Motherboards Sound Card vs Mobo

Howdy all,

Recently bought new PC, old X-Fi Fatal1ty is PCI so no slots on new mobo. When using mumble my team mates now say I sound 'like I'm underwater' and there's some sort of low level reverb. Same logitech microphone, so wondering if a new PCIE sound card will help?

Guess the question is, do sound cards have any real advantage over onboard sound these days?

 

My ASUS D2X offers a very rich soundscape! So from films to playing BF3 through a 5.1 system it's very immersive and has never missed a beat. Would never simply use the Motherboards sound output these days.

 

I just bought a Xonar DG - cheapest Asus card i could get - and it is massively, hugely better than the onboard sound on a sabretooth 990FX (fairly recent board).

 

Got the Xonar DG in my old PC, superb sound through the headphones on this one.

 

Well, when I bought my mobo, A crosshair IV formula, I thought the Creative XFi stuff that was onboard was pretty darn good. Then I tried a friends Xonar DX, a fairly low end card, and I needed one.

Bottom line- If you can afford one, then you should have one.

 

Got a dg and is definately better, but its pci although I believe asus make a pcie model even though its nearly the same price as the DX.

 

Damn, pity there isn't a PCI-E one for PCI price. So the Xonars still the way to go over, say, Creative or Auzentech?

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

 

Bit-Tech/CustomPC recommend the following audio card for gaming systems: http://uk.asus.com/Multimedia/Audio_Cards/Xonar_DX/

 

Not bad, £60 ish.

Is EAX dead these days? Not seen it mentioned since the days of BF2.

 

I'm happy with my Xonar U3, it's similar to the Xonar DG but with a USB interface.

I can use it on my laptop and at work if I need to, so it worked out for me.

 

Proprietary Creative gimmick. Onboard chips have never supported it, and those who used to buy Creative buy Asus now, which doesn't support it either.

 

Thought as much. From selling my old kit i've got enough for a DX2. This still a good card?

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

 

There's a DGX - not sure what it's like, but is cheap I have a DX and it's fantastic, but twice the price

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/asus-xonar-dgx-51-channel-pci-express-sound-card-dolby-headphone

 

Yes.

Your issue is likely the mic preamp rather than the quality of the DAC chip, but both should be better with a dedicated card.