Sound card necessary for speakers?

Hey guys, I have a dv9000t on order, and plan on using it for lots of gaming and audio production, so I need to have killer sound. I plan on getting the Logitech X-230's for my speakers, but I was wondering, will they sound good enough without an external sound card, or should they be ok with just being plugged in to the laptop? And if I do need a soundcard, what is a relatively cheap card that will give me desired performance?

 

Anybody? I really have no idea and am very confused. Thanks guys.

 

If you want 5.1 or greater sound, then the 3.5mm headphone jack will not deliver. For normal 2-speaker setups, you should be fine. The standard jack is not amplified that much, but then again, your speakers do much of that job.

If you want to use better speakers that have more than two units, or have a subwoofer, you are better off getting either a PCMCIA or USB soundcard solution.

 

Why not wait until you get it, then decide if you like the sound as-is from the laptop's headphone jack. If you feel you want something better, then look in to getting something external.

As far as soundcards go, Creative is probably your best bet for gaming - but not so much for serious audio production. If the latter is more important to you, then consider what M-AUDIO has to offer.

 

Yeah all of my friends who produce use M-Audio. I guess it does make sense to wait first and see what I like. I'm just anxious for it to get here, and am trying to get everything else in order too. Thanks for the responses guys, I appreciate it.