Are Sound Cards Worth It? [Simple Guide]

[@HalfDayHero]

I bought my sound card because I wanted to take full advantage of my DTS speaker system and holy moly let me tell you now; on-board sound does not even compare. Sound cards ALL the way.

[@sttrnsskn5417]

True. I used on board soundcards for many years and one year ago i bought external soundcard because it was for very good price and i wanted to try it. And holy sh*t. The difference in sound, bass and background noise is huge. Nid range frequencies are also cleaner. All of this and i use only 12€ headphones from Sony.

[@unreconstructed9172]

I have been using dedicated since the "old" ISA days and every time I enable onboard to "test" it there is no comparison. High end motherboards do have some decent sound options occasionally and at times they use creatives chips but even then it's just close. As far as fps, yes you do gain minimally using dedicated. I currently use a dedicated creative soundcard for headphone use and also a creative katana for all other times. If onboard options were as good as dedicated, motherboards would be at least $100 more expensive and dedicated cards would be hard to find. Anybody with a quality set of headphones or speakers can without a doubt tell the difference, especially with proper EQ utilization.

[@robo6548]

Creative offer 15% discount if you upgrade to their new cards. They accepted the upgrade from my old Audigy 2 from 2002! Pretty sweet.

[@PradeepRaajkumar1981]

I got logitech z906 and changed the wires.. BUT Creative G6 DAC external was a dissapointment... NO dolby or DTS Output from BLURAYs.. My old setup is here below.. I was watching movies in DTS and DOLBY and DVDRIP had right positing including music.. with all the balance of HIGHS, lows and MIDS even from MP3 regional SOUTH Indian as well as English versions CDs and MP3s- AUDIGY 2ZS with Logitech z680 facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1211093563369&type=3

[@PradeepRaajkumar1981]

@@robo6548 Will be getting ae- 9 creative from my PC build to pair it optical with my Z906

[@telengardforever7783]

It's kind of ironic that the longest-lived computer hardware piece I ever owned was my REVEAL Sound Blaster compatible sound card from 1994. It lasted through four computers and over 10 years of continuous use. But since the ISA bus is no longer supported, I can't use the card anymore. That sound card manufactured in 1993 is still far better than the integrated sound chips of 2021.

[@unreconstructed9172]

Uhm, yes you do gain in some instances with a dedicated soundcard. Not as much these days but you do offload resources from your CPU with them.

[@lex33122]

Good to pay attention to this often neglected piece of kit. Very nice. One point of criticism though - there was simply too many shots of money. Obviously its just my one-insignificant-human-opinion, but I actually started cringing after a while. It took away from what was a fair to fine discourse for me.

[@Steve-tu7hs]

I bought a dedicated sound card because when I had my headphones connected to my PC tower, I would hear static noise when surfing the web. After I installed my sound card and connected my headphones to it, I no longer heard the static noise.

[@opheliumzone4671]

Wow seriously? Was it a high end motherboard?

[@plakeplays6420]

sounds like a cheap motherboard

[@FellOnMyKeys]

You covered this quite well. I agree Audiophiles, like myself, will probably be the only type to notice a difference in quality. When my on board Realtek ALC888 died last year, I searched the classifieds and picked up a Sound Blaster Z for $30. It was built in 2015 but still provided a significant improvement in fidelity. Those ALC888 chips have a SNR of 97dB, but the Blaster Z has a far better 116dB.

[@fiver2k820]

Yes, a combination of a good soundcard and great headphones will make a difference.

[@pujo054]

will the razer kraken pro v2 be good with it ?

[@matthewdoyle8644]

@@pujo054 nah but a proper headphone the byrodynamic dt 770 pro is good for the price or if you want to look into studio monitors PreSonus are a good brand

[@pujo054]

@@matthewdoyle8644 Thank you

[@saibamoe]

No it won't Unless you use uncompressed high quality audio You won't tell a diference

[@DerekHellscream]

@@saibamoe who told you this? even mp3 sounds better with a dedicated sound card.

[@RebelViking912]

I think external DAC/AMP's are the future. Dedicated Soundcards are going away since lots of gamers are going with wireless headphones which have their own internal dac/amps without any need to have an internal one or external one.

[@ClassierAunt]

I compared my Integrated sound on my motherboard to my new high end sound card. The Audio quality of my sound card is excellent

[@DelbyDank]

I don’t care how good you say the on-board audio is I’m always gonna use my sound card and will hear exactly where you came from

[@apieceofcrap8794]

If you want sound quality, just buy an external dac and amp combo

[@planespeaking]

If you can't tell the difference between MP3 or Flac then you need a better Hi-Fi. Also the narrator needs a room with less echo. Maybe some acoustic panels?

[@Joepesci1508]

Hahahah

[@WJCTechyman]

The closest thing I use to sound cards now in my setup are HDMI DAC stereo audio extractors to run to my Yamaha mixers and out to my vintage stereo equipment. There is a bit of a hiss, but most of the time that's coming from the optical (TOSlink) S/PDIF DAC on my Xbox One, and that's when the console is off. I use the on-board analogue audio out on my PC but that's because it's there and I don't really notice that much of a difference between it and the Audigy card I had in my computers at one point.

[@jamesm568]

Meanwhile I still have a sound blaster top-of-the-line card from 15 years ago.

[@telengardforever7783]

My REVEAL Sound Blaster compatible sound card from 1994 was one of the best pieces of computer hardware I ever owned. It's sad I can't use it anymore.

[@FellOnMyKeys]

The Creative X-Fi Elite Pro? That's what I installed 2 months ago on my ASUS mobo when the Realtek ALC888 died. It was dated 2004 but still worked and only cost $15. Very noticeable improvement in fidelity. Just last week I replaced it with a Sound Blaster Z (built in 2015) and gained slightly more clarity with voices and instruments during playback.

[@siemprepalante773]

Thanks for a solid non influenced review.

[@KudaKae]

I had a ps3 where in its prime, it had a soundcard in it. Now having a ps4 pro, with no soundcard. it is so terrible

[@vladnet5485]

Wow, I thought it was only me who noticed

[@telengardforever7783]

A good sound card on the console increases it's price by at least $20. That was just too much during the days of the PS4 launch. But now that PS5's easily go for $1500, the extra $20 for good audio doesn't seem so extreme anymore.

[@sorgialfalan6512]

Yes, I use SC since my MB doesn't support DTS/ DDL and I want full 5.1 experience. I didn't use HDMI because my AVR can't pass 120 Hz refresh rate, and if I use 2 HDMI (1 for AVR and 1 for monitor) then my GPU will detect that I use 2 monitors, and the GPU won't lower its voltage even when idle. Plus, HDMI has no EQ.

[@wasky1]

internal soundcards arent generally better than external interfaces or amps

[@zerotactix5739]

Wrong. External ones suck ass. I have the Asus Xonar 5.1 sound card, and as long as you have the settings set right, the volume and the audio quality blows any external sound card away. As for amp, it's better than the Fiio e10k with the AMP enabled. Using a Hyper X v1 with it.

[@robbiemein5062]

@@zerotactix5739 your arguing the same point. internal sound cards are ok... (i had a asus xonar 7.1) but the second i got my schiit heresy and modi 3 it was 10x better, plus it doesnt take up a pci slot

[@angelbryan98]

What if my entire music library is made of lossless ALAC files?

[@Fajah69]

Do not get a $200 sound card for your $20 speakers and do not get a sound card if your music is from KZbin.

[@BenTiredson]

Absolutely.

[@lucid6607]

Thanks for the advice I wasn’t sure if it would improve my quality but I just listen on Spotify and KZbin anyway

[@misterbulletl6689]

@@lucid6607 Not true my friend, KZbin music also benefits from quality sound card. Try and hear for yourself.

[@EarthboundApocalypse]

1. When better sound is a thing to consider, money is not a problem. No need to put too many money counting shots. 2. If you can't distinguish a FLAC master sample of your favorite song, against a cd-extracted WAV file (1411kbps) or a high profile MP3 (320kbps), then you need to educate your hearing perception, wash them carefully or buy new ones. [sarcasm on this last one] 3. Sound processing do affect FPS in negative way when it's done all by CPU. So if a dedicated graphics card offloads CPU usage by processing gfx, then dedicated sound offloads some percentage too by matching and providing sound processing performance, at the same level other high profile components in your PC do, to help reduce frame-time spikes the best it can. You can definitely feel it by having high-speed RAM and storage. So girl, you're wrong partially on your statement. 4. This gear is only for professionals, not amateurs.

[@bodaciouschad]

In Escape from Tarkov, the audio is notoriously atrocious. The game literally freezes if too many sounds playing at once.

[@meroinheroin]

You pushing this ideology is the reason why everyone's mic is horrible quality on discord

[@uaespetsnaz2391]

Are sound cards helpful when using a headset rather than a pair of speakers

[@Darwho]

Yep, definetly

[@ronien3763]

Will this remove the buzz sound of the mic? I cant use my headset because of the buzz sound.

[@delatroy]

Yes

[@Y_a_r_n]

I hate that youtube encourages stretching videos to this degree. I can't blame creators for taking advantage, but It's so irritating when you look for a simple answer/explanation and hear 7 minutes of almost no information repeated over and over

[@chrisblandford8971]

cant game without a soundcard myself, it's just to good plus fps increase i get is a bonus.

[@unicorn2005]

Remember the Old Hi-Fi stereo setups?, everything was modular hence easy to replace if something broke or you wanted a better quality component, PCs for awhile were like that until started with integrated Graphics, Sound, etc. I believe the right path is to you build a computer where most components can be easily upgraded or replaced, reason why I welcome the return of the Sound Card.

[@rchamy94]

I've had a Xonar STX since 2015 and I'll only switch it for a very high end external DAC. Damn lil thing is too good

[@dzemperator]

i've never seen so much money footage in a video as in this one

[@SpeakinRap]

If I have an Apollo interface, I don’t need a soundcard right?

[@placeholder-x3y]

im thinking of getting one because my sound is so low no matter what ive done, switched headphones, etc im just gonna get a sound card

[@bruceallen6492]

Sound cards are worth it! If you want to hear your music and movies/TV shows in 5.1 sound then you need a sound card.

[@robinjohansson5365]

will dobly atmos surround work if I use either an external or internal soundcard?

[@robo6548]

It depends on the individual unit. You need to check the specs. Generally the creative cards support Dolby and thx.

[@robinjohansson5365]

@@robo6548 so if i would get a creative sound blasterX ae-5,it would support the dolby atmos software i have on my pc?

[@tamilarasan483]

​@@robinjohansson5365 Creative Digital out will support Dolby. All you need is supported sound system like Z906.

[@twangyyy18888]

I have a 6 or 8 year old motherboard should I get a card?

[@eexl3800]

my card just died xD

[@telengardforever7783]

The older the motherboard, the more benefits you'd get from a PCIe Sound Card. It will not only improve the audio, but help with electrical noise from the aging components in your computer.

[@mer1boss_883]

do you need to disable the onboard motherboard sound card in bios or can you just do it in the device manager

[@SmiFF_]

My sound card is being classified as ¨end of life product¨ ... and from a 5.1 signal i have to downgrade to a 2.1 signal. So indeed, are they worth it?!

[@AmataSora]

You should also add that its better to have an ATX motherboard if your integrated sound card are faulty and you need at least 3 PCI-E for Sound, Ethernet and Graphics Cards. Too simple, not specifics.

[@rakebluewallgaming6185]

I use USB headphones, assuming its pointless right?

[@meroinheroin]

NooOooooo those are the worst lol

[@euso2008]

Yeah, USB headphones have their own built-in DAC, which does the job instead of the sound card

[@abirkhan5717]

Why i can't get any notification when you upload a new video? I also subscribe and press the bell icon that should send me the notification.

[@OprichnikStyle]

between flac and mp3 the difference is quite noticeable

[@zerotactix5739]

Asus Xonar 5.1 sound card blows any onboard / headset / external usb sound out of the water.

[@streamnoremorse]

I used it but id dead cause i burned it contacts replacing oscillator. STX. Now I want to go and test onboard X570 audio. Maybe buy SMSL DAC.

[@Rezurexionn]

Why is Hyper x Cloud at the top of everyone's list? Does this company pay everyone off? These headsets aren't that good. Are you really saying they are better than headsets like Steelseries Artis pro game dac or Bose queit comfort ii gaming headset???

[@unicorn2005]

I'm looking for recommendations on a sound card that works in Linux, any suggestions ?

[@ronch550]

They're definitely worth it if you care about audio quality.

[@mcbain668]

The only way you will really notice a difference is by spending a lot of money on both a sound card and headphones to take advantage.

[@MelioUmbraBelmont]

1:34, actually, they do acellerate sound processing and maybe give you some FPS.... Trust me, I've put a sound card on a old Intel pga 478, ddr 1, that sht is old, and It gained FPS on PS1 games.... Well, for todays standards with powerfull cpus.... Don't really make a difference on performance....but... Yes they can tive you a little help.

[@sangrakitpc8625]

I have sound card from Asus Xonar HDAV 1.3 Deluxe,but how to installing of card sound because im using too,but there are can "Power Unpluged,please shutt down your PC anf then plugin power"

[@onlytrueanonymousfanszzzzzz]

Yeah, I'll stick to using soundcards because onboard sucks.

[@onlytrueanonymousfanszzzzzz]

What we really need is "EAX" again for gaming...

[@MrHamit64]

Hay you forgot that the motherboard may have gimicky audio. That's why I want a card. Cause I'm sick of the gimicks Dell puts on the RealTek cards. Oh and I am that FLAC guy. That or pure true raw PCM WAV please.

[@stormrising2623]

Yes if you can get the fkng drivers to work worth a shit!

[@FunBreaker]

Nice

[@euso2008]

While I do enjoy listening to FLAC on a dedicated sound card, I do think modern compression (especially AAC, which is the most currently used) and current on-board sound is more than good enough for people who don't wanna bother. It's a shame the audiophile community is full of pretentious douchebags who think listening to uncompressed audio and investing in specific gear makes them superior when most of them, despite what they claim, couldn't tell the difference between AAC and FLAC, or on-board audio vs dedicated sound cards

[@SuperKanuuna]

answer: yes

[@sixcoregamer9221]

Sound cards with cmss are still worth it kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z3yTfWecmr9sh9E kzbin.info/www/bejne/i4m1m2B_l6esbJI

[@Mell0wY3ll0w]

Wheres usb headphones.......

[@doc6188]

Who the heck uses usb headphones

[@Mell0wY3ll0w]

@@doc6188 people in 2020

[@doc6188]

@@Mell0wY3ll0w you mean like wireless or just usb plug in?

[@alyctro8158]

I don't use a soundcard, and probably never will. I use an audio interface. Which overall leagues better than any dedicated soundcard.

[@tonytiger93]

ok

[@chynydj]

Hello I really hope that someone can help me here, I bought the MSI B450M Pro VDH Max Motherboard and I immediately had Sound Input Problems my Microphone didnt work work and I am 100% sure that its a hardware problem, will a Sound Card fix the problem would I have to buy a internal or would a external work. Could please anyone help me with this problem

[@plakeplays6420]

i have a b450-f gaming from asus i use the internal supremefx sound card with no issues

[@MattDeezly]

8GB in 2020, wut??

[@telengardforever7783]

I did more with 64k of RAM on my Commodore 64 than I ever did with 32gb of RAM on my Win10 box.

[@MattDeezly]

@@telengardforever7783 but literally not.

[@AsianPersuation24x7]

this was incorrect when it was posted lol no new custom PCs should have had 8gb ram and 16 was a maybe 32 should have been the start, around the time this posted 32gb kits were maybe $90-$110.

[@Brandon-cs8gw]

Onboard sound is garbage

[@starcitizenalchemist6220]

8 and 16 gb of ram? female hooman, you are silly.

[@TVEE]

you literally only need 1GB of RAM to run a sound card with it's software lol but she was talking about a basic setup so..

[@telengardforever7783]

In 2020, isn't 32gb RAM the minimum and 64gb the new high? 16gb seems too small. God, you can't even run most browsers with 16gb or RAM.

[@seanandrews5329]

sound cards are for boomers

[@half_empty_soul6534]

Generation Fake Rebelion don't know even how to install one, they are too busy finding namrs for 100 new genders

[@ohyeahyeah1955]

@@half_empty_soul6534 OK boomer

[@half_empty_soul6534]

@@ohyeahyeah1955 np Fake

[@FXVNDER]

Jeez can y'all stop being cringe?

[@half_empty_soul6534]

@@FXVNDER another snowflake bite the dust

[@LudwigSC93]

Incredibly terrible info lol.