Sound Card vs external DAC?

Netherspark

Reputable
Feb 11, 2016
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I've always used (Creative) sound cards in my PCs, but for my next build I may end up going with an ITX form factor, which means I'd have to leave my sound card behind due to lack of PCI slots. So I'm looking towards external DACs instead, and basically I just want to know how they compare to internal sound cards in terms of quality?

Specifically I'm looking at the Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi HD DAC to replace my Sound Blaster Z card.