Should get a soundcard, or stick with onboard? (Headphones)

Ryan00

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Nov 28, 2013
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So I'm currently building a new computer that will have an Asus Maximus VI Hero motherboard:

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-motherboard-maximusvihero

I'm also going to buy the Sennheiser PC360 headset, as I used these when staying at a friends house and they were easily the best sounding headphones I've ever used (and I've used quite a few...). If it matters, I'm switching from a pair of Logitech G35s I've been using for at least 5 years. The headphones will be primarily used for gaming, but may be used for music and movies as well. I will not be doing any professional sound mixing.

The question I have is pretty simple, although I don't possess the expertise to answer it myself: To get the full effect of these new headphones, would it be beneficial for me to buy a soundcard? Or will the onboard sound be more than enough? If they would benefit from a soundcard, what are the best options? I'm also wondering if these headphones require an amp, and if so what amp I should buy (assuming they don't need a soundcard, obviously if they need both I'll get a soundcard that has both).

As a bit of a side-note, I'm also curious as to people's thoughts on cards supporting virtual surround sound... The G35s I own come with virtual surround, and I found it to be rather gimmicky and, as such, I don't use the option very often. Would getting virtual surround for the PC360s be a better experience, or still not worthwhile?

Any advice is greatly appreciated, thank you!
 
Solution
Get a creative soundblaster z sound card. Only $80 on amazon. It allows you to use surround and really does improve the audio. It also takes away some of the load from your processor albeit not much. Stick with seinheiser, they are perfect. Gaming headphones are cheap quality and don't have the best audio quality

Stormtrooper13

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Jan 16, 2014
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Get a creative soundblaster z sound card. Only $80 on amazon. It allows you to use surround and really does improve the audio. It also takes away some of the load from your processor albeit not much. Stick with seinheiser, they are perfect. Gaming headphones are cheap quality and don't have the best audio quality
 
Solution

Ryan00

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Nov 28, 2013
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Sounds good to me! I did a little research since posting and saw some old topics where people suggested various Asus cards, but it looks like those cards are outdated for the most part and was thinking a Creative Soundblaster would be the best option... if anyone thinks otherwise let me know, otherwise picking this as my solution!

Thanks for the advice
 

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