[dorx]

Greetings!
 
I've recently bought a Sennheiser G4me Zero, which is pretty awesome in itself, but I don't think I get the most out of it. As naive as I might've been in the moment of purchase, I forgot to even think about the aspect of a sound card. I got a Z87 Deluxe motherboard at the moment, which I guess lack some stuff in order to serve me the best sound experience possible.
 
Here's the question(s): Which sound card should I get in order to really get the 7.1 experience this headset can provide? Also, my mic is quite low on this motherboard, so a sound card that could boost that level as well would be great. And is it possible for me to get an external sound card that fullfill my requirements, or should I go for an internal one?
 
I'm really a big noob when it comes to sound, so any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[PurpleAngel]

  I've recently bought a Sennheiser G4me Zero, which is pretty awesome in itself, but I don't think I get the most out of it. As naive as I might've been in the moment of purchase, I forgot to even think about the aspect of a sound card. I got a Z87 Deluxe motherboard at the moment, which I guess lack some stuff in order to serve me the best sound experience possible.
Here's the question(s): Which sound card should I get in order to really get the 7.1 experience this headset can provide? Also, my mic is quite low on this motherboard, so a sound card that could boost that level as well would be great. And is it possible for me to get an external sound card that fullfill my requirements, or should I go for an internal one?
I'm really a big noob when it comes to sound, so any help would be greatly appreciated!

 
 
Your Asus Z87 Deluxe motherboard comes with the Realtek ALC115 audio chip, so you have good on-board (built in) audio (in comparison to other on-board audio).
 
The Asus Xonar Essence STX ($180) or Creative Labs Sound Blaster ZxR ($225) sound cards would provide a boost in sound quality.
For an external USB sound card, Creative Labs Omni 5.1 ($80).