Difference between onboard audio and dedicated sound card?

Gimpymoo · 18 Oct 2007 at 11:30

I now have a deecent set of speakers and will soon be getting a pair of Sennheiser HD595 headphones.

Am currently using onboard audio, I am not an audiophile but will I notice a difference with a premium soundcard?

PC is used for games, music and movies.

I assume the answer is yes, but to what degree is a dedicated soundcard better?

Also, will taking the processing away from the CPU increase game performance?

Thanks.

just Scott · 18 Oct 2007 at 11:39

Yes, definitely.

Going from onboard to an M-Audio Revolution 5.1 was an absolutely huge improvement. I can't stand listening to the onboard sound any more. I strongly recommend you look at something from E-MU or M-Audio though. X-fi's are more gaming cards, E-MU and M-Audio have a lot better sound quality.

Of course if you want a really big step up you could get an external DAC, which would sound better than any sound card (assuming you get a good one). But they're pretty expensive for a good one unless you build one yourself.

Nice headphone choice by the way. Not really my sound though; too laid back for my music taste (rock/metal). I much prefer my Denon D2000's, but they're £40 more.

Gimpymoo · 18 Oct 2007 at 14:53

How do you output the sound from the computer to the DAC if not using the onboard Audio?

just Scott · 18 Oct 2007 at 16:50

Gimpymoo said:
How do you output the sound from the computer to the DAC if not using the onboard Audio?

USB.

Or get a cheap sound card that has bit-perfect output via S/PDIF, and use coax or optical as a transport to the DAC.