SB PCI 128 vs Onboard Gigabyte p35 DS3R

[TidusZ]

Was hoping someone could direct me to which would be better and why? My old dusty sb pci 128 or the onboard sound on the gigabyte p35 ds3r motherboard (8 Channels ALC889A Audio controller)? I imagine both are pretty bad but I'm not much of an audiophile - as long as the games look good, run smooth, and sound loud on my two speaker setup I'm pretty happy.


Also, despite being a first time poster I'm a long time reader, and I've learned a lot and gotten lots of great advice on Anandtech over the past decade or so, so thanks a lot to everyone in the community for making it the best computer enthusiast forums imho.

 

[NoelS]

TidusZ,

Welcome to the forum.

If it were me, believe I would start with the on-board sound on that new mobo. Then if you don't like it, just add the PCI sound card back in and see if it's any better. If it is, then you're done. If not, buy yourself one of the new, updated sound cards like the X-Fi cards or Auzentechs. If you don't want to spend much, get an Audigy Z card.

I don't know much about the Gigabyte on-board audio, but I've been using the on-board SoundMax with my ASUS Crosshair and P5K-E mobos and am very satisfied with it on both of them.

Good luck, Noel

 

[Stumps]

Go with the onboard audio, it is miles better than the old SB PCI 128 as it supports 7.1 surround sound and HD audio.

These days there is very little difference between onboard sound and mainstream audio cards.

your PCI 128 is a dinosaur compared to the ALC 889.