[TFeOnline]

I'm currently in the process of getting a 5.1 surround system for my new PC and was hoping for some suggestions!

Ideally it would be under £100 and fairly easy to set up, but I could stretch the budget a bit if it were really worth it!

I've looked into a few products at Amazon, the Logitech X-530 , the Philips MMS460 and the Creative Inspire T6100.

Any thoughts or suggestions? I'd mainly be using it for games and dvds on the PC (although if it could be hooked up to a Sky+ or dvd player that would be an added bonus!)

[camdish]

I think stretching the budget to something like the Logitech Z-5400 THX® would pay dividends. It offers a range of connections - 2 x Optical connections, 1 x Coaxial and 1 x 5.1 Analogue (or 3 x Stereo Analogue) and Hardware decoding for Dolby® Digital, DTS® and DTS® 96/24. There is also a wireless remote. This would certainly allow you to hook up a DVD player or Sky+ and will give far superior sound to analogue only systems and software decoding. If you shop around these are priced at around the £150 mark.

Sound systems are very subjective though and this may not be what you are looking for.

[RobAnt]

Originally Posted by camdish

I think stretching the budget to something like the Logitech Z-5400 THX® would pay dividends. It offers a range of connections - 2 x Optical connections, 1 x Coaxial and 1 x 5.1 Analogue (or 3 x Stereo Analogue) and Hardware decoding for Dolby® Digital, DTS® and DTS® 96/24. There is also a wireless remote. This would certainly allow you to hook up a DVD player or Sky+ and will give far superior sound to analogue only systems and software decoding. If you shop around these are priced at around the £150 mark.

Sound systems are very subjective though and this may not be what you are looking for.

Yep, gotta agree, I use this system too. It really is worth that little bit extra.

In my bedroom it connects my PC, my DVD recorder and my Telewest STB with plenty of spare capacity for my MP3 player.

By using the line in on my PC, it even allows me to mix my PC audio and my STB audio so I can hear both simultaneously. But because my STB also has optical out, it can work independantly too. I could use the Optical socket for my PS2 instead if I wanted, but I rarely use it, so use an analogue line in instead.

[TFeOnline]

Thanks for the suggestions. I think I'll go with the Logitech speakers that you suggest as it seems to be the most flexible of options. I *think* I've found a bargain for it over at Pixmania

One thing though, one of the Amazon reviews states: "What they didn't tell you is that if your going to be using this for your xbox 360 then your going to need a optical cable or coaxial cable....none of these are included and they aren't in the 360 package. I got mine yesterday and i was quite disappointed to find that i needed one after waiting so long and not being told by the manufacturers reviews or details!!!! "

Would I need an optical or coaxial cable to hook up to a Sky+ box? My PC has the standard three sockets for audio but would like to hook it up to the Sky box as well. Which cable should I be looking for? I'm totally clueless on these matters as I'm a surround sound virgin

[camdish]

Optical cables give the best sound quality and I feel if you have the means to connect bits of kit this way then why not. It is not usual for them to be supplied as standard so you will have to purchase them as required. One advantage of this is that you can get lengths to suit your needs.

An example of an optical cable (also called Toslink) can be seen here:

http://www.tvcables.co.uk/cgi-bin/tv...ml?id=NpEJPX2m

and a coaxial one here:

http://www.tvcables.co.uk/cgi-bin/tvcables/PGD481.html

From what you have written it doesn't seem your PC sound card is anything special (is it an on-board one?). It might be an idea to upgrade this to a proper 5.1 surround sound one which will also have digital out connectors.

Example: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...odid=SC-040-CL