Soundcard or not?

[gurusan]

Well it depends which onboard sound you are talking about. I was quite impressed by the ADI2000B on the P5Q Deluxe...seriously the best onboard I've ever heard. They even drove my HD 580s decently.

It was not as good as my modded xfi but it certainly was better than anything a few bucks would get you.

I remember when I had my P5K the onboard was terrible, and my P5B Deluxe was even worse! I remember when I had my Q6600 on it it would screech and stuff during gaming lol.

 

[veedubfreak]

I'm using the addin card that comes with the rampage formula, so its not exactly on board sound. But i can honestly say i have never had any issues with any onboard sound cards. But then again, i never cheap out on my motherboards.

 

[ricanflow]

Well it depends which onboard sound you are talking about. I was quite impressed by the ADI2000B on the P5Q Deluxe...seriously the best onboard I've ever heard. They even drove my HD 580s decently.

It was not as good as my modded xfi but it certainly was better than anything a few bucks would get you.

I remember when I had my P5K the onboard was terrible, and my P5B Deluxe was even worse! I remember when I had my Q6600 on it it would screech and stuff during gaming lol.

Some onboards are worse than others, but both me and EricB can tell you that onboard is simply very low quality and not even true 16bit.

The Realtek HD audio on my folding rig is decent, it doesnt squeak or squeal but i still prefer to use a dedicated soundcard or sound interface whenever possible.

I'm using the addin card that comes with the rampage formula, so its not exactly on board sound. But i can honestly say i have never had any issues with any onboard sound cards. But then again, i never cheap out on my motherboards.

Its still onboard, because there is no audio processor on that card.

And the audio effects are still emulated by the cpu, whereas with a dedicated sound card all of the audio proccesing is done on the card itself.

 

[Crysalis]

Its not even about quality or gaming. When you have IRQ conflicts because of onboard that cause serious hardware/software crashes, or you have interference from your Optical drives because they run on the same processor that your "onboard" is, or the fact that they literally fry themselves 75% of the time, I would think that buying a $20 soundcard would be worth it. When I can actually hear the whining and wind up of the HD platters, the network card, and all other parts in a PC, i consider it garbage.

"But Crysalis, my motherboard is 1337." Its AC'97. It is not good. No matter what you do, it is still AC'97 using the CPU's cycles as an audio processor. Do you use your car to heat your house? It produces heat... why not? It is just not meant to. A CPU is not meant to do audio processing. Compression, voltage, DSP, DTS, and all other forms of processing can not be done well.

And good point about 16 bit. Good golly... I could go buy a $20 card that has 24/96!! Onboard cant even do 16 without puking.

I dont really care if you are gaming with 12.4 surround sound, or if you have 2 speakers that play the little noises that paperclip in Office has; any audio processor is better than onboard. Period.

But... Not a one person here wants to hear it when an engineer such as ricanflow, EricB, or even myself says something. Its cool.

 

[veedubfreak]

like i said, i have yet to have ANY of these issues with onboard sound, and i'm pretty sure i go through more motherboards than most average users.

 

[Crysalis]

Well that could be why... by the time the circuitry is burning in, you've done got a new one.

 

[EricB]

I can't do anything but laugh. I stop commenting on these posts.

to the original poster. get amplified speakers first. if you get any halfway decent ones, then you want to upgrade. if you can't tell the difference from a chicken screaming when it's head get cut off and a cymbal, then keep onboard

 

[veedubfreak]

eric, i'm sorry, but you really are an elitest ****** when it comes to this stuff. the vast majority of the population will not be able to tell the difference between onboard and a sound card. The on board sound that comes with most good motherboards in the last few years is more than enough for general gaming. You act as if everyone is using their computer to broadcast a concert or radio station.

 

[Crysalis]

chicken screaming and cymbals...

:freak: ... i'd say thats about right.

*golf clap*

 

[ricanflow]

eric, i'm sorry, but you really are an elitest ****** when it comes to this stuff. the vast majority of the population will not be able to tell the difference between onboard and a sound card. The on board sound that comes with most good motherboards in the last few years is more than enough for general gaming. You act as if everyone is using their computer to broadcast a concert or radio station.

Hey, we know our stuff.

This is the problem we get shut down for providing the facts. I dont have magical ears, and i can tell the difference between onboard and dedicated.