Sound Blaster Audigy SE vs Asrock Z77 extreme4 onboard sound?

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rowdymoody

rowdymoody

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Jan 16, 2013
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My father in law just gave me a brand new Sound Blaster Audigy SE (model SB0570L4). Since I built my computer, I have been using the onboard audio of my Asrock Z77 extreme 4 motherboard and have been happy with it.

My computer speakers aren't anything special, just 2 little cheap logitechs, and I know I will not be able to tell any difference in sound using them. However, 95% of the time when I am gaming or watching videos or listening to music I am wearing my Razer Kraken Pro headset, which I believe is pretty good quality, would it be worth it to put the Sound Card in my PC or is my onboard sound better than the Sound Card?

I have never ever used a sound card in any of my builds, and to be honest I know absolutely nothing about them. I have gotten mixes reviews while researching online. Some people say they make no difference, other people say it is ALWAYS better to have a sound card.

I want some opinions about this before I go ahead and install this card and the drivers and software for it only to find out that it wasn't worth the effort.

What do you guys think? Sound Blaster audigy SE or Asrock Z77 extreme4 onboard?
 
Solution
palladin9479
Short answer: yes it will.

Longer answer: The difference will be negligible in most cases. Awhile back we needed dedicated signal processors to compute how sound would, well sound. Modern CPU's are such that this computation is a non-issue and onboard DSP's are what's being used. A dedicated 24-bit 96hz+ audio processor does produce cleared sound and better MIDI instrumentation, that difference is often lost due to most users have really poor audio setups. Dedicated audio cards tend to only make a difference if someone is into audio recording / mixing and sound instrumentation.
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rowdymoody

rowdymoody

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I currently have a Radeon HD 7970 so I don't need a video card, I am just wondering if this audio card might give me any sort of improvement over my motherboards onboard audio.

 
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palladin9479

palladin9479

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Jul 26, 2008
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Short answer: yes it will.

Longer answer: The difference will be negligible in most cases. Awhile back we needed dedicated signal processors to compute how sound would, well sound. Modern CPU's are such that this computation is a non-issue and onboard DSP's are what's being used. A dedicated 24-bit 96hz+ audio processor does produce cleared sound and better MIDI instrumentation, that difference is often lost due to most users have really poor audio setups. Dedicated audio cards tend to only make a difference if someone is into audio recording / mixing and sound instrumentation.
 
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knightdog56

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Your motherboard with the Realtek ALC898 sound chip has better specs. than the Sound Blaster Audigy SE sound card, just stay with what you are using. And your headset is nothing special, unless you plan on doing alot of upgrading just for sound just stay with what you have.
 
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rowdymoody

rowdymoody

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Okay, so I will not notice any difference at all using my crappy little logitech speakers. What about when I am using my 7.1 virtual surround sound headset? Will I notice crisper sound and new noises I currently can't hear while using onboard audio while wearing the headset? I am not by any means an audiphile, and have been satisfied with the sound my motherboard puts out.

I just figure if I can get "better" sound, might as well.
 
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rowdymoody

rowdymoody

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That is exactly what I was looking for, someone to actually compare the specs and tell me which was better. Thank you for taking the time to do that and Thank you for your answer I appreciate it.

I will go ahead and give this soundcard to someone, or throw it away, or something of the sort :D

 
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computertech82

computertech82

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opps, i mean ASUS SOUND CARDS.



Actually he's lying. the on-board does NOT have better specs...PERIOD. Almost all on-board sound cards are software driven, most separate sound cards are HARDWARE driven. Look up reviews on sound cards for proof.
 
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knightdog56

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The sound blaster audigy se is a piece of crap compared to my asus xona d1 or my asus xonar essence st, I myself do not use onboard sound because of the difference in quality, I was just saying that the codecs are better with realtek alc 898 than they are with the audigy se.
 
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