Should I buy sound card? Is it worth the money

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sjp3568

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Dec 10, 2014
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Hey guys -

Today I started reading and researching dedicated sound card for your desktop and wanted to ask you guys if it is really worth it to purchase a sound card. Some say if I have decent motherboard then I do not need one... I play PUBG (Battle ground) a lot and it can always use extra sound support. Based on my build/headset, does it make sense to buy a sound card?

Here's my build:
Headset: Sound BlasterX H7 Tournament Edition (both USB and Audio jack)
Motherboard: Gigabyte Z97X-UD3H
GPU: EVGA Black Edition 1070 Ti
CPU: Intel i7-4790K (w/ be quiet! DARK ROCK 3 cooler)
RAM: CORSAIR Vengeance Pro 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2400
PSU: EVGA G2 750w
Windows 10

Based on my research, Creative Sound Blaster Z ($95) is pretty good with gaming.

So, should I buy? If yes, what sound card should I buy?

Thanks guys!
 
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SkyBill40
Honestly? No. There have been several very detailed tests on both this site and elsewhere that have shown fairly conclusively that ondoard sound is just as good (and sometimes better than) a dedicated card. What a dedicated card will get you is additional amplification which is not to be confused with better processing. Digital signals are all ones and zeroes. There's nothing extra special being done to them by a standalone card.

If you really want to improve your sound, buy a high quality set of headphones (not a headset - there's a difference) and a separate mic. The same goes for desktop speakers. If you want great sound reproduction, you have to do your due diligence and research what's out there. Not all brands are on the same...
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SkyBill40

SkyBill40

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Honestly? No. There have been several very detailed tests on both this site and elsewhere that have shown fairly conclusively that ondoard sound is just as good (and sometimes better than) a dedicated card. What a dedicated card will get you is additional amplification which is not to be confused with better processing. Digital signals are all ones and zeroes. There's nothing extra special being done to them by a standalone card.

If you really want to improve your sound, buy a high quality set of headphones (not a headset - there's a difference) and a separate mic. The same goes for desktop speakers. If you want great sound reproduction, you have to do your due diligence and research what's out there. Not all brands are on the same level. Remember that.

Finally, if you have the chance, buy only after having heard the music or whatever through the headphones you're interested in and let your ears and nothing else decide. Reviews are helpful to a degree but only your ears hear things for you. Everything else is subjective. Let actual test numbers speak for you if you can't hear your content on the phones you're considering.

Best of luck. I'd be happy to provide further opinion if you wish to hear it.
 
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