Help! PC gaming surround sound setup

[gatehouse666]

Hi All,

(sorry if this is posted in the wrong section)

I've been having trouble getting my PC games to play in surround sound.
I have a Panasonic sc-bt200 all-in-one 7.1 surround system. It plays blu-rays and xbox games in surround, but not PC games.
Panasonic receivers do not read DTS through optical-in, and this specific receiver does not have plugs in the bag for 5.1 or 7.1 analog-ins, and only one HDMI out.
So it looks like I need to replace my receiver, and probably all the speakers too, since they are pretty low quality and operate at 2 ohms and I worry they will blow if I hook them up to a stronger amp.

I would like to play PC games in surround sound, and am willing to spend around 400 dollars.
Here's my questions:
Can anyone recommend a good receiver/amp and 5.1 speakers, as well as a good sound card that will be compatible with my PC and will play games and DVD/Blu-Rays in surround?
Do I even need a sound card?
Should I use HDMI or Analog?

My computer specs are as follows:
ASRock Z68 extreme3 gen3 motherboard
intel i5 3570k @ 3.4 ghz
8gb DDR3 g.skill ripjaw ram
Sapphire Radeon HD 7850 2gb
Corsair 750W PSU
Corsair force gt 120gb SSD
*no sound card

 

[jcoultas98]

I would take a look at the Yamaha YHT-397, YHT 497 or the Denon DHT-1312XP. The real advantage there, is two fold. All have HDMI inputs, so you can use your 7850's Integrated audio to output Dolby, and DTS. Second, they are actual receivers, you could easily upgrade the speakers in the system if you felt like building more of a system later!