Buyer's Guide - Entry Level, January 2005

Speakers

Depending on what you want to do with your computer, there are a few different opinions on what to do in the sound department. We will leave it to you to decide which option fits your needs best. If you really don't need any sound - or rarely do - you can always go without speakers and just plug in some spare headphones as the need arises. For most people, however, we would recommend at least picking up some cheap powered speakers. All computers these days come with audio support, and we are also seeing more multimedia content on the web.

 

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Speaker Recommendation: Creative Labs SBS270 2.0
Price: $27 shipped

They're not going to shake your walls and annoy your neighbors - at least not very much - but they will get the job done for typical computer use. The overall quality of output is much better than the price and look would lead you to believe, and they can easily fit next to most monitors. They are also magnetically shielded, which is important for any speakers that you're thinking of placing near your computer. There are a ton of two-speaker setups available, some for under $10, but if you want to have decent sound, you should look to spending $20 to $30 minimum.

 

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Speaker Alternative: Logitech X-530 5.1 Speakers
Price: $61 shipped

Logitech has really made a lot of noise - if you'll pardon the pun - in the world of computer audio during the past few years. Their high-end speakers can compete quite well with home theater setups costing two to four times as much, and their low-end parts offer tremendous value even if the sound quality is not as good. With the discontinuation of the Z-640 speakers, we had to look elsewhere, but in the end, we return to Logitech. The X-530 is the spiritual successor to the Z-640, and overall sound quality is about the same. If we had our druthers, we would still go with the Z-640 as the control pod and look of the speakers is more to our liking, but the powers that be have decided to move on and so must we. We think that the subwoofer is a little too heavy, but it has a separate volume control that you can use to tweak the sub's output. For moderate to heavy gaming and movie watching, these speakers will do an admirable job.