Do i need a soundcard?

phildapro

New member
In the past years ive allways used onboard sound, ive never thought about getting a sound card as ive never really had any issues with onboard..i play allot of games and have a top end soundsystem but would a nice soundcard actually make any difference?
 
the difference depends on which onboard sound you are using. Some of the newer onboard sound is pretty good, BUT

a good sound card will always be better.

The thing is if you can tell the difference. Some can and some cant.
 
Adding a soundcard is always a good investment especially if you're an overclocker. Overclocking can mess with the bus frequencies which in turn can mess with the onboard audio chipsets sound output. A lot of times under a decent overclock you might notice hissing, popping, or other interference while using the onboard sound.

This can easily be eliminated by purchasing a soundcard. You will also (depending on the quality of card you purchase) get a much better sound reproduction and overall sound quality from using a sound card. I definitely suggest getting one if you're a clocker.

Cheers! :beerchug:
 
On my two gaming PCs:

First one I upgraded onboard sound to an X-Mystique and could not believe how good the sound was.

The second PC doesn't have as good speakers and is still set up for onboard.

Playing games on the onboard is plenty good enough and so will not get upgraded (unless via a hand-me-down if pc 1 gets upgraded)

I only really notice the difference listening to music on the upgraded PC - which is rare.

Obvious point: if you get a card and have now or later might be looking at Vista then consider whether the card has a Vista driver.

Stupidly I upgraded my pc 1 to Win XP 64 without checking for drivers and had a few months when I had to downgrade back to onboard.
 
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