AM3+ board with good onboard audio

[Chenty]

Hey guys, I'm building a new system for a friend soon and we're at the part picking stage. He wants good audio (not professional or anything, just fairly decent) so I was looking at simply getting a board with good onboard sound instead of a dedicated soundcard as if we put the money into the motherboard, then we'll be getting better overall performance too. Since there are no MSI Gaming Edition mobos for the AMD side yet, I need a bit of help in choosing one.

 

My preferred brand is MSI, but I'm not picky as it's not my machine.

 

Thanks

[Wats]

Budget?

 

Anything with ALC892 (or better) is fairly decent and I think that's the best you can get on an AM3+ board. Any sound card will be better. But 892 is perfectly ok for any average listener with average equipment.

 

 

No, wait. The Crosshair V has some kind of better audio solution. But thats too much money for an AM3+ board.

[Chenty]

Yeah the Crosshair is a little out of budget. I was looking at around £130 maximum really. Thanks for that. I'll look for that chipset.

[WoodenMarker]

Yeah the Crosshair is a little out of budget. I was looking at around £130 maximum really. Thanks for that. I'll look for that chipset.

Why not get a cheap dedicated sound card? It would be easily better than any onboard sound: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/NOiX

[Chenty]

Why not get a cheap dedicated sound card? It would be easily better than any onboard sound: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/NOiX

Yeah I was thinking that originally, but I know the guy I'm making it for is not going to notice the difference to be honest. He only asked for a soundcard in the first place because he didn't know onboard audio existed. I'd rather spend a bit more on the board and improve the overclocking potential. I'm gonna be using the 8320 or 50 so the more beefy a VRM I can throw at it, the better! Thanks though; appreciate the post.