Well recently more speakers on my PC have been cutting out and so I decided it was time to upgrade since the speakers I am using now are a hand-me down 2.1 system that replaced my last gateway 2.1 speakers which were dying...so in essence I have been dragging this out for a long time.

I have always wanted to upgrade to 5.1 for my PC and I have the hardware support for it already.  So anyways, does anyone have strong preferenced one way or the other on PC speakers, any experts in this area?  I am not a big sound guy but after realizing how much difference a very nice monitor (or 2) can make and how it will transfer to any new PCs I build and I won't have to upgrade for a long time I started to see the value in some of these pereferal systems.

The system I am eyeballing right now is this little guy:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16836121126 

It seems to have some pretty good reviews and in general is considerd a great budget PC speaker system.  

For those who are willing to make some suggestions I have my budget pinned to around $50-$125 but I prefer to stay closer to $50-$75 if possible as it would mean I have some cash left over to buy a game and we all know how many of those there are coming out soon that we MUST buy =)

Are you dead set on surround?  On your budget I'd rather go for a decent 2.1 set unless you really plan to use the surrounds a lot for movies or games. 

For 2.1 speakers, the most popular is probably the Logitech Z-2300, Amazon.com has them for $90.

The Swan M10 are getting favourable impressions, available at newegg for $100.  Thread about them at hardforum with links to head-fi with more impressions.

I have these which I bought several years ago, the Logitech Z-5300e.  They're basically the ones you listed, but larger.  They do sound quite good, and they've lasted for years without issues.  One of the things I really like about them is the control deck.  Instead of having the controls on one of the speakers, they have a separate remote-like device plugged into the sub that controls everything.  It also has a headphone jack which comes in handy, and it uses the built-in amplifier to power the headphones.  I have really nice studio headphones that sound awful when plugged straight into the PC, but sound beautiful plugged into the Logitechs.

Normally I would recommend the best, the Klipsch ProMedia 5.1, but I don't think that's within your price range.  The Logitechs should be quite good enough.

 I actually do watch a ton of movies and play probably far too many games on my PC. You seem to imply that that kind of usage would warrant 5.1 but I want to make sure I am reading your comments properly.

Just curious but looking over the one I linked what was your impression of the system, I have read a few reviews but I am always a bit wary as I know their are lot of disreptuable reviews floating around for this type of electronics.

@Entroper,

I actually looked at those for a good while, and I like them..a lot...but again with the price thing.  I'm not dead set against spending that kind of money but it bothers me a bit unless I know I am getting excellent quality from it...I like the THX certificication but how big of a deal is that? thats a question for anyone btw 

I have those speakers you've linked too (x-530). they're nice and games like Call of Duty 2/4 and Battlefield 2 sound pretty sweet when the volume is cranked up. However, the one problem with them is that the wires from the control speaker (that actually plug into your tower) are VERY short. They were stretched a lot to get to my tower in my desk at home (the tower on the left area on the desk). It's not a problem at my apartment as there isn't any obstructions between that speaker and the tower (not to mention it's only a couple of feet away from the tower as well). 

lol, I'm sure the neighboring apartment is loving me whenever I play PC games.

The one thing I do wish these speakers had is an optical or coaxial input. You can only get analog out of your sound card or motherboard, and well, I have integrated Realtek audio with pretty crappy analog output. The built-in amplifier in the subwoofer is outstanding, and it sounds great, but a digital input would be even better.

EDIT: Double post.  And you know what's really sad?  I reloaded this thread in another tab to make sure that my post hadn't gone through before pressing "post" again, and in fact, it hadn't.

Yeah, I need to get a sound card...as my old computer had surround, but this one doesn't...I've got a Creative 4.1 system...which is good enough for me...I would also like to upgrade sometime though.

 Yea, that would be awesome to have. I've got onboard Realtek audio too (or at least I believe I do) and have similar inputs, but I also have a cheap $30 creative sound card that I use. That would be nice if those speakers had those inputs because I'd definatly use them. Hell, I'd might as well pick up a new LCD monitor that can support 1280x720 so that I'd have a whole HD setup in my own room (as well as dual monitor support). 

Ok well, being the crazy bastard I am, I went with the 5300e and after having a chance to play some Crysis with it I am loving it...the problem is that it got here so fast that I have a hard time choosing between playing Crysis in HD with 5.1 sound or playing SMG....but Mario is winning and it makes my speakers very sad =P

In any case, I knew I was hooked the first time I heard a jet fly overhead! That rocks! Plus when a helicopter is chasing you and firing its machine gun you can hear bullets whipping through the trees and brush all around you..pretty damn awesome.