It's terribly overhyped. Even now after release, people are still praising it to the moon and back despite it's terrible performance, hideous graphics and terribly average story.
Of course you're going to need a soundcard haha. But I know what you mean, and yes, a good soundcard makes a big difference. You should get an external one to decrease interference from the motherboard as much as you can.
I would go for the Behringer as I've had the most experience with them and they've always been top notch. Specs seem to blow the other two out of the water too.