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PC Sound cards. Do you still use them?

nkarafo

nkarafo

Member
For more than 10 years i'm using my current Audigy 2 and i just can't do without it (i have another one just in case). And before that an Audigy 1 and before that a SB live. Ever since i started using PCs, this line of sound cards are a permanent component for my PC. The reason is mostly the software. I'm used to some specific setups and filters so i can't listen to music on my fancy PC speakers without them.

So i was wondering

-Do they still help in performance in games? Aren't they suppose to take the sound workload off the CPU?

-Is the sound quality of build in chips in modern motherboards as good (or better) than, say, an Audigy card of 2003?

-Is there a significant leap in sound quality between a 2003 Audigy card and a modern one (preferably from creative because of the software)? I know i will have to upgrade at some point because my next PC will probably lack an ancient PCI slot.
 
L

lazygecko

Member
They won't really help at all with performance. Games use software for pretty much all of their audio functionality these days. There was a brief period when stuff like EAX was starting to gain traction around the late 90's and early 00's, but that was promptly halted once Microsoft started imposing some sort of limitations on how sound cards could interface with Windows/DirectX, citing security loophole concerns. At the same time integrated mobo sound was becoming really common which killed the incentive for average PC owners to invest in dedicated sound cards.
 
L

LilJoka

Member
No they dont help performance, CPUs are vastly more powerful, and most have hardware acceleration for decoding. But really, games output PCM which doesnt even need decoding, its uncompressed.

Yes, onboard audio is fine, unless you are driving high end headphones or other AV equipment, like an AV Receiver with audiophile type speakers.

Never actually used 2003 Audio Card, so cant say, but i imagine its a lot better now with lower distortion etc.
 
Bl@de

Bl@de

Member
Not really. But I use a Fii-O E10K for my headphones. An external DAC. Amazing sound. But my last internal PCI soundcard was a couple of years ago.
 
Y

Yudoken

Member
Nowadays there is no need for a soundcard (especially if you have a decent mainboard).
You should rather invest your money in better headphones/speakers.
 
Danny Dudekisser

Danny Dudekisser

I paid good money for this Dynex!
I use a sound card with optical out, which goes to a DAC, which goes to audio monitors. In lieu of a ridiculous setup like that, you're probably fine with onboard.
 
DJ_Lae

DJ_Lae

Member
Nope.

Well, I bought a Xonar card with the intent of making it sound better with headphones, but I didn't really notice a difference and it didn't play well with my piano's MIDI input (or some other audio programs like Z3TA+2) so I took it out.
 
abracadaver

abracadaver

Member
I use a Xonar DX because with onboard sound the bass sucked in comparison.

I noticed this after playing just cause 2 on 360 and then on PC. That was in 2012.


I would be down for a new super duper creative soundcard though. Is there anything awesome on the market right now?
 
nkarafo

nkarafo

Member
Yudoken said:
Nowadays there is no need for a soundcard (especially if you have a decent mainboard).
You should rather invest your money in better headphones/speakers.
Click to expand...
Well i do have those cards sitting there anyway. I still believe they are better than modern on board chips but that's maybe just denial, i'm not sure. It's the software+settings these cards support that do all the difference for me. Even though i had to d/l a third party driver because the official windows 7 driver didn't support all the features
 
A

Atomic Playboy

Member
I use one, but only because I broke off a headphone jack in my motherboard's audio out port and I broke the audio out port on my tower. A sound card was cheaper than replacing either the motherboard or tower, so that's what I went with. It offers no advantage over onboard audio, so unless you really have a hankering for extra parts you don't need or you have a tendency to break 3.5mm jacks like an idiot, I'd skip it.
 
R

Rich!

Member
nope.

I have my PC connected via HDMI from my GTX970 to my 5.1 receiver which then gives me glorious uncompressed PCM surround (and obviously visuals on my hdtv). For headphones, I use my sony bluetooth set.
 
S

SpotAnime

Member
I used to have a nice soundcard in my rig a couple of years ago, but ever since I went HDMI audio it all comes from the videocard anyway, so I had no use for it taking up an extra slot and sucking up more power than needed.

But for those who are in need of optical audio or still have an analog setup, I've been told the onboard audio could cost a couple of FPS in gaming, and that a dedicated card would free up MB resources. Is that still the case?
 
C

ChoklitCow

Member
The only time I considered it is because I moved my Astro's from my consoles to my PC and the dac's limitation regarding Dolby output.

I figured out a work around, but in the end it would have been smarter for me to just invest in different sound equipment then to run with a sound card (for my non-audophile, gaming purposes).
 
bati

bati

Member
Click on thread to brag about the age of my Audigy 2 ZS -> see it as the first line in OP.

denzel.jpg
 
T

THEaaron

Member
Gosh. X-FI and never going back. Dedicated sound cards produce way better sound than you can get from nearly every onboard solution.
 
R

Rizific

Member
i use one. when i purchased my audiotechnica ad700s it was recommended that i get something to amp them with. a common recommendation was the $35 asus xonar dg so thats what i got.
 
D

doctorcdcs

Member
yep. i used to use onboard sound, but switched to a cheap xonar card. i was getting some odd feedback issues when using the onboard sound, and the sound card solved the issue for me. Plus it was only $18 at the time.
 
C

CloudyTuba

Member
I got a soundcard (Sound Blaster Z) for my most recent build a couple years ago because I only realized after the fact that my board didn't have the sound options that I wanted and there was no way to change that through software.

Installed it and got the options I wanted. The only problem is that now when running games, a buzz can be heard coming through the speakers. It's really annoying. I assume it's an interference problem from being so close to the GPU.

I don't really know what to do about that, though. :/
 
B

br0ken_shad0w

Member
Xonar Essence STX user here. I still use it for the DAC and the outputs to connect to my speakers and external amp.

I'll probably go with an external DAC for my next build though.
 
M

Mohasus

Member
I'm using a Fiio-E10 DAC but honestly, I barely notice any difference. At least it makes easier to switch between my speakers and headphone (Fidelio X1, not exactly high end, so maybe that's why), so I'll keep using it.

PS: there are modded realtek drivers to enable some options that are locket out to specific vendors. Had I known this before, I probably wouldn't have bothered trying to enhance my sound setup (my receiver uses optical, so 5.1 on PC with default drivers was complicated).

Dolby Digital Live, DTS Interactive, Dolby Home Theater, DTS Neo: PC
http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/t...olby-digital-live-and-dts-interactive.193148/

Dobly DIGITAL /w THX and DTS, DTSHD, DTS Connect, SRS Processing, CMSS-3D and EAX VIA Alchemy, XFIMB II stuff
http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/threads/xfi-mod-is-back.183809/
 
dmix90

dmix90

Member
I was using ASUS Xonar DS and Xonar DG for a while not a long time ago. I think DG kills every onboard chip that i heard of if you have decent headphones. DS was nothing special but it allowed me to use DTS Connect when i had a receiver that did not support LPCM 5.1 through HDMI( -_- that was an underwhelming discovery.... ). Would be glad to stil use my DG but there is no room for it on new motherboard cause its too hot between GPU's and DS became obsolete when i upgraded receiver :(
 
D

Durante

Member
There isn't any appreciable performance impact these days really.

I use a Xonar DGX for its features and since it does a significantly better job at driving my headphones than the onboard stuff.
 
S

Sir_Crocodile

Member
I still remember having to upgrade to an SBAWE64 because my SBPro couldn't handle curse of monkey island. :/

My last sound card was a SBX-Fi. Don't really see the point any more.
 
K

Krakn3Dfx

Member
A good sound card is still leaps and bounds above most integrated audio. I use a SB Recon 3D PCIe card and definitely notice the difference in games when it comes to quality and directional audio.
 
Vindicator

Vindicator

Member
Not sure if a Novation X-Station and RME Multiface qualify as soundcards, but sadly I don't use them anymore, maybe some day...
 
Q

Quicknock

Banned
Soundblaster Z here. Did it because onboard sound was not doing it for me, and the promise of any kind of performance improvement (no matter how slight) is very tantalizing to me. Pleased with my purchase. It's particularly great for my headphones, as the onboard sound had a very hard time outputting enough power for a decent volume.

SillyNonsense said:
I got a soundcard (Sound Blaster Z) for my most recent build a couple years ago because I only realized after the fact that my board didn't have the sound options that I wanted and there was no way to change that through software.

Installed it and got the options I wanted. The only problem is that now when running games, a buzz can be heard coming through the speakers. It's really annoying. I assume it's an interference problem from being so close to the GPU.

I don't really know what to do about that, though. :/
Click to expand...
Try reseating it, make sure there's no wires touching the card, etc.

I had this problem too, until one day it magically went away. The card itself is shielded, so physical contact/seating problems are the most likely culprits.
 
UnrealEck

UnrealEck

Member
I'm using on-board sound. It has a built in amplifier too.
When I can be arsed, I'll install my sound card too though so I can see how my new headphones sound through it and it'll give me more audio ports so I won't need to keep switching cables.
 
nkarafo

nkarafo

Member
External DAC solution seems interesting. How do they work? I assume you connect them to a USB slot, right?

Does that mean i can use both this and my sound card if i want to?
 
F

FlyingSaucer

Banned
I plan to buy a Soundblaster Z or a Xonar Essence one of these days but not because of gaming - I just want my PC to be the center of my future sound installation.

Mobo sound chipset is more than enough for gaming; my Sennheiser HD 558 could have use for a little more power though... ?
 
S

super-famicom

Member
nkarafo said:
External DAC solution seems interesting. How do they work? I assume you connect them to a USB slot, right?

Does that mean i can use both this and my sound card if i want to?
Click to expand...

Yeah, via USB or optical (depends on the model you have). You can go into sound preferences in OSX or Windows and choose the external DAC for output.
 
F

Ferr986

Member
Fot games I dunno but for music my cheap Xonar did made a difference compared with the onboard chip, especially when using headphones.
 
nkarafo

nkarafo

Member
Quicknock said:
It's particularly great for my headphones, as the onboard sound had a very hard time outputting enough power for a decent volume.
Click to expand...
Is it only the volume? How about the sound quality? Does the sound make you feel better?

Be careful with the volume + headphones mate. Trust me, it can get bad for the ears later on.
 
M

Mupod

Member
switched to a USB DAC after my x-fi shit the bed in a spectacular fashion. Would hard lock the entire PC while making a horrible SCREEEECHING noise then on reboot my PC would make some 'overclocking failed' message. Probably the most annoying and misleading hardware problem I've ever encountered and I work in IT. Definitely not buying any more of those.

But yeah the FiiO DAC I have has worked great for years. I can undock it and use it as a portable DAC/AMP too for my shitty laptop or old consoles. Also has optical in so it lets me use my headphones with consoles without having to move cords around.
 
E

Engell

Member
Most onboard soundcards a good enough for 95% of people. That said i had hiss/noise on my laptop souncard from power and wifi that i could hear.
So just bought the ifi micro IDSD dac/amp with my tax return.
 
C

Chastten

Banned
Nope, the last one I used was back in the 90's with my Pentium 3 machine.

Ever since getting a P4 I've used the onboard audio and a cheap Logitech 2.1 set. Works fine for me but I'm not an audiophile, so what do I know?
 
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