Realtek integrated sound card OR M-Audio Fast Track

Here's what I am wondering. Would it be better to use the integrated soundcard on my MSI mohterboard (Realtek) or would it be best to use my M-Audio fast track for audio.

I game, produce music (always use the maudio to record vocals), listen to music, etc.


What would be best in terms of sound quality.

but heres the thing, I can adjust all the settings to meet the specs of the maudio fast track. Problem being is i love the knobs that the maudio lets me use to lower the volume and etc. I hear no noise on either one, other than the maudio fast track when i add to much gain to the microphone when recording and clip it.

Idk i just need someones personal opinion before I go moving cables out of the cable management array I had made.

gutting cablemanagement in progress...

Complete. side by side tests show that the maudio sounds that much better than integrated audio.

went into realtek settings, and changed the settings to be better than the maudio fast track...and it was better than the maudio fast track. what gives?

Edit: To be honest, will all my years of ear training, audio editing. music production, etc. I do not see a difference between the two, litterally side by side. MSI has hit the jackpot on the integrated audio system they put into their motherboards.

http://www.msi.com/product/mb/P67A-C43.html



That is the motherboard I have.

• Military Class II Concept components: Top quality & stability
• OC Genie II: Auto OC to boost performance in 1 sec
• ClickBIOS: Easy-to-use UEFI BIOS interface
• THX TruStudio PRO: deliver the fullest audio experience
• IGP Supports DirectX 10.1, Shader Model 4.0 and OpenGL 2.0
• Support USB 3.0 & SATA 6Gb/s

The only time that I get any staticish noises is when I use the front headphone and mic adapters. That is thermaltake's fault in its entirety. I use a long cable and line it up to my monitor and plug my headphones in. Note that the maudio fast track connects via usb and is a beautiful piece of equipment when recording vocals and the like. It even has a line in for guitar, and other things such as pianos with that type of capability.

I am guessing with the advance of technology such as ram going from ddr2 to ddr3, quad core processors becoming more efficient (intel thank you), and video cards becoming stronger due to thorough redesign (nvidia thank you), integrated audio has become so good that it is not required to have a sound card. Correct me if I am wrong but MSI did a nice job making the integrated audio noiseless, uncolored, and perfect in its being.

Also the THX TruStudio PRO software is a nice touch for gamers and the like allowing surround sound simulation on any type of headphone you are using, being able to do equalization based on what you are doing (along with hot keys to switch it to different settings or turn it off in its entirety), and even make the sound more "hi-fi". I don't use it at all because most games include all these surround sound features, but stuff like that is definitely welcome.
Edited by jordanecmusic - 5/31/12 at 5:39pm