Speakers for Computer

Computer into Small Sound System.

I spend a lot of time in my office. Last year I revised the whole room, files, desk, bc, and added a small sound system: real bookshelf speakers (fit on 11" deep shelf in a bookcase, seated ear level, no rear port), and 1 self-powered sub. Sub adds without awareness until you turn it off. It's a very enjoyable sound system. Nothing special, vintage B&W speakers from eBay, an old sub I had, a SS Carver Cube I had hanging around ....

You are closer to the heat in a smaller room, so don't overpower it. I'm gonna put a 2nd tube system for the TT and R2R, but the computer is staying low heat SS. Carver's are very low heat. And, I have a very quiet ceiling exhaust fan, for when I use the tubes.

I simply run the Computer’s sound out into the system. Stream, CD player built-in, copy cd's ...

Chair and monitor dead center of speakers, terrific sound and imaging. In my case I also have TT and R2R, you might think now about future additions.

Very happy with AudioEngine A5+, connected with Halide HD DAC from computer...

You only need a sound card for web recording. You DO need a USB DAC unless you enjoy crap sound and then you are in the wrong forum.
No recommendations for speakers, insufficient info.
Start with how loud you listen, how many $$ you wanna blow & how much size you have room for.

All you really need is a good dac and then you are all set, you can then hook that dac up to anything you want.  My main system has one source a computer (last gen Mac mini). Computers are very capable of highend sound. I have found PCs much harder to get good sound out of and Apple computers. 

It really depends on how much you want to spend and how good you want audio.  You can get some pretty decent computer speakers that connect using a USB cable.  Most of these are designed as plug-and-play for either Windows or Mac OS and do not need any additional software or drivers.  Prices probably range from $50 to $200 (I'm not sure because I haven't researched this).

Nest step up is to get a really good sound card, such as Asus Essence STX II, Omega Claro Halo, or a EVGA NU AUDIO.  These range from $250-500.  Then you can get some really nice computer speakers or even ultra nice studio monitors.  The computer speakers can be up to $500.  The Studio Monitors range from $500 a pair up to $10,000 or more depending.  A pair of Yamaha HS8 would be an excellent value for the money while providing excellent sound. 

Lastly, if you want to do any recording or audio capture or instrument capture (like electric guitar), you really want an audio interface.  This will take the place of a sound card.  It's essentially an external ADC/DAC that is generally connected to your computer using a USB cable.  These range from cheap Focusrite (about $150+) to the higher end stuff like RME ($750+).  Then pair with your preferred studio monitors.   The audio interfaces can have many inputs if you need and also balanced microphone inputs with phantom power. 

It all depends on how far you want to go with this.