A dedicated sound board will always provide more performance and better sound quality. However, whether or not you will hear that much difference depends upon your ear, your speakers or headphones. But if dedicated sound boards were not needed, they wouldn't be sold today...nor be priced as high as what they are.
pparks...
You've inspired me to clean out my machine and redo the wiring today.
Better ventilation is a plus as well.
Nice job.
Ap
I use the on-board audio, and am perfectly satisfied with it. I understand what people are saying about sound cards, and I agree that if you want better quality audio than what is provided by the motherboard that it is the way to go. However, it is also important to check whether or not you can get driver updates for the card.
Well luckily creative does keep these drivers updated and working so that's not an issue with the card either :)
Get the card, you wont regret it.
It all depends on your preferences.
Logically...If you have a couple factory speakers that can't handle much and don't sound that good, then no.
If you are planning on upgrading your speakers, or if you have a nice speaker system with a sub & maybe surround sound, then yes, it would be worth it.
Like I said, depends on your preferences and what you have.
i agree with Borg above, a lot depends on the quality of your speakers.
if your speakers aren't up to the job, you won't hear the full benefit of the improved source. it may then be better to upgrade your speakers first, if money is tight, before upgrading the soundcard.
good soundcard + poor speakers = poor sound
simply put, better speakers are sure to sound better, even with your mobo soundchip.
you'll get the best results running your sound through a hi-fi amp and speakers, as far as music goes.
i use got two sound systems: i split the front stereo output from my x-fi - one pair goes to my hi-fi for listening to music, the other goes to a 5.1 system for gaming and movies.
It's perfectly clear, a good add-on third party audio card will most certainly have better audio than the motherboard's onboard audio chip.
However, is better sound going to be worth $100, $200, $300 or more to you?
If you have only average speakers then a new audio card will not really show much improvement. It also depends on what you need from your system and what you're going to listen to? What Are your requirements?
The point is, neither is "better", if you're not concerned with critical listening or only an average gaming experience, built-in audio is better, and doesn't cost anything. If you want more depth, clarity and realism then I would say a 3rd party PCI or PCIe audio card is the way to go.
Personally, a good argument with a bit of passion involved is often where the most useful information is imparted, that is, if one can not be offended by any minor transgressions. I am not the politically correct guy.
Ap
Long running debate (21 pages and over 500 posts so far) on this subject here,
Onboard Sound Vs. Add in Sound Card - Guru3D.com Forums
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