Does a Soundcard really make a big difference?

M

mobster281

Limp Gawd
Joined
May 6, 2008
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I plan on getting Logitech z5500 speakers soon and just wondering if I need to get a sound card to get the most out of them? My mobo( abit ip35 pro) has HD audio on it and just wondering if its worth the upgrade.
 
YES. Even though some onboard audio is decent these days, nothing beats a dedicated soundcard. Get the most out of your 5500's by getting a good one. My 5500's are mated to an X-Fi Platinum card and it makes a big difference.
 
It depends. There are some games where the difference between hardware and software audio is like night and day. World of Warcraft and Battlefield 2 are two games that come to mind. Beyond that a good soundcard or Dac can make quite the difference in music as well if you’re coming from poor quality onboard.
 
GotNoRice said:
It depends. There are some games where the difference between hardware and software audio is like night and day. World of Warcraft and Battlefield 2 are two games that come to mind. Beyond that a good soundcard or Dac can make quite the difference in music as well if you’re coming from poor quality onboard.
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Yes, it really depends on the game. Some games the differences aren't earth shattering and others it is. Call of Duty 4 is one that comes to mind. The difference between the onboard sound on my EVGA 680i SLI and my Creative X-Fi Fatal1ty was huge.
 
Dan_D said:
Yes, it really depends on the game. Some games the differences aren't earth shattering and others it is. Call of Duty 4 is one that comes to mind. The difference between the onboard sound on my EVGA 680i SLI and my Creative X-Fi Fatal1ty was huge.
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Agreed, major difference between onboard and my X-Fi Elite Pro in COD4
 
My 5500 are connected to a Asus Xonar DX. There was a deal going on for the card at ~80 dollars. It was a pretty good deal for an awesome card.
 
I'm happy with my X-FI Extreme Gamer, it made all the music and sounds in the games I play sound "cleaner" some things that used to sound a little muddy are now nice and clear, and music playback sounds a lot nicer, even on some mp3s that sounded like crap before I had the card.
 
Remember, the usb dacs coming out are really superior to sound cards and are often the same price or less. Additionally, they are outside the pc and thus have no emi issues resulting in cleaner sound. Just wait a few months, I am building the ultimate budget insane gaming theater. Going to blog it so others can see how to. I am still researching atm. Learning how to build a infinite baffle subwoofer array.
 
If you use S/PDIF or the analog section of your onboard sound does not have bad SNR (hiss, etc.) then a sound card will make little difference unless it has APIs like EAX that you use in games.

I would rather see someone spend the money on better speakers 99% of the time.
 
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