on board sound

yantorsen · 11 Aug 2007 at 20:31

how much better are sound cards than onboard just for listening to music?

what are the main advantages of sound cards over onboard? (asuming you have 7.1 HD Audio onboard)

does it depend on the mobo in question?

thanks.

C64 · 11 Aug 2007 at 22:21

It's just a much much better crisper clearer punchier smoother sound
think of it like listening to mono(onboard) then stereo(soundcard).
When i sold my audigy 2 zs i was stuck with onboard realtek hd 7.1
for about a week it was like losing a limb.
Tbh though just get a second hand audigy 2 zs around £10-£15
they are defo on a par with xfi extreme music imo as i sold mine to get
an xfi and was a bit underwhelmed by the difference.

yantorsen · 11 Aug 2007 at 22:33

thanks.

do you have to have a good set of speakers to take advantage?

and is it better to spend more money on speakers or the sound card? is it about getting a balance? can speakers be too good for certain cards and visa versa?

Mansize_tissue · 11 Aug 2007 at 23:52

Poor speakers won't do justice to good speakers, and vice versa, so yes i think it is about getting a good balance between the two.