• Welcome to TechPowerUp Forums, Guest! Please check out our forum guidelines for info related to our community.

Should I get a sound card?

Joined
Dec 27, 2007
Messages
8,518 (1.43/day)
Location
Kansas City
System Name The Dove Box Rev 3.0
Processor i7 8700k @ 4.7GHz
Motherboard Asus Maximus X APEX
Cooling Custom water loop
Memory 16GB 3600 MHz DDR4
Video Card(s) 2x MSI 780 Ti's in SLI
Storage 500GB Samsung 850 PCIe SSD, 4TB
Display(s) 27" Asus 144Hz
Case Enermax Fulmo GT
Audio Device(s) ON BOARD FTW
Power Supply Corsair 1200W
Keyboard Logitech G510
Software Win 10 64x
So I've never owned a dedicated sound card and I'm not sure what I'm missing out on.

Currently I run a digital audio out via HDMI to my receiver (Sony STR820 7.1 @110W per channel) via my 560Ti. I never run analog audio, either through the front headphone port or rear outputs.

So what am I missing? Is the digital audio sound from my gpu better/worse than analog onboard? Especially since it's going to a home theater receiver, would it make a bit of difference if I were running a dedicated sound card to send the digital audio signal(toslink)?

Also, if you think a dedicated card is worth it; please provide a suggestion.

Thanks! :toast:
 
Joined
Nov 25, 2008
Messages
926 (0.17/day)
Location
Akron, OH
System Name Main Rig
Processor Athlon 5350
Motherboard AsRock mITX
Memory 4gb
Storage 120gb Kingston HyperX SSD
Display(s) Samsung Syncmaster 740N
Power Supply Corsair 430 watt
In your case, a sound card will not improve your sound quality.

However, a sound card with the Dolby Digital Live feature will send 5.1 sound to your receiver rather than 2.0 sound in games. Right now, your receiver is likely receiving stereo sound from your PC for games and turns that into pseudo 5.1 sound via the Dolby Pro Logic feature in the receiver. Having the Dolby Digital Live feature on a sound card would mean that all the work is being done in the sound card and that the surround effect would likely be better.
 
Joined
Dec 27, 2007
Messages
8,518 (1.43/day)
Location
Kansas City
System Name The Dove Box Rev 3.0
Processor i7 8700k @ 4.7GHz
Motherboard Asus Maximus X APEX
Cooling Custom water loop
Memory 16GB 3600 MHz DDR4
Video Card(s) 2x MSI 780 Ti's in SLI
Storage 500GB Samsung 850 PCIe SSD, 4TB
Display(s) 27" Asus 144Hz
Case Enermax Fulmo GT
Audio Device(s) ON BOARD FTW
Power Supply Corsair 1200W
Keyboard Logitech G510
Software Win 10 64x
Bump, anyone else got some input?
 

FreedomEclipse

~Technological Technocrat~
Joined
Apr 20, 2007
Messages
23,313 (3.77/day)
Location
London,UK
System Name Codename: Icarus Mk.VI
Processor Intel 8600k@Stock -- pending tuning
Motherboard Asus ROG Strixx Z370-F
Cooling CPU: BeQuiet! Dark Rock Pro 4 {1xCorsair ML120 Pro|5xML140 Pro}
Memory 32GB XPG Gammix D10 {2x16GB}
Video Card(s) ASUS Dual Radeon™ RX 6700 XT OC Edition
Storage Samsung 970 Evo 512GB SSD (Boot)|WD SN770 (Gaming)|2x 3TB Toshiba DT01ACA300|2x 2TB Crucial BX500
Display(s) LG GP850-B
Case Corsair 760T (White)
Audio Device(s) Yamaha RX-V573|Speakers: JBL Control One|Auna 300-CN|Wharfedale Diamond SW150
Power Supply Corsair AX760
Mouse Logitech G900
Keyboard Duckyshine Dead LED(s) III
Software Windows 10 Pro
Benchmark Scores (ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡┻━┻
In your case, a sound card will not improve your sound quality.

However, a sound card with the Dolby Digital Live feature will send 5.1 sound to your receiver rather than 2.0 sound in games. Right now, your receiver is likely receiving stereo sound from your PC for games and turns that into pseudo 5.1 sound via the Dolby Pro Logic feature in the receiver. Having the Dolby Digital Live feature on a sound card would mean that all the work is being done in the sound card and that the surround effect would likely be better.

^ seconded.
 
Joined
Nov 9, 2010
Messages
5,650 (1.16/day)
System Name Space Station
Processor Intel 13700K
Motherboard ASRock Z790 PG Riptide
Cooling Arctic Liquid Freezer II 420
Memory Corsair Vengeance 6400 2x16GB @ CL34
Video Card(s) PNY RTX 4080
Storage SSDs - Nextorage 4TB, Samsung EVO 970 500GB, Plextor M5Pro 128GB, HDDs - WD Black 6TB, 2x 1TB
Display(s) LG C3 OLED 42"
Case Corsair 7000D Airflow
Audio Device(s) Yamaha RX-V371
Power Supply SeaSonic Vertex 1200w Gold
Mouse Razer Basilisk V3
Keyboard Bloody B840-LK
Software Windows 11 Pro 23H2
Stick with a receiver. Any halfway decent recently made HT receiver has lots of decoding options including DTS HD Master and Dolby TrueHD for Blu-rays, and typically a variety of Dolby Pro Logic II and even stereo upmix (sim surround like Dolby Neo) options for gaming. You can end up with digital or analog sound whether you have a sound card or receiver though. It varies from brand, model and type of receiver, card or speakers you get.

Furthermore you don't have to worry about poor driver support, which is common with sound cards. All sound cards are at the mercy of whomever manufacturers the main chip for them, or DSP. In many cases people will try and use drivers from another brand card when the card manufacturer doesn't keep up on drivers well.

A receiver will also have huge slit foil caps, vs small slit foil or all solid state caps on a sound card. Solid state caps are being used a lot more on sound cards now because they run cooler and last longer, but it's largely due to sound cards having a rather small PCB, in which case extra heat can get transferred to them from the DSP chip. Conversely, receivers have the space for huge heatsinks and separate PCBs for amp and DSP , so they can run big slit foil caps no problem.

Slit foil caps give you more warmth in the midrange and bass. They have a more anaolog, less digital sound vs solid state caps. I chose a Yamaha receiver because they use a DSP that is designed to sound more natural and less digital. Because of this they are pretty good for playing music if you prefer an analog sound.

Honestly, when you consider MS has dropped HAL (Hardware Audio Layering) support ever since Vista, sound cards don't make much sense anymore. Because of it surround sound in games when using a sound card is hit and miss, and is always software vs hardware driven anymore. Even Creative cards need their Alchemy software to support surround sound.

There's also the fact that the HT receiver market is WAY bigger than the sound card market, so you can commonly get $300 receivers for $150, about what a decent sound card goes for. Even the HT speaker market is much bigger than the PC speaker market, so you can get better deals there too. Just don't assume you have to get the little HTiB speakers to get a good price.

I just picked up some Jamo HT speakers with floor standing fronts and a Jamo 8" sub for only $250 at Fry's. My movies and games have never sounded so good. If you ever make it down to the Dallas area, Fry's have these for $200 (I got mine on sale for $150). They also have this for $150, but will match Vann's price. Even at $400 total, this sub & speaker set is well worth it. Jamo is made in Denmark and now owned by Klipsch, whom put a 5 yr warranty on them. They use butyl rubber surrounds on the drivers and real hardwood veneer on the MDF cabinets.

I was considering Denon or Pioneer on receivers. Denon tends to be very clean sounding with discrete amplification for each channel. Lower in actual watts power channel, but you don't have to turn them up as much. Pioneer is about the same as Yamaha as far as amp clarity and efficiency, but has a more neutral DSP. Denon's DSP tends to sound more digital. Both actually sound more digital than Yamaha, because the fact is, you really need a DSP that tries to impart a natural analog sound to get away from the digital sound of most source material in movies and games anymore, which is what Yamaha's DSP is designed to do.

So, basically if you think you want a fuller, more analog sound, you may want to listen to some other receivers and speakers, esp if you have the tiny HTiB speakers. The mids in those sets commonly don't play low enough to match what the sub can do, so you don't get full range sound. That in itself can make everything sound more digital, along with hard vs soft dome tweeters, the latter of which Jamo uses.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

hat

Enthusiast
Joined
Nov 20, 2006
Messages
21,731 (3.43/day)
Location
Ohio
System Name Starlifter :: Dragonfly
Processor i7 2600k 4.4GHz :: i5 10400
Motherboard ASUS P8P67 Pro :: ASUS Prime H570-Plus
Cooling Cryorig M9 :: Stock
Memory 4x4GB DDR3 2133 :: 2x8GB DDR4 2400
Video Card(s) PNY GTX1070 :: Integrated UHD 630
Storage Crucial MX500 1TB, 2x1TB Seagate RAID 0 :: Mushkin Enhanced 60GB SSD, 3x4TB Seagate HDD RAID5
Display(s) Onn 165hz 1080p :: Acer 1080p
Case Antec SOHO 1030B :: Old White Full Tower
Audio Device(s) Creative X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Pro - Bose Companion 2 Series III :: None
Power Supply FSP Hydro GE 550w :: EVGA Supernova 550
Software Windows 10 Pro - Plex Server on Dragonfly
Benchmark Scores >9000
It shouldn't matter. You're already using a digital output to your receiver, which means the receiver is doing all the decoding. It shouldn't make one bit of difference even if you buy a $300 sound card. If you want better audio quality, you need to take a look at getting a better receiver or better speakers.
 

AsRock

TPU addict
Joined
Jun 23, 2007
Messages
18,853 (3.08/day)
Location
UK\USA
Processor AMD 3900X \ AMD 7700X
Motherboard ASRock AM4 X570 Pro 4 \ ASUS X670Xe TUF
Cooling D15
Memory Patriot 2x16GB PVS432G320C6K \ G.Skill Flare X5 F5-6000J3238F 2x16GB
Video Card(s) eVga GTX1060 SSC \ XFX RX 6950XT RX-695XATBD9
Storage Sammy 860, MX500, Sabrent Rocket 4 Sammy Evo 980 \ 1xSabrent Rocket 4+, Sammy 2x990 Pro
Display(s) Samsung 1080P \ LG 43UN700
Case Fractal Design Pop Air 2x140mm fans from Torrent \ Fractal Design Torrent 2 SilverStone FHP141x2
Audio Device(s) Yamaha RX-V677 \ Yamaha CX-830+Yamaha MX-630 Infinity RS4000\Paradigm P Studio 20, Blue Yeti
Power Supply Seasonic Prime TX-750 \ Corsair RM1000X Shift
Mouse Steelseries Sensei wireless \ Steelseries Sensei wireless
Keyboard Logitech K120 \ Wooting Two HE
Benchmark Scores Meh benchmarks.
Stay with the HDMI solution, only reason to get a sound card would be if you needed a mic and the on board being rubbish which some times happens....

Depending on your receiver you might be able to get it to select the currect settings when playing so no messing with different options to get the 5.1 working.

EDIT: I find Analog more heavy\bass than digital..
 
Joined
Apr 4, 2008
Messages
4,686 (0.80/day)
System Name Obelisc
Processor i7 3770k @ 4.8 GHz
Motherboard Asus P8Z77-V
Cooling H110
Memory 16GB(4x4) @ 2400 MHz 9-11-11-31
Video Card(s) GTX 780 Ti
Storage 850 EVO 1TB, 2x 5TB Toshiba
Case T81
Audio Device(s) X-Fi Titanium HD
Power Supply EVGA 850 T2 80+ TITANIUM
Software Win10 64bit
I'd pass if you already have a receiver. You miss out on some sound processing options with games but usage is limited there, and while affordable receivers focus more on features than upgrading performance (vs older models) you'd still need one anyways to run your speakers so you'd just be adding another layer of coloration if you added a soundcard to your setup.
 
Joined
Dec 27, 2007
Messages
8,518 (1.43/day)
Location
Kansas City
System Name The Dove Box Rev 3.0
Processor i7 8700k @ 4.7GHz
Motherboard Asus Maximus X APEX
Cooling Custom water loop
Memory 16GB 3600 MHz DDR4
Video Card(s) 2x MSI 780 Ti's in SLI
Storage 500GB Samsung 850 PCIe SSD, 4TB
Display(s) 27" Asus 144Hz
Case Enermax Fulmo GT
Audio Device(s) ON BOARD FTW
Power Supply Corsair 1200W
Keyboard Logitech G510
Software Win 10 64x
Thanks guys, I appreciate the help!
 

Phusius

New Member
Joined
Mar 23, 2012
Messages
1,316 (0.30/day)
Processor i5-2500k @ 4.5
Motherboard Asus Z68 Deluxe
Cooling Noctua NH-D14
Memory 16GB DDR3 1600
Video Card(s) Sapphire 7950 @ 1200/1475 @ 1175v
Display(s) Dell 23" 2ms
Case Carbide 500r
Audio Device(s) Asus Xonar DG
Stay with the HDMI solution, only reason to get a sound card would be if you needed a mic and the on board being rubbish which some times happens....

Depending on your receiver you might be able to get it to select the currect settings when playing so no messing with different options to get the 5.1 working.

EDIT: I find Analog more heavy\bass than digital..

Sound cards like my $27 Xonar DG have a built in headphone amp which is necessary if you have a high quality pair of headphones like Sennheiser or Audio Technica. My own ATH-AD700's headphones cost $100, and once I hooked it up the built in amp on my sound card; the sound was truly amazing. No other speakers or "gaming" headset has come close to the sound quality.
 
Top