[SOLVED] sound cards

Hello all,

I have been thinking about getting a sound card, currently using the one built in to the mother board. I see you can pick some up for around £30 but this seems cheap. Am I right?

I use my PC for the normal stuff but do like playing Napolean total war, will I notice much differnce in game play? or should I save the money for something else?

thanks in advance

If you have a Realtek ALC889 sound chip onboard your motherboard, those are very good sound chips. You really wouldn't need to go to a PCI sound card.

Agreed. Realtek HD Audio is excellent. Imho, the only people that would really benefit from add-on type sound are musicians that need mic pre-amps, multiple input recording and the best ADDA conversions for projects.

Other than that, Realtek onboard is a great way to go.

In game "play"? None at all. If talking about sound fidelity, I agree with the previous comments. Actually, if you want to improve sound quality, invest in a better set of speakers.

When I used to sell home hi-fi and stereo equipment in the '70s, a top-end set of speakers definitely make more difference than anything else.

One can use the same set of equipment; pre-amp, amp, etc., and then hook up different speakers to them. It is amazing what a good set of speakers can do for the sound heard.

Fixing audio equipment in the 70s was my first love in electronics repair. I still have a set of AR-3a speaker systems.

I still have a set of klipshorn speakers from back in the days. Great sound.

And some of the most efficient speakers around. 50W and yours were shattering eardrums, while my ARs were just starting to think about moving.

cheers chaps, nice one.