This question is somewhat similar to one posted in this forum a while ago, however I don't want to hijack that thread.
I have an Asus Fatal1ty Pro Gen3 motherboard in my new build, which doesn't have stellar onboard sound. I'm looking at getting a discrete sound card and I'm looking for some recommendations as to what would be the appropriate card. My budget cap is somewhere in the £200 / $300 range.
While I have a blu-ray player / writer and a high end graphics card and 27" monitor that are HDCP capable, to be honest, I'm unlikely ever to connect a multi-channel surround sound setup to my system, or to watch movies on it. I've got a much more capable home theatre setup in the living room.
I do have an old, but still capable 2.1 setup that is connected to my computer. It's a Rotel RA930AX integrated amplifier and Mission 731LE bookshelf speakers. My headphones are good, although not high-end. They're Sennheiser PC-350s with a 150ohm impedance. My sound usage is about 80% listening to music. Most of the time it's through the amplifier and speakers. Some of the time it's through the headphones, mostly when I am gaming. I do game, mostly World of Warcraft, so the headphones are more for a voip client than for game sound effects. I occasionally play other games, but I'm not a hardcore gamer.
I'm generally a pretty fussy music listener in terms of sound quality. Mostly FLAC and an internet radio station that streams in 320kbps MP3 format. Given the capabilities of the motherboard (Realtek ALC892 codec), my external amp and speakers and my headphones, what's your collective opinion?
1. Is it worthwile getting a discrete soundcard?
2. If so, bearing in mind my system, budget and usage, what's the recommendation for an appropriate soundcard?
Thanks
I have an Asus Fatal1ty Pro Gen3 motherboard in my new build, which doesn't have stellar onboard sound. I'm looking at getting a discrete sound card and I'm looking for some recommendations as to what would be the appropriate card. My budget cap is somewhere in the £200 / $300 range.
While I have a blu-ray player / writer and a high end graphics card and 27" monitor that are HDCP capable, to be honest, I'm unlikely ever to connect a multi-channel surround sound setup to my system, or to watch movies on it. I've got a much more capable home theatre setup in the living room.
I do have an old, but still capable 2.1 setup that is connected to my computer. It's a Rotel RA930AX integrated amplifier and Mission 731LE bookshelf speakers. My headphones are good, although not high-end. They're Sennheiser PC-350s with a 150ohm impedance. My sound usage is about 80% listening to music. Most of the time it's through the amplifier and speakers. Some of the time it's through the headphones, mostly when I am gaming. I do game, mostly World of Warcraft, so the headphones are more for a voip client than for game sound effects. I occasionally play other games, but I'm not a hardcore gamer.
I'm generally a pretty fussy music listener in terms of sound quality. Mostly FLAC and an internet radio station that streams in 320kbps MP3 format. Given the capabilities of the motherboard (Realtek ALC892 codec), my external amp and speakers and my headphones, what's your collective opinion?
1. Is it worthwile getting a discrete soundcard?
2. If so, bearing in mind my system, budget and usage, what's the recommendation for an appropriate soundcard?
Thanks
