new to this, needing help

[shaggy]

yesterday i finally got a 3.5mm jack to 2 phono sockets cable, setting this up was easy and im impressed that i can finally use my stereo speakers on my pc

but now im wanting more, i was thinking in investing in a 5.1 surround sound, but my question is, if i got a 5.1 sound card in my pc can i still have my stereo speakers AND the 5.1 speaker setup plugged into the pc, both running together?

i know none of the technical jargon so braking it down easy for me would be great, thanks for any help

[markw]

That would pretty much depend on the sound card you choose. Check with a computer geek on this. Most of us are audio heads.

but, if you have a HT receiver, why not just get that sound card and connect it to that receiver and get some speakers for it?