Sound Card vs Integrated.

[Jayce]

I did a search thinking this would have been a long beaten up topic, but oddly enough I couldn't find much in the department of what I was looking for.

I just spent 50 dollars on a pretty fricken nice sound card. It's 7.1, but I use my desktop stereo as my speakers. I watch movies, listen to music constantly, and often watch live concert DVDs on my computer. With this sound card in comparison to my onboard sound card, it's a night and day difference. I can have literally every single audio setting maxed out and still have clear audio... whereas my onboard Realtek left me with mass distortion beyond 75% on any setting. Blah.

So now you know my story, however, my motheboard is an easy 3 years old. My question in debate is about sound cards today, as of Aug 2008. Say I build a computer tomorrow, and I have no use for my old one. Are there new motherboards that I could be choosing from that "may" contain the exact chipsets and circuitry as my 50 dollar Turtle Beach sound card does?

Reason I ask is I got into a debate with somebody about this, swearing up and down that new onboard cards completely take away from the need of sound cards themselves. Yet, we just got new computers in at work, and there's quite a few of them, of all different variations and models. Some of them are used for audio/video editing classes and such, and even still I can tell that they're not on par with what my card produces.

So, I'm asking you folks, since I'm sure I'll get a slew of detailed responses here. I know integrated audio has gotten better, but is it "there" yet? Despite integrated audio probably being fine for 85% of the population, what about somebody like me who's constantly watching/listening to things like concert DVDs and such?

 

[ste2425]

hi dont no allot but i do no that my onboard audio does give out quite a good quality sound and the effect for music, the e.q's etc are great. But when playing games it carn't handle the effects that they want for the sound, like echoes or other effects. So maby thats where seprate sound cards are better then on boards ones?

 

[gurusan]

newer boards have pretty good onboard sound. In fact I was quite surprised by the sound quality of my P5Q Deluxe....satisfied enough to sell my modded X-FI to recoup some cash. I do plan on getting an external DAC in the future though.


Anyway what's your speaker setup? If you just have normal desktop speakers then you won't be able to tell any difference between run of the mill integrated and a higher quality dedicated card.

 

[Jayce]

I use a desktop stereo as my computer speakers. Two decent sized speakers, both with their own powered sub.

I noticed a difference from my integrated audio. Night and day difference. The trick is, my board is about 3 years old. So that's to be expected since integrated audio then, at best, was marginal.

But I was trying to get an idea of how it compares to today's standards with motherboards. I listen to my stuff pretty much cranked so I can hear it around the house, and I'm constantly watching movies and whatnot. A small part of me is saying I'll always be using sound cards due to the added benefits you get from it (lower cpu usage, etc) but at the same token, if I'm running a quad core or some gizmo and the integrated audio on the board is literally the exact same as a 7.1 card I have laying around, then I'll bet on using the onboard.

It just depends on the situation with me, but in my current situation with my 3 year old board, it was a needed upgrade. But, like I said, I'm questioning the ability of brand new boards as of today's standards to compare against, say, my sound card I just bought.

 

[gurusan]

the lower cpu usage and stuff is a moot point, that was just marketing BS from Creative. The usage is lower but not noticeable unless you are on a 80486 or osmething lol.

Does your desktop stereo have any digital inputs?

 

[Jayce]

Oh, I'm sure. But with me running an older system like I am, I'm sure every little bit I can gain helps. I'm sure it wouldn't matter with a newer system... especially with me drooling over quad cores.

But again, I'm just trying to understand this card vs integrated talk because of the fact that this guy was like, aw no man, new integrated cards have the same chipsets and circuitry as a lot of popular sound cards that cost upwards of 100 bucks.

I was like, uh, really? You're telling me an 85 dollar motherboard packs the same integrated capabilities as a 100 dollar sound card?

Granted, I'm sure by HEARING integrated sounds very comparable... but I'm curious as to see on paper, chipsets, power, reliability, circuitry... how do decent brand new mobos compare to decent pci sound cards?

 

[gurusan]

he might be talking about the newer boards with X-FI onboard sound. However this is in like 2 boards I know of and also not as good as the real XFI cards.

 

[ricanflow]

Onboard audio sucks, plain and simple.


Newer chipsets are still nothing but the same software emulated crap thats
always been out. You cannot get 24bit sound with any integrated chipset.


Turtle beach?


How about you get ahold of a real soundcard, so you can make a true comparison. Get an Auzentech prelude X-FI in your machine, and you wont think twice about onboard vs dedicated.

You can even get an X-FI Xtrememusic off woot for $37 shipped. You just need to check everyday, theres been one up the past two woot offs if i remember.


The guy who told you that new integrated chipsets contain the same circuity and chips as dedicated is an idiot, and knows nothing about audio. If that was true, there would be no need for dedicated sound cards anymore.



With onboard you dont get hardware accelerated effects, you get software emulated instead. And you also get distortion, and limited inputs/outputs.


Do you know what the purpose of all the capacitors and everything you see on a dedicated soundcard is?


Its to feed clean, filtered and stable power reducing in better quality sound with no static, low floor noise, and no distortion.
You also get more inputs/outputs, and lower latency (necessary for recording) as well as less interference due to not being placed
on the same circuitry as the motherboard, and offloaded cpu usage and dedicated ram for the audio.

he might be talking about the newer boards with X-FI onboard sound. However this is in like 2 boards I know of and also not as good as the real XFI cards.

Nowhere near as good, its still software emulated as well.

 

[Oreo]

Oh, I'm sure. But with me running an older system like I am, I'm sure every little bit I can gain helps. I'm sure it wouldn't matter with a newer system... especially with me drooling over quad cores.

But again, I'm just trying to understand this card vs integrated talk because of the fact that this guy was like, aw no man, new integrated cards have the same chipsets and circuitry as a lot of popular sound cards that cost upwards of 100 bucks.

I was like, uh, really? You're telling me an 85 dollar motherboard packs the same integrated capabilities as a 100 dollar sound card?

Granted, I'm sure by HEARING integrated sounds very comparable... but I'm curious as to see on paper, chipsets, power, reliability, circuitry... how do decent brand new mobos compare to decent pci sound cards?

Integregated sound chips, whatever you want to call them have worse SNR (signal to noise ratio) they have a lower output voltage, they have more interference and a worse distortion ratio. probably as bad as 1% distortion ratio on some. Doesn't sound that bad 1% does it ? but when you realise a good soundcard or amplifiers distortion ratio is 100x less at 0.01percent or less, you realise it's pretty terrible.

Integregated audio has a worse frequency response, and worse magnetic shielding. They use worse capacitors, they use worse DACS, pretty much everything is worse. Very good soundcards will have resitors matching to 1%, and may use betters caps such as Nichicon, Panasonic, and other good polypropylene caps.

 

[ste2425]

if its the sound quality for music and not the effects, say for games, why not have your computer hooked up to an actual stereo? Then you have have a fairly low signal output from your computer keeping a fairly low buz and stops the clippin, then use your stereo to amplify the signal and use the graphic eq on the stereo as most have one. That is asuming you have a fairly good stereo
that way u dnt go out spending rediculus amounts of a new sound card?