Modern onboard sound or an old Soundblaster X-Fi?

Angilion

Angilion

Angilion

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My knowledge is 10 years out of date, so I'm asking here. I'm going to do a new build to replace my PC that was good kit 8 years ago. I've got a soundcard that's even older than that - a SoundBlaster X-Fi. Is onboard sound better than that nowadays? If so, which onboard sound? The board I'm currently intending to buy has ALC1200 onboard sound. I'll be connecting directly to Bayerdynamic DT 770 Pro headphones.
 
Modern onboard sound is streets ahead of what it used to be. Unless you have a decent level amplifier or speaker setup I wouldn’t bother with a separate sound card these days, never mind one that is ten years old.
 
Caps went bad on my X-Fi eventually, which is likely a risk with an old one now, but I preferred it to onboard sound which always sounds a bit flat. Ended up buying a AE-5 instead though those are getting on a bit now.
 
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I would try the onboard first and if you really notice it’s rubbish then look at something else like a sound card… but ive yet to find something recent which has been disappointing sound for an average pc usage.
 
Ah, what the hell. I think I'll buy the more expensive motherboard anyway. Time I stopped faffing about with choosing and actually bought stuff. That's more important than spending £60 (the difference in price between the two motherboards) less on a ~£1500 build.
 
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This was literally the question I came here to ask so I shall tag onto this thread ^^;

Good news that onboard sound is much better these days, although I can't help wonder if I will miss the "crystaliser". Seems to work wonders, even on unimpressive speakers. Can this feature be mimicked with other sound devices at all? And is there a list anywhere of which onboards are better than others? I have no idea what I'm looking for, but I fancy an ITX or mATX build next year (and half the mATX boards don't have their bottom slot usable with a biggish GPU!) :D
 
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