pete thats all very but if he has shit onboard sound theres no point going out buying any decent speakers plus he already has a decent setup that he could hook up.

Right i need to know what motherboard your pc has, to tell me this download this little programme http://www.majorgeeks.com/download4181.html click on the top american flag and the download should start, its only a small programme dont worry, then on there somewhere you should be able to tell me what motherboard you have then i can find out exactly what sound your pc has and give you a definite answer