Is a PCI sound card still better than onboard sound on a modern MB?

[MichaelD]

I know that in Ye Olden Days, when motherboards had 2-channel, AC97 codec, onboard sound, it sucked. And something like an Audigy, and later, an Audigy ZS just blew the onboard sound away.

But, how about on a modern MB, like a Gigabyte DS-3, which has HD Audio, complete with 8-channel analog outputs and an optical digital output? Would an Audigy ZS still be better? CPU usage is no longer an issue; I've got a C2D running at 3.2GHz...methinks I've got a few CPU cycles to spare.

 

[Oyeve]

I have no answer as sound is a very subjective thing. All I can say is if you can try listening to both an onboard solution and a card solution if you can. Only your ears will be the judge.

 

[The Boston Dangler]

Although on-board has improved, analog sound quality will be superior on a sound card.

 

[corkyg]

Speaking to the point of origin, the better sound can be available at the PCI card. However - and this is missed by many computer users - the final sound depends more on what you pipe it into after the source, i.e., a good stereo amp and speakers will sound better from the on-board source than a sound card piped into low ball computer speakers.

 

[QuantumPion]

I have an Audigy 2 and my motherboard has a regular realtek sound chip. I've never used an onboard sound chip before, since I grew up on creative labs (and to a lesser extent, turtle beach's) sound cards from my 286 days. However, with the supreme commander beta, there is a bug with audigy 2 sound cards which causes bad performance. Because of this, I decided to disable the audigy and switch to the onboard chip. Surprisingly, it seems to me like the on board chip sounds BETTER then the audigy 2. I can't really explain it, but the realtek just sounds crisper and cleaner. For both audio devices I disabled or never installed all of the extra mixing gismos and sound effect crap stuff, so this should be an apples to apples comparison. The only disadvantage to using the onboard chip is the lack of EAX support and slightly higher CPU usage, but I think I can live with these to be able to cut off creative labs forever.

 

[Oyeve]

Originally posted by: corkyg
Speaking to the point of origin, the better sound can be available at the PCI card. However - and this is missed by many computer users - the final sound depends more on what you pipe it into after the source, i.e., a good stereo amp and speakers will sound better from the on-board source than a sound card piped into low ball computer speakers.

Yup. :gift:

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

I would put my money on the soundcard, but as has been mentioned, you might like onboard better for various reasons, so trying both would be a good idea :thumbsup:

 

[Canai]

Short answer: If you have more than $50 invested in speakers or headphones, yes, it makes a huge difference. Going from my P5W onboard sound to an X-Fi was amazing.

 

[gsellis]

And you get that firewire port on the Audigy 2 ZS