Is it worth upgrading from onboard

[Angrykirill]

Hiya folks,

my specs ATM are as follow; P4 2.66 GHZ, 120gig HDD, 768mb DDR1 ram and onboard sound (Avance AC97 - that's the same as Realteks I guess). I'm seriously considering an upgrade which probably will look like something similar to this -

Either one of the heavy dual core or a quad-core (2.4GHZ) - probably the later
EvGA8800GTS G92 graphics card (when it comes out of course)
2Gb DDR2

will be putting in a new PSU and probably a new HDD, but that doesn't make much of a difference.

Question is: will it lift/hamper my performance in games if I switch to a sound card? I really don't care about sound quality, I have a pair of cambridge soundworks speakers which are more than enough for me, and I haven't had any problems with the sound quality in any games (bf1942 and vietnam with various mods, gta series, silent hunter 3, half-life 2, hitman series, far cry.. whatever I could run - no complaints about the sound quality in any game, the few times I had to use my comp for skype/voice recording it was enough too). I'm just wondering if the newer games (crysis, starcraft 2 when out, colin mcrae dirt, stalker, silent hunter 4 - and anything newer) will require too much from my sound card and will cut my performance?

- Regards, Kirill

 

[jitpublisher]

Fisrt, what is your current motherboard? It may not support the CPU/GPU upgrade your are looking at. Were you planning on a new motherboard as well?

A dedicated card with it's own sound processor will actually take some load off of your CPU, but really with today's CPU power, it is a negligable tiny amount.
If you are happy with your onboard sound, no need spending money on a dedicated card. The onboard sound on the new motherboards is actually quite good, not as good as a dedicated card, but by far good enough for all but the most discriminate ear.

 

[Shadow703793]

No, the toll that inboard sound takes on the CPU is like .01% when playing games. You will how ever notice an improvement in sound quality if you get a good sound card.

 

[roadrunner197069]

Onboard sound is fine. Onboard graphics suck. Does your board even support the Core2Duos or the DDR2 ram? I would build a whole new system if I were you. Not much sense building new and using a old board. If you dont overclock you can get a new board for 40-50 dollars.

 

[Angrykirill]

Onboard sound is fine. Onboard graphics suck. Does your board even support the Core2Duos or the DDR2 ram? I would build a whole new system if I were you. Not much sense building new and using a old board. If you dont overclock you can get a new board for 40-50 dollars.

I am.. just forgot to mention I'm basing it all on an Abit A9 Pro or Quad. Should have known you folks would have wondered

 

[Angrykirill]

So it's not worth it? Thanks, then my onboard sound stays - will pull it out though if the sound quality will drop in Crysis. Can't expect it to, though, I thought this onboard unit worked perfectly in HL2, so doubt it will be a huge difference.

damn edit function didn't work, sorry for spamming mods

 

[roadrunner197069]

What is the computer going to be used for the most? A dual core will be fine if you dont edit video. If your comfortable overclocking get a good P35 chipset board and over clock the e2180 or e2200. If not get the cheap board and the Q6600 or e6750.

 

[roadrunner197069]

If you want to play crysis you might want to thing about getting a sli or crossfire board so you can run dual graphics. IMO Crysis is ahead of its time for the average jo. I play COD4, its pretty good and runs very smooth.

I can do crysis at low resolution and medium settings, but that kinda sucks if you ask me.

I see people running sli complaining about it so if you like to play high resolutions you are gonna have to drop some major chaching in the graphics.

 

[mike99]

Sorry to disagree, but onboard sound cannot usually support as many voices as Xi-Fi or other good sound card. If you run 3DMark03 you will find out what your onboard sound can manage. Games with good sound support can produce large number of voices which add to the atmosphere of the game, background sounds and effects such as rats moving around in a cave. These other voices add to the realism of the game, plus you will gain a few extra fps.

Mike.

 

[Angrykirill]

Sorry for forgetting about this thread, just thought the issue was closed - but thanks, I was going to ask some of the questions you all brought up in another section anyways, so...

Computer will be used for gaming mainly if you are asking about the heavy stuff, no video editing/3d works, maybe a bit of PS work but nothing more serious than the basic stuff.. About the processor, what should I go for? I don't want to overcloak and want something good.. should I go for the top of the core 2 duo line or the E6600 Core 2 Duo Quad? Or maybe it will be unnecessary and a medium-level core-duo 2 will be enough? Again, I'm building this for gaming (SH4, Stalker, Crysis - although NOT on absolute max settings, SC2 and probably some other titles to add to that..) ..as the GFX card the 8800GTS 512mb on G92 technology from EVGA seems like the best for me atm (I am somewhat price limited) - maybe there's another option?

Been recommended the Abit P9 pro on another board by an experienced gamer, what is actually the best board for my needs (gaming) - the P9 pro or quad?

Thanks in advance to everybody, you have been very helpful and quick at replying