do i need a sound card?

[omw]

hi,
ive intel 865 gbf mobo with onboard 5.1(or more) integral sound. i was tthinking about buying a reasonable 2.1 pair.....one out of altec mx 5021, logitech z2200(heard these r better than newer model; z2300) and klipsch promedia. these all r THX certified. i saw some one on the net using z2300 with on board sound. will i get some extra audio quality with audigy 2 zs(i received it as a gift....but wont put it in unless i need it).
i read on the net that a sound card is basically for 3d sound, sound recording and other stuff that i never do. even 3d(surround) is aval with my current mobo. im into games as well and will be mostly using the speakers for games and music. not into 5.1 stuff; difficult to manage...too many leads and such.....kids in the house, u know! and also sound quality of a 5.1 system costing under 200$ would be questionable!

thanks for reading my long post.
help greatly appreciated.

kind regards
omw

 

[KorKwin]

With that soundcard, you should be able to tell a dramatic increase in sound quality over your onboard sound. I've never heard that particular card, but my friend has a SB Live 24 Bit and it makes music and everything else sound noticably better. If that sound card has hardware voices your games should play a little better due to the soundcard taking some of the load off of the CPU. I don't know if you'd be able to tell the difference in game performance, but it should increase a little.

 

[turtile]

The only card I would pay for over onboard is the Creative X-Fi

Its 24x the power the the Audigy. With this you WILL hear a great difference in quality. (actually increases 2.1 better)

With the Audigy ZS the sound wouldn't be that much better to pay the extra money.

 

[Camden]

If it's just for gaming and enjoying music, then I'd say pass on the s card; it's more for people working with and editing music and/or sound phr34ks . I have no sound card, and I love my sound. Integrated sound with decent speakers (bass box included ^_~) = all I could ever want.

 

[omw]

thanks
this means its useless to put in the audigy 2zs in pursuance of better sound quality.

more views/ suggestions welcome

omw

 

[Camden]

well if you have the funds and want it, go for it. There is a difference, the debate is if it's worth the 40-400 bucks for a quality one when most integrated sound is enough to make most people happy

this means its useless to put in the audigy 2zs in pursuance of better sound quality.

IMHO, yes.

 

[omw]

thanks. i put it in though cause i already had it ...as a gift u know. i do find some slight improvement with my sennheiser 202(not the best of headphones). however ive been able to game at a bit higher video quality setting! lets see what happens once i get the altec mx5021.

omw

p.s. i cant play dvd movies with the creative media player. cant even play dvd video songs.....dunno which format the ceative accepts. incase i use other dvd playing software would i get the desired perfor?mance