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Soundcard or Onboard Audio?

post #1 of 8

8/20/12 at 5:01am

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gingij

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Hello guys
I was in a computer store few days ago and was about to buy a soundcard but the guy said that I didn't need a soundcard because it's built into your motherboard. Should I buy a soundcard or just use the built-in soundcard that came in my motherboard? I will be using my computer mostly for gaming, watching movies and music.

post #2 of 8

8/20/12 at 5:02am

techenth
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Depends on yourstereo. If you have good stereo, buy a soundcard.

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Hard Drive	OS	Monitor	Keyboard
Samsung 1 TB F3 x2 (Raid0) + Corsair F120 SSD	Noctua NH-D14	Asus VG236H	Logitech G19
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post #3 of 8

8/20/12 at 5:03am

VW_TDI_02
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Quote:

Originally Posted by gingij

It depends on what the rest of your sound equipment is. If you have higher end headphones or a nice set of speakers then you will benefit from a sound card. If you don't there really isn't all that much of a need from it. I have a cheap Xonar DG which works great for me and since my head phones have a really high impedance I needed the built in headphone amp so that my computer could actually push them.

CPU	Motherboard	Graphics	RAM
i7 860	MSI P55-GD80	Gigabyte GTX 560Ti 1gb	Mushkin Enhanced Blackline 1600 CAS 7 4gb
Hard Drive	Hard Drive	Optical Drive	Cooling
Samsung F3 1tb	Samsung 830 64Gb	Lite-On Blu-Ray Player	Cooler Master Hyper 212+
OS	Monitor	Monitor	Keyboard
Windows 7 Home Premium x64	Acer S231HLBID 23"	Asus VW193DR 19"	Razer BlackWidow
Power	Case	Mouse	Audio
Rocketfish 900W	HAF 912	Logitech M500	Asus Xonar DG
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CPU	Motherboard	Graphics	RAM
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Hard Drive	Optical Drive	Cooling	OS
Western Digital Caviar Black 640Gb	HP DVD1260	Cooler Master GeminII S524	Windows 7 Enterprise x64
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CPU	Graphics	RAM	Hard Drive
2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo	GMA X3100	4GB DDR2 667 MHz	120 GB
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Microsoft Arc
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Samsung F3 1tb	Samsung 830 64Gb	Lite-On Blu-Ray Player	Cooler Master Hyper 212+
OS	Monitor	Monitor	Keyboard
Windows 7 Home Premium x64	Acer S231HLBID 23"	Asus VW193DR 19"	Razer BlackWidow
Power	Case	Mouse	Audio
Rocketfish 900W	HAF 912	Logitech M500	Asus Xonar DG
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CPU	Motherboard	Graphics	RAM
i5 760	Asus P7P55D-E Pro	XFX 5570	Corsair XMS3 2x1gb
Hard Drive	Optical Drive	Cooling	OS
Western Digital Caviar Black 640Gb	HP DVD1260	Cooler Master GeminII S524	Windows 7 Enterprise x64
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Vizio 32" 1080	Corsair 650TX	Silverstone LC13B-E	Droid X2
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CPU	Graphics	RAM	Hard Drive
2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo	GMA X3100	4GB DDR2 667 MHz	120 GB
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MATSHITADVD-R UJ-867	Mac OS X	13	Macbook
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Microsoft Arc
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post #4 of 8

8/20/12 at 5:04am

Domino
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Depends what you are trying to drive. X-Fi chips tend to have the best sound positioning out there for all game titles. Most soundcards will have an improved DAC and OPAMP to power better quality cans.

If you use logitech speakers OR USB powered headphones, you won't notice much of a difference (speakers) or nothing from USB..

CPU	Motherboard	Graphics	RAM
Intel® Core™ i7-2670QM Processor @ 3.0 GHz	Intel® HM67	NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 570M 1.5 GB DDR5 VRAM @ 76...	16GB DDR3 1333 \| 9:9:9:24 1T
Hard Drive	Hard Drive	Optical Drive	Cooling
256 GB ADATA AX900	750 GB HDD Seagate Media Drive	Super multi drive DVD	Stock
OS	Monitor	Monitor	Keyboard
Windows 8 64-bit	17.3" Full HD Anti-Reflective 1920 x 1080 (16:9)	BenQ GW2750HM 27IN Widescreen A-MVA LED (Calrib...	GT78ODXR Gaming Keyboard
Power	Case	Mouse	Mouse Pad
180 W AC adapter	GT78ODXR Stock Chassis	CM Storm Spawn	Wooden Desk
Audio	Audio	Audio	Audio
THX TruStudio PRO™, Dynaudio Premium Speakers w...	AKG HD 240 MKII \| AKG Q701	Soundblaster Creative HD USB Sound Card	iM716 IEM
Audio	Audio
Logitech Desktop Microphone	O2 DAC/AMP
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CPU	Motherboard	Graphics	RAM
Intel® Core™ i7-2670QM Processor @ 3.0 GHz	Intel® HM67	NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 570M 1.5 GB DDR5 VRAM @ 76...	16GB DDR3 1333 \| 9:9:9:24 1T
Hard Drive	Hard Drive	Optical Drive	Cooling
256 GB ADATA AX900	750 GB HDD Seagate Media Drive	Super multi drive DVD	Stock
OS	Monitor	Monitor	Keyboard
Windows 8 64-bit	17.3" Full HD Anti-Reflective 1920 x 1080 (16:9)	BenQ GW2750HM 27IN Widescreen A-MVA LED (Calrib...	GT78ODXR Gaming Keyboard
Power	Case	Mouse	Mouse Pad
180 W AC adapter	GT78ODXR Stock Chassis	CM Storm Spawn	Wooden Desk
Audio	Audio	Audio	Audio
THX TruStudio PRO™, Dynaudio Premium Speakers w...	AKG HD 240 MKII \| AKG Q701	Soundblaster Creative HD USB Sound Card	iM716 IEM
Audio	Audio
Logitech Desktop Microphone	O2 DAC/AMP
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post #5 of 8

8/20/12 at 5:04am

-SE7EN-
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for the most part: crappy $20 computer speakers are ok with an integrated (on your motherboard) sound card.
the nicer your speakers, the more you benefit from a dedicated (separate purchase) soundcard.
also, depending on the processor you have, you can possibly get some audio distortion/loss of speed if you are using a lot of your CPU with the onboard sound.

CPU	Motherboard	Graphics	RAM
Intel Core i7 2600k 3.4ghz	Asus P8Z68-v gen3	PNY GeForce GTX 560ti	Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2x4GB) 1600MHz DDR3
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OCZ Agility 3 SSD	Western Digital Caviar Blue 7200 RPM 500GB	(x2-RAID1) Seagate Barracuda 7200 RPM 2TB	Patriot Supersonic Xpress USB 3.0
Optical Drive	Cooling	OS	OS
MSI DVD-ROM	Corsair H100 Liquid Cooling	Windows 8 Pro x64	Ubuntu 12.10 x64
Monitor	Keyboard	Power	Case
Acer 27" 3d Vision 1080p monitor BMIIID	Corsair Vengeance K90 Mechanical	Thermaltake TR2 RX 750watt 80PLUS bronze	Thermaltake Level 10 GT
Mouse	Mouse Pad	Audio	Audio
Razer Naga Epic 17-button wireless	Razer Goliathus Speed - Dragon Age II	Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium 7.1 PCI Ex...	Logitech z506 5.1 surround
Audio	Audio	Audio	Other
Logitech z313 2.1	Cyber Accoustics ACM-51 Boom Mic	Logitech ClearChat Comfort USB	Logitech G13 Advanced Gamepad
Other	Other
Logitech F510 X-Input Rumble Controller	D-Link DWA-556 Wireless N PCI-Express
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Intel Pentium T4500	Aspire 5734Z	Mobile Intel(R) 4 Series Express Chipset Family	Factory RAM
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Factory Hard Drive	Factory DVD-RW	Windows 7 Ultimate-32 bit	Ubuntu 11.10-32 bit
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BackTrack 5r1	Logitech Dual Action controller
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2TB Hitachi SATA 7200RPM HD	Hitachi 1TB 7200RPM HD	Toshiba External 750 GB	DVD-RW Drive
Cooling	OS	OS	Monitor
SpinQ	Windows 7 Ultimate x64	Ubuntu 10.10 x64	Acer 24" LCD
Keyboard	Power	Case	Mouse
Razer Arctosa	500 Watt	Asus CG-5290	Logitech Wireless
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Generic Black Mat	7.2 Surround	Logitech Stereo Headset	Logitech G13 Gamepad
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XBOX 360 for Windows Controller	Genius MetalStrike Pro Joystick
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CPU	Motherboard	Graphics	RAM
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Hard Drive	Hard Drive	Hard Drive	Hard Drive
OCZ Agility 3 SSD	Western Digital Caviar Blue 7200 RPM 500GB	(x2-RAID1) Seagate Barracuda 7200 RPM 2TB	Patriot Supersonic Xpress USB 3.0
Optical Drive	Cooling	OS	OS
MSI DVD-ROM	Corsair H100 Liquid Cooling	Windows 8 Pro x64	Ubuntu 12.10 x64
Monitor	Keyboard	Power	Case
Acer 27" 3d Vision 1080p monitor BMIIID	Corsair Vengeance K90 Mechanical	Thermaltake TR2 RX 750watt 80PLUS bronze	Thermaltake Level 10 GT
Mouse	Mouse Pad	Audio	Audio
Razer Naga Epic 17-button wireless	Razer Goliathus Speed - Dragon Age II	Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium 7.1 PCI Ex...	Logitech z506 5.1 surround
Audio	Audio	Audio	Other
Logitech z313 2.1	Cyber Accoustics ACM-51 Boom Mic	Logitech ClearChat Comfort USB	Logitech G13 Advanced Gamepad
Other	Other
Logitech F510 X-Input Rumble Controller	D-Link DWA-556 Wireless N PCI-Express
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CPU	Motherboard	Graphics	RAM
Intel Pentium T4500	Aspire 5734Z	Mobile Intel(R) 4 Series Express Chipset Family	Factory RAM
Hard Drive	Optical Drive	OS	OS
Factory Hard Drive	Factory DVD-RW	Windows 7 Ultimate-32 bit	Ubuntu 11.10-32 bit
OS	Other
BackTrack 5r1	Logitech Dual Action controller
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Intel core i7-920	Asus Rampage Gene	Asus GTX 260	9 GB DDR3 Ram
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2TB Hitachi SATA 7200RPM HD	Hitachi 1TB 7200RPM HD	Toshiba External 750 GB	DVD-RW Drive
Cooling	OS	OS	Monitor
SpinQ	Windows 7 Ultimate x64	Ubuntu 10.10 x64	Acer 24" LCD
Keyboard	Power	Case	Mouse
Razer Arctosa	500 Watt	Asus CG-5290	Logitech Wireless
Mouse Pad	Audio	Audio	Other
Generic Black Mat	7.2 Surround	Logitech Stereo Headset	Logitech G13 Gamepad
Other	Other
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post #6 of 8

8/20/12 at 5:08am

mcg75
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I bought a Xonar audio card and found I really couldn't tell the difference from onboard.

When I switched motherboards, I didn't bother putting the Xonar back in.

And I noticed a huge difference going back to onboard. There is simply no comparison. A soundcard is much better.

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Cooling	OS	Monitor	Monitor
Corsair H60	Windows 7 64bit	Samsung S27A950D	Asus PB278Q
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post #7 of 8

8/20/12 at 5:13am

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gingij

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Thanks guys

post #8 of 8

8/29/12 at 8:45pm

Bloodbath
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I recently lashed out and bought a sound-card and the difference in games is like night and day, you'll instantly notice sounds you never noticed before, for instance you can hear glass smashing and every bullet casing hit the floor in battlefield 3, I just could never go back to integrated ever again:thumb:.

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12 GB CORSAIR DOMINATOR GT 2000MHZ TRIPLE CHANNEL	OCZ VERTEX2 60GB and Samsung 2tb HDD	LG BLURAY BURNER	XSPC DUAL BAY LAING D5 PUMP RES COMBO
Cooling	Cooling	OS	Monitor
XSPC RAYSTORM COPPER CPU BLOCK	BLACK ICE STEALTH 240 RAD	WINDOWS 7 64BIT ULTIMATE	ASUS VG278h 120Hz
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CORSAIR K90 VENGEANCE	CORSAIR AX1200	CORSAIR GRAPHITE 600T WHITE	RAZER DEATHADDER BLACK EDITION
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CPU	Motherboard	Graphics	Graphics
I7 980X @ 4.5Ghz - 1.36 Vcore	ASUS RAMPAGE EXTREME III	EVGA GTX TITAN	EVGA GTX TITAN
RAM	Hard Drive	Optical Drive	Cooling
12 GB CORSAIR DOMINATOR GT 2000MHZ TRIPLE CHANNEL	OCZ VERTEX2 60GB and Samsung 2tb HDD	LG BLURAY BURNER	XSPC DUAL BAY LAING D5 PUMP RES COMBO
Cooling	Cooling	OS	Monitor
XSPC RAYSTORM COPPER CPU BLOCK	BLACK ICE STEALTH 240 RAD	WINDOWS 7 64BIT ULTIMATE	ASUS VG278h 120Hz
Keyboard	Power	Case	Mouse
CORSAIR K90 VENGEANCE	CORSAIR AX1200	CORSAIR GRAPHITE 600T WHITE	RAZER DEATHADDER BLACK EDITION
Mouse Pad	Audio	Other
RAZER GOLIATHUS XL	SENNHEISER PC360 G4ME	ROG ASUS XONAR PHOEBUS
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