Internal vs External audio card

[Deus326]

Bcs of money problem etc. I can choose betwen Asus Xonar DG or CREATIVE Sound Blaster X-Fi Surround 5.1 Pro USB. I play games watch movies listen to music etc on headphones 95% of the time. What do u guys sugest I buy? 

[TempestCatto]

If you're doing anything casual, like listed above, just stick with onboard audio and save your money for something else, like a new GPU. If you have high end headphones, or plan on investing in some later on, then I would invest in something external. Not to mention, if you don't actively listen to source audio that is very high end, you will not hear any difference at all.

[masethekiller]

I would probably get the Asus. I have creative sound blaster z (bought it used for 40 dollars) that is really good.  But in general an internal sound card should be higher quality than an external one. External sound cards are usually for laptops.  

 

You will notice a difference with a sound card especially if it has an amplifier. 

[spartaman64]

get an external dac/amp the inside of a computer is an noisy environment so i dont understand why you want to stick a dac/amp inside there if you have the choice not to

[rice guru]

30 minutes ago, spartaman64 said:

get an external dac/amp the inside of a computer is an noisy environment so i dont understand why you want to stick a dac/amp inside there if you have the choice not to

Price and availability of external choices in this case limits you to these choices