Using an External Sound card

[DarkDavil]

Hello all, as my internal laptop sound card doesn't support SPDIF out - i've decided to go with an external sound card and through the external sound card - hook it to my receiver for 5.1/7.1 sound.
My question is how is it that i would connect my external sound card to my receiver.
Say i was to get this
One
Which cable would i use to hook that to my receiver?
And would that ensure that i'm getting 5.1 surround sound on my surround sound system?
Is that a good external card?

And to top it all off - could anyone recommend a good external sound card that supports 7.1 out?(I won't mind with a 5.1, but my system has 10 speakers - so i support 7.1 and beyond!)

 

[not so gray matter]

I'd recommend the Sound Blaster X-FI 5.1 USB.
Granted, it's not 7.1, but it's a really good external sound card. Furthermore, you're not going to find many external sound cards that are 7.1 unless you look into actual professional sound gear. Not to mention, most of the external sound cards that are labeled "7.1" are actually virtual 7.1...

Sound Blaster X-Fi Surround 5.1 | Creative Labs Online Store

How it works:

You connect the sound card to the laptop via USB.
Connect All Sound Cables to Subwoofer in my case (Left, Right, Rear, Center/Sub)
Connect Subwoofer to all Speakers
Package comes w/ a 2 prong male RGB to female 3.5mm converter so you can connect a 3.5mm speaker cable to the Left/Right connections.

In the case of the SB X-Fi USB 5.1, you should be able to connect via the optical cable and/or the regular cables for 5.1 sound

I've been using this card for a year now and I love it. It sounds much better than my built in sound. Currently I've got it supplying sound to a set of Logitech X-540 speakers. I also have my Sennheiser PC 151 headphones hooked up. One thing I like about this sound card is the fact that when I plug in my headphone's jack it automatically turns off the output to the speakers. It also automatically turns them back on when I unplug. You can leave the mic jack plugged in all the time, these jacks aren't in the picture below, they're on the side [Headphones, Mic In, Line In]

 

[DarkDavil]

I'd recommend the Sound Blaster X-FI 5.1 USB.
Granted, it's not 7.1, but it's a really good external sound card. Furthermore, you're not going to find many external sound cards that are 7.1 unless you look into actual professional sound gear. Not to mention, most of the external sound cards that are labeled "7.1" are actually virtual 7.1...

Sound Blaster X-Fi Surround 5.1 | Creative Labs Online Store

How it works:

You connect the sound card to the laptop via USB.
Connect All Sound Cables to Subwoofer in my case (Left, Right, Rear, Center/Sub)
Connect Subwoofer to all Speakers
Package comes w/ a 2 prong male RGB to female 3.5mm converter so you can connect a 3.5mm speaker cable to the Left/Right connections.

In the case of the SB X-Fi USB 5.1, you should be able to connect via the optical cable and/or the regular cables for 5.1 sound

I've been using this card for a year now and I love it. It sounds much better than my built in sound. Currently I've got it supplying sound to a set of Logitech X-540 speakers. I also have my Sennheiser PC 151 headphones hooked up. One thing I like about this sound card is the fact that when I plug in my headphone's jack it automatically turns off the output to the speakers. It also automatically turns them back on when I unplug. You can leave the mic jack plugged in all the time, these jacks aren't in the picture below, they're on the side [Headphones, Mic In, Line In]

Awsome man! +Rep for sure - I'll use the optical cable most-likley. Great info

 

[huntforit]

I just installed mine and the volume knob doesn't do anything. Have you tried using the volume knob? Does it increase or decrease the sound, the way you have it set up?