Sound card Vs On Board

[Firewater]

On Board is decent for music, but Blackend is right, I would invest in a good sound card OR a good USB Headset with surround sound if you are looking for good sound.

[Ederbora]

Hell you can get a good sound card for like 50 bucks

[viru]

K ty for the input i think im going to add to my christmas list LOL:@.

[PsychoSimple]

Also check out the For Sale forums over at hardforums.com most of the time you can pick up used items(I bought my CPU from there) for 50% under online prices.

Thanks bro. I'll definitely take a gander.

[Wounded Wolf]

I just got a sound card today for around $15. It was cheap, but It helped me with my Vent problem. Turns out all that scratching on my mic was actually Onboard MoBo Interference. Getting a Sound Card completely negates that.

(Props to eOS for figuring out a solution! )

[Firewater]

Hey wounded I'm glad you fixed it! I've definitely noticed an improvement.

[EtherFox]

Hey guys, saw this post and just thought I'd share a little love and knowhow. Incoming walltext.


First off, heck ya, sound cards are a great addition to any gaming PC setup. There's a half dozen reasons listed already, but I'd like to re-emphasize the CPU overhead reduction - you will often eek out precious frames out of any video game, regardless of whether or not it is audio-intensive. Onboard audio really turned around about 10 years ago, but it still wanes in comparison, much like the onboard versus dedicated graphics situation.

Next I wanted to throw out a few important things to know with regards to "How much should I spend?"

Here're two commonly compared cards, that some people don't know the difference between:

Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio

Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer


Now, normally, I'd just at any opportunity to bash the use of "Xtreme" or even "Gamer" in a marketing name. However, it really does make all the difference in the X-Fi generation of Creative soundcards.

The Xtreme Audio actually isn't a true hardware accelerator, it will not improve your systems performance, only amplify and enhance your audio through additional processing.

In the features that the Xtreme Audio is deficient newer EAX compatibility. EAX makes a world of difference to me. If you get a sound card, I cannot recommend enough that you find one compatible with EAX, and preferably some of the newer ones (as newer games will usually only the suites most current). Games that support EAX will immerse you so much more than you think they could have - even on cheaper headphones (my old setup was a SB Audigy 2 platinum classic playing over Sony Street-style $20 headphones; it worked out amazingly).

The X-Fi crystalizer is a nice feature, essentially the same thing as applying the SRS WoW/Bass effect that can be found in WMP over every piece of audio on your PC (including games). Certainly not worth forking over money for, though.

If anything, I'm saying avoid buying cheap audio cards unless you know what you're getting and avoid the Xtreme Music/Audio card by Creative like it was Melanoma.

Turtle Beach makes some great sound cards as well. I do not use them personally, but I have played with them, and they really do cover the low to mid grade exceptionally well.

One important feature that comes with either make is the ability to tweak your settings to your needs.

Maybe spoil yourself or a loved one this season:
Newegg.com
(Gamer, for $70, free shipping)

I'd recommend a Turtle Beach card too, but as I was looking into it, I found I couldn't be certain which supported what operating systems. Anyone who won't spend $70 for some great audio can spend a few minutes looking that up themselves, I say.

[Kreeper]

I have the Xtreme Fi-Gamer! No complaints here.

[Reco]

I have my onboard sound disabled since i use the Creative Fatality headset. It connects via USB and doesnt require a card. I recommend it very highly.

[Udieformenow]

yea dont waste ur money on a new soundboard use on board and go for a better video card or more ram