Razer Blade vs x17

Originally posted by Bosboi Does the x17 come with an Optical port to connect to my toslink optical cable that came with my Astros? Sorry I'm terrible with all these names for this stuff...

I went through the same thing. Took me awhile, but I found out the X17 dose not support DDL, which is what the astro mix amp requires for 7.1 audio and game to voice controls. It does have the S/PDIF Digital output, you just need the adapter(3$ on the net). I went with the Asus Xonar x3 usb audio card(35$ shipped or so), has the same port, and comes with the adapter, and supports DDL, so ill get the true 7.1 audio, and ill be able to do the game/voice controls on the mixamp. So ill have the mixamp hooked up via use(mic)and the digital cable into the usb sound card.

Hope that helps

Originally posted by Bosboi Yeah I can't find it... Can you give me a link for one of the $3 ones, please?

http://www.amazon.com/Recoton-Fiber-Optic-Toslink-Adapter/dp/B0002MQGRM/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&qid=1340070632&sr=8-13&keywords=S%2FPDIF+Digital+output+adapter

even better, its 1.04$, free shipping. Thats all you need for it to hook up to the mixamp, will be a 7.1, but you wont be able to control the voice/game like on the xbox 360 etc.

same way. The sound card plugs in via usb, come with the adapter you need to run the digital to the mix amp. Then mix amp hooked up usb to(for mic), and then mx amp to headset. The sound card just takes the digital input for a true 7.1 and the option to control the voice/game, since it supports dolby digital live.

Originally posted by Bosboi Is the Asus even good with the Astros at all? Because if they are not good then I'm really.going to get pissed... Getting a computer should be less stressful than this is right now... I just had to drop another $50 and I really don't have this money... I am going to be in so much debt with my parents... And just for the record I'm not like really in debt. I'm actually only a teenager but don't just have all the money in the world... (Wish I did though : ) )

Its one of the best usb audio cards, and even better considering the price. 99.9% of laptops use the onboard audio card, and wont support DDL, even most desktops wont unless you buy an audio card. I have not used it yet, since there is no point on this netbook, but I did read a lot of reviews, and other sites then recommended this for the Astro A40. Also remember, the astro is made for xbox/ps3 in mind, not a pc. While we can use it, they are not made for computers like they are for game console. You can just forget the audio card, but you wont be able to control the mix amp features besides volume, and even then, you can do that on the cord for the headset

Originally posted by Bosboi I just got my computer! LOVE IT! But just one question, Where do I find the AMD Radeon 7970m drivers? And is it normal for it to say when trying to boot up Counter Strike: Source that it can't find my graphics card?

The drivers are in beta, so look around. Newest ones are 12.7. AMD put the HD7000m series on their site for support, so hopefully soon there will be official drivers, and performance will only get better.

Eset.

Originally posted by Bosboi Also, what do you guys recommend for an antivirus software?

ESET and Kaspersky are both solid. I used to like BitDefender, but they seem to be getting intrusive and slipping.

For the free route I favor Malware Bytes and, surprisingly, MSE. Microsoft has gotten their act together and has an antivirus solution with a very small footprint.

I advocate using multiple programs, because one will often catch what the other misses.

However, Esets package also offers firewall and system integration.