Sound Card Vs. Onboard

[TravisTea]

I'm looking at a $40 Creative pci-e sound card and was curious if it will be that much better than the onboard audio for 5.1 or 7.1? I'm using the MSI Krait Z97 motherboard and Sennheiser HD558 headphones. Thanks guys!

[dragoon20005]

test the onboard before buying the audio card

[Enderman]

it will probably be worse

[KraftDinner]

not worth, onboard is just as good nowadays 

[sobe]

The only worthwhile successor to onboard these days is spending the $200+ for the high-end of sound cards. So if money is no problem and you want the BEST internal solution you can get, then absolutely a $200 sound card will do the trick. That said, for $99 you can get a Schiit Magni 2 which would be far superior to that of say, the Creative ZxR that I use in my pc.

 

Onboard has gotten better over the years and will possibly continue with that trend, but without spending $200, chances are your onboard is better than other internal options.

[FAQBytes]

I'm looking at a $40 Creative pci-e sound card and was curious if it will be that much better than the onboard audio for 5.1 or 7.1? I'm using the MSI Krait Z97 motherboard and Sennheiser HD558 headphones. Thanks guys!

Honestly, you're not going to see any increase in quality, if it is even an increase at all. IF you want something extra, go with an external USB DAC, as it is isolated from the PSU completely.

[TravisTea]

Thanks guys!