 sound cards, so you'll have to go with something a bit older.

If you just use the three sound ports you already have, it won't be real 5.1 surround sound. Your computer can't process that and even if it could, three analog cables wouldn't have enough bandwidth to transmit the data from your computer to the speakers. That's why 5.1 speakers have you connect five cables, to get all the data from here to there.

[ZeroPenguins]

^Well actually he only has one, just the green one. The other two are digital input and mic, lol so in reality you only got 2.0. And when did 5.1 speakers needed 5 cables? Unless you are talking about the other cables that connect to my Logitech sub-woofer (Logitech X-530).

[Diablo]

@RikuoAmero My Motherboard does have a PCI-e x1

I've decided to buy a sound card. These are my options.

Creative sound blaster 5.1 vx pci sound card

Asus XONAR-DG Sound Card

As you can see Xonar is expensive than Creative (almost double). So do you guys think it's worth it. I don't have any technical knowledge about Sound devices. But I do have a good ear for sound.

[ZeroPenguins]

Asus XONAR-DG Sound Card wins, it is a lot better than that creative sound blast. Is it worth the money? Can't really say, but you will notice the difference if it was an integrated against a Xonar-DG. I suppose you can notice a little difference between the Creative and Asus one. Asus would have a better sound quality. I say go with Asus since you can use it for future upgrades since it is better than most integrated sound cards.