Is a sound card really worth it?

GlasgowTitan · 27 Jan 2006 at 19:58

At the moment I have little beige desktop speakers, and no sound card. So I guess from what I can tell, I'm using AC97 Realtek sound. I was thinking about getting a set of 2.1 speakers to give a bit better bass for music, but I play a lot of gaming too, so new speakers might make the game sound better, especially with the subwoofer. Is it really worth the hassle of getting a sound card too? Whats the point if my motherboard can play it all fine (well to my ears anyway). And how does a £150 sound card make any sense!! My motherboard (Dual Sata II) has got a bunch of connections at the back for up to 5.1 or 7.1 I think, is that enough or is it really worth it to get a soundcard? I dont want to spend lot. and definatelly less than the speakers itself!

GlasgowTitan · 27 Jan 2006 at 20:02

How is it any different from onboard sound though, more bass or something?

GlasgowTitan · 27 Jan 2006 at 20:14

Okay so suppose I get a sound card, it would be budget, including a set of 2.1 speakers all for UNDER £100 (lower the better) what would you recommend?

GlasgowTitan · 27 Jan 2006 at 20:36

Yeah thats what I'm thinking, for a hundred quid, a soundcard and speakers wont make much difference, but if I get good speakers....

I dont know what to look for, I'm browsing the OcUK and just trying to find the cheapest 2.1 set with the highest RMS numbers

GlasgowTitan · 27 Jan 2006 at 20:48

JBL Creature II 2.1 Speakers - (Black) Retail (SP-006-HK)

I found these in the Harman Kardon section, and holy crap they look funky!! Are these any good, 8 watts per sattelite and 24 watts subwoofer. Now I dont want mah00sive sound that will wake the neighbours, just enough to give me an improvement over my little crappy 8 yr old desktop speakers at the moment.