Soundcard Vs Onboard?

[dr. sarf]

Hi all, please dont shoot me down so quickly. lol
I'm a competent PC builder but never really been into sound that much. Anyhoo, I've new PC and the mobo has onboard HD 7.1 pumping through a 2.1 system. Everything sounds OK to me.

Would I see any benefit if i were to get a soundcard? I'd like to get a new 5.1 sound system for atmospheric gaming, eventually but cant afford that for now so will be sticking with my 2.1 for a while, so would a SC make any difference to a 2.1 setup? I play high end games and listen to MP3s.

I'm still wondering if the stuttering I'm getting in games is due to the lack of a soundcard, since I can't pin it down to anything else.

 

[jbloggs]

Would I see any benefit if i were to get a soundcard?

Yes, I think you would....

As gaming appears to be the main requirement (with MP3s secondary), I suggest you have a look at This - which would be quite an improvement over your onboard sound chip, even with a 2:1 speaker setup that you have now, and would give even better results with a decent 5:1 setup....

However, if listening to music is your primary aim (with gaming secondary), I would suggest you look at the EMU 0404 or MAudio audiophile 24/96, and hook it up to a hi fi amp & speakers, which will be better for music than the last option I suggested...

 

[Minstadave]

I was in much the same situation as you when I picked up a cheap x-fi and the difference was easily noticeable, the sound was definitely clearer not but the biggest difference was the channel separation and surround effects in games, really impressive.

 

[Leporello]

I use a soundcard (Auzentech Prelude) and until recently was I was using the onboard sound on my Intel motherboard. My soundcard is connected by an spdif connection to a Denon 5.1 amplifier and speakers, I also use high end Sennheiser headphones (HD580 and HD650) through a headphone amplifier.

My advice would be to stick with the onboard soundcard until such a time that you have the need and/or the means to buy a decent sound setup, i.e, amp. or decoder, speakers and headphones. There's no point in adding a soundcard to your system if you don't have the outputs that will show you any real benefits in sound quality.

You don't say what motherboard you have or indicate what onboard sound hardware it has. Some onboard sound systems are quite good, at the very least, good enough for cheap speakers and sounds.

 

[Tute]

Yes, I think you would....

As gaming appears to be the main requirement (with MP3s secondary), I suggest you have a look at This - which would be quite an improvement over your onboard sound chip, even with a 2:1 speaker setup that you have now, and would give even better results with a decent 5:1 setup....

However, if listening to music is your primary aim (with gaming secondary), I would suggest you look at the EMU 0404 or MAudio audiophile 24/96, and hook it up to a hi fi amp & speakers, which will be better for music than the last option I suggested...

It might be better to get the X-Fi Xtreme Music over the Xtreme Gamer - I remember hearing the Music is the better card, something to do with the quality of the components used.

Hopefully somebody who knows more can clarify this for me.