Onboard sound (Asus P5B Deluxe) or Sound Card

[bloodandsoil]

I'm building a new PC that will be primarily used for playing games, watching movies, and music.

The motherboard I chose is the Asus P5B Deluxe. According to the specs, it has the following onboard sound--> ADI® AD1988B 8-channel High Definition Audio CODEC.

So my question is: Should I just stick with the onboard ADI AD1988B or should I buy a sound card? Thanks.

 

[Parge]

I'm building a new PC that will be primarily used for playing games, watching movies, and music.

The motherboard I chose is the Asus P5B Deluxe. According to the specs, it has the following onboard sound--> ADI® AD1988B 8-channel High Definition Audio CODEC.

So my question is: Should I just stick with the onboard ADI AD1988B or should I buy a sound card? Thanks.

If you have good speakers (like some Logitech 5500 etc) then it could well be worth picking up an sound card, if you dont, then its probably not. Another point to note: if your doing it to increase FPS then again, its not worth it, the gain is simply not worth the price.

 

[belvdr]

If you have good speakers (like some Logitech 5500 etc) then it could well be worth picking up an sound card, if you dont, then its probably not. Another point to note: if your doing it to increase FPS then again, its not worth it, the gain is simply not worth the price.

I know little about the card on that board, but my board has the AC97 sound, which was hogging my CPU. I bought a SoundBlaster Audigy SE for $30, and it brought my CPU usage down roughly 40% in Flight Simulator X.

 

[Parge]

I suspect 40% is an exageration

 

[Zephyn]

It all depends on what time of games you will be playing and how serious you are about your gaming.

Nowadays onboard sound is great with a lot of better motherboards; BUT it does hog some of your processor power.

I personally have been using the same computer for a few years now and I never bothered to put in a soundcard and I have a set of Z-680s. I do what you do on your computer and I work out just fine.

If you are a big FPS fan and play a lot on the internet then you might want the sound card.

Figure on spending around a $100 for a good sound card and ask yourself if the 5%-10% (maybe) increase in game performance is worth it.

I tell you what if you are planning on upgrading to Vista I would definatly think about grabbing a sound card.

My 2 Cents hope it helps

 

[jitpublisher]

If you have good speakers (like some Logitech 5500 etc) then it could well be worth picking up an sound card, if you dont, then its probably not. Another point to note: if your doing it to increase FPS then again, its not worth it, the gain is simply not worth the price.

I know little about the card on that board, but my board has the AC97 sound, which was hogging my CPU. I bought a SoundBlaster Audigy SE for $30, and it brought my CPU usage down roughly 40% in Flight Simulator X.


What kind of CPU do you have, a 386-25SX? I really find that hard to believe running any CPU that has been made in the last 5 years.

 

[dsidious]

Hey, don't knock the 386-25SX, I saved money for a year to buy that one, and it worked very nicely

Seriously now, if you get 5% or 10% performance improvement by adding a $50 sound card, I'd say go for it. Getting the same performance improvement by getting a better CPU would probably cost more. Plus you might get some useful software with the card.

 

[qrhetoric]

I have the P5B-E and the onboard sound drivers couldn't install. That made my decision easy. Audigy 4 SE from newegg for $45.

 

[rquinn19]

I dont have any problems with my onboard audio. When listening to music or watching movies I sometimes run it through my PC's 2.1 speakers and sometimes through my 5.1 receiver via digital coax cable. I think it sounds good either way.

 

[ches111]

Blood,

Check the forums for "P5B Sound Cracking".

That might give you some incite as to what decision to make.

I recently did a build with the P5B Deluxe-AP Wifi and found on the forums people having issues with hearing cracking/crackling using the onboard sound.

Many have been able to correct the issue but many just opted for an external card.

Good Luck!

 

[bloodandsoil]

Ok well I have a pretty large budget for this system so if it's going to be an issue I don't mind plopping down the extra dollars for a soundcard.

What soundcard is recommended? I don't need surround sound or any advanced features. I'll probably just hook up my soundcard to the speakers that come with my NEC 20WMGX2 monitor...