Do sound cards even matter any more?

[yuppicide]

've been building my own computers for around 20 years now. I used to always get a Soundblaster card. Had to be at least Soundblaster, none of those cheap brands.

Does it even make a difference getting a dedicated sound card anymore as opposed to using the one built on the motherboard?

Will I gain any performance benefit or better sound?

Here's the specs of my recently built machine:

I got a good deal on a bundle and then added more stuff to it, so don't yell at me if ECS motherboards suck. I've had no problems so far.

- Elite motherboard A740GM-M (it says the Audio is IDT 92HD202 6-channel audio ( CO-lay 92HD206)
- AMD Phenom 9750 Quad-Core 2.4Ghz processor
- 4GB DDR2
- ATI Radeon 6850 video card
- Windows XP Pro 32-Bit

[osprey4]

Sound Blaster might have been "the audio card to get" 10-15 years ago, but unless you're doing something specialized or high end, I think they're all about the same. The speakers make a much bigger difference.

[Steve R Jones]

Ditto on the speakers...

But - what do you listen too?

Does it sound Bad or does it sound OK? Maybe if it ain't broke, there's no need to fix anything.

[ShyguyXPC]

with that list, though the Old Phenom isn't going to be all that great in games, paired with that 6850, may even be slightly bottlenecked in some newer games that only use 1 or 2 cores.

Really should have something like a Athlon II X4 or Phenom II X4... Even The Athlon II X3 out performs that older 1st Gen Phenom X4.


Anyways, besides the Motherboards Onboard Audio, the Radeon 6850 can process the audio as well.

So you have that option also. Using the 6850 for the "sound card" functions. You should be able to output via the motherboards audio jacks if using the Radeons audio as well.

otherwise, if you use an HDMI cable from the card, you can output the audio to say for example a Home Theater or some sort of Audio Receiver unit with HDMI input or something.

[bigBonehead]

IMHO... unless yer using the computer for high end audio/video editing or production, then no... the onboard S/C is good enough... YMMV of course

For the DAW or Video production work i recommend M-Audio's 2496 at the very least.

[yuppicide]

Thanks for the replies. I'd get a better CPU, but this motherboard doesn't support it. It was a deal from TigerDirect, so I was locked to that motherboard. Normally I'll buy ASUS myself.

The last processor we had was an old AMD dual core, so this is a lot better step up.

So from Tiger for $199 I got mobo, processor, 500GB hard drive, 2GB memory, case, and power supply. I upgraded the rest memory, video, case and power supply.

The case wasn't very roomy and the power supply got horrible reviews, not to mention it was 350 watts.

I upgraded to a HAF-912 case (high air flow), installed 6 120mm fans that are all just about whisper quiet.

I have an alright set of speakers. I wasn't as concerned with how things sound, I was just thinking on the "processing" aspect of things.. how the computer performs. I don't do any special editing, so I think I'm okay with what I have then.

Right now I'm playing World of Warcraft and Portal 2 with all settings on the highest and have a dedicated 27" computer monitor running 1080p. Also play some free FPS war game. I'm gonna get Battlefield 3 when it comes out.

Someone mentioned if it ain't broke don't fix it. Yep.. I know, but I always have it in the back of my mind that I don't have the latest motherboard BIOS firmware and it bothers me.

[pullmyfoot]

gah, misunderstood the post. I agree with shyguy on the phenom limiting your card though. its a shame because thats quite a fast card, though for most FSPs its more card limited than CPU limited so you should be ok.

[Aaron_8015]

- Elite motherboard A740GM-M (it says the Audio is IDT 92HD202 6-channel audio ( CO-lay 92HD206)
- AMD Phenom 9750 Quad-Core 2.4Ghz processor
- 4GB DDR2
- ATI Radeon 6850 video card
- Windows XP Pro 32-Bit

Right now I'm playing World of Warcraft and Portal 2 with all settings on the highest and have a dedicated 27" computer monitor running 1080p. Also play some free FPS war game. I'm gonna get Battlefield 3 when it comes out.

Hope you're looking to upgrade your OS also as BF3 will not run on XP.

[ShyguyXPC]

Thanks for the replies. I'd get a better CPU, but this motherboard doesn't support it. It was a deal from TigerDirect, so I was locked to that motherboard. Normally I'll buy ASUS myself.

The last processor we had was an old AMD dual core, so this is a lot better step up.

So from Tiger for $199 I got mobo, processor, 500GB hard drive, 2GB memory, case, and power supply. I upgraded the rest memory, video, case and power supply.

The case wasn't very roomy and the power supply got horrible reviews, not to mention it was 350 watts.

I upgraded to a HAF-912 case (high air flow), installed 6 120mm fans that are all just about whisper quiet.

I have an alright set of speakers. I wasn't as concerned with how things sound, I was just thinking on the "processing" aspect of things.. how the computer performs. I don't do any special editing, so I think I'm okay with what I have then.

Right now I'm playing World of Warcraft and Portal 2 with all settings on the highest and have a dedicated 27" computer monitor running 1080p. Also play some free FPS war game. I'm gonna get Battlefield 3 when it comes out.

Someone mentioned if it ain't broke don't fix it. Yep.. I know, but I always have it in the back of my mind that I don't have the latest motherboard BIOS firmware and it bothers me.

Yes it does support better CPU's, might need a better Bios Update, but it DOES support them, AM3 CPU's.

ECS Web Site

Click the CPU Tab on that page, and you'll see plenty of AM3 Socket CPU's in that list of supported CPU's.

As to BF3, your DEFINITELY Going to want a Better CPU once that is out.

[yuppicide]

But my processor is Quad-Core. The AM3's my motherboard supports are Semperon, Dual-Core, or Triple-Core.

Yes it does support better CPU's, might need a better Bios Update, but it DOES support them, AM3 CPU's.

ECS Web Site

Click the CPU Tab on that page, and you'll see plenty of AM3 Socket CPU's in that list of supported CPU's.

As to BF3, your DEFINITELY Going to want a Better CPU once that is out.

[yuppicide]

There's no official specs released for BF3 yet. One website states it runs Frostbite 2 engine, so they can estimate specs and that it will run on XP.

Hope you're looking to upgrade your OS also as BF3 will not run on XP.

[stroyal]

But my processor is Quad-Core. The AM3's my motherboard supports are Semperon, Dual-Core, or Triple-Core.

It is not the quad core that is important, as most games will only use 1 or 2 cores.

In most gaming, at the present time, 2 cores with a faster speed will beat a quad core with a slower speed.

A 3200 dual, will be better for gaming than a 2400 quad

Newegg.com - AMD Athlon II X2 260 Regor 3.2GHz 2 x 1MB L2 Cache Socket AM3 65W Dual-Core Desktop Processor ADX260OCGMBOX

[ShyguyXPC]

But my processor is Quad-Core. The AM3's my motherboard supports are Semperon, Dual-Core, or Triple-Core.

There was some AM3 Quad cores on that list.

[pullmyfoot]

not to mention that that Athlon II is also a generation newer and much faster clock for clock