Do I need a dedicated sound card?

[JohnJSal]

I'm finding it very difficult to find a card that's not gettingn some pretty bad reviews on newegg, so I'm starting to even wonder if I should bother. I only plan to buy either a 2.0 or 2.1 speaker system, at least to start with, so I don't need anything fancy. Furthermore, I won't do much more with audio than just play music every now and then, and play games.

Does using onboard audio hurt gameplay noticeably enough that a dedicated card is desirable? I'm thinking specifically of the game Oblivion for this.

Thanks.

 

[Geoff]

For just a 2.0 or 2.1 system, onboard audio is fine. And no, you won't notice any performance drop.

 

[JohnJSal]

For just a 2.0 or 2.1 system, onboard audio is fine. And no, you won't notice any performance drop.

Thanks. I think I might just skip a sound card for now then. It's weird how this is the one component that no one seems to agree on (as far as newegg goes). None of them really have high ratings like other components.

 

[The_Beast]

a sound card is the last thing i'd buy

 

[MixedLogik]

Lol, Intergrated Sound won't hurt your gameplay by a inch. Many Sound Card producing companies make you think that intergrated sound (Delays FPS, and Takes CPU Usuage Away by measureable amounts). Intergrated sound is only about .01 of your CPU usuage. Unless your one of those Quad SLI, 16Gb, X48, Quad CPU, and Phase Changing Cooling freaks, I don't think you have anything to worry about.

 

[JohnJSal]

Lol, Intergrated Sound won't hurt your gameplay by a inch. Many Sound Card producing companies make you think that intergrated sound (Delays FPS, and Takes CPU Usuage Away by measureable amounts). Intergrated sound is only about .01 of your CPU usuage. Unless your one of those Quad SLI, 16Gb, X48, Quad CPU, and Phase Changing Cooling freaks, I don't think you have anything to worry about.

Thanks. It's not that I necessarily believe the sound card companies, but sometimes I read reviews about how a sound card improves performance because it does its own processing, etc. Maybe I shouldn't trust those people either.

Btw, my expected plans are the new E8400, a single 8800GT, 2GB RAM, X38 board. Not exactly high-powered, but still quite nice.

 

[MixedLogik]

That is going to be nice. Unless your going to be music, doing gaming, and recording, then you really don't need a sound card. Also, Some onboard sound can be really nice... However im a Audiophile, that does bunches of recording, music listening, and ripping. So i bought a bunch of extending sound cards.

 

[JohnJSal]

That is going to be nice. Unless your going to be music, doing gaming, and recording, then you really don't need a sound card. Also, Some onboard sound can be really nice... However im a Audiophile, that does bunches of recording, music listening, and ripping. So i bought a bunch of extending sound cards.

No, I don't have any hardcore requirements like making my PC a media center or anything. I will be gaming, but I still wouldn't consider the PC I plan to build a "gaming machine," so I probably won't need the card.

 

[Geoff]

Thanks. It's not that I necessarily believe the sound card companies, but sometimes I read reviews about how a sound card improves performance because it does its own processing, etc. Maybe I shouldn't trust those people either.

That is true to a point, it may have been noticeable in single core processors, although now with dual and quad core CPU's, you won't be able to tell the difference at all since a different core is doing the sound processing.

 

[JohnJSal]

That is true to a point, it may have been noticeable in single core processors, although now with dual and quad core CPU's, you won't be able to tell the difference at all since a different core is doing the sound processing.

Well that's good to know. Maybe now I don't have to worry about picking a sound card. I can use that extra money to not feel so bad about spending too much on the mobo!

Plus, a lot of the reviews do say things like the card doesn't sound much or any better than the onboard audio.

 

[Beyond]

I have to disagree. Comparing my setup to a friend's with onboard audio, game for game, headphone for headphone.. EVERYTHING the same audio-wise except sound card, there is a noticeable difference in sound. The first thing that comes to mind is added ambience, which makes games sound more realistic.

Keep in mind this is with HEADPHONES. No "surround sound", not even speakers at all. HEADPHONES. 2.0 sound.

Yes, there is a difference.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Sound-Blaster-C...yZ150126QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Probably go for no more than $50. Get it and you'll be surprised.

 

[_simon_]

I've always used a card but I've read posts on forums elsewhere about this subject and some people comment about onboard hiss which you don't get with a sound card.
I think if your onboard sounds fine to you then just stick with it unless you have money to burn.