Modern onboard sound vs X-Fi?

[HangTime]

I have a Creative Labs X-Fi sound card that has served me well over the years. However I upgraded my motherboard this week and the new one doesn't have any PCI slots, so I'm using the onboard realtek audio.

I'm now left with a decision to make about whether I should move the X-Fi into my son's PC.

My question is really about whether modern audio codecs are good enough for gaming usage, or would I be better off putting the X-Fi in there? Part of me thinks I'd be best off leaving it out to reduce power consumption and potential driver conflicts, unless there is a difference.

 

[HangTime]

I kept it generic because of the potential for swapping components around, but right now it's an Asus B350 Prime Plus motherboard (ALC887?), and I can't remember the exact X-Fi model, I think it is Xtreme Gamer (doesn't say on the card, just a product code SB0730). Years ago, when I compared to old onboard codecs it was clearly better, which is why I kept moving it between PCs when I upgraded, but I've now run out of runway with the demise of the PCI slot on latest board.

Output device currently isn't anything special (monitor speakers), but we might use headphones at some point (either Shure SRH840 or Sennheiser HD555 with HD595 'mod').

My gut feeling is that I'll stick with the onboard audio given it's only a secondary PC and I'm not currently using headphones with it, or listening to much music through it.