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

Sound card upgrade

Joined
Nov 30, 2015
Messages
712 (0.23/day)
Location
Croatia
Processor Ryzen 5 3600 PRO
Motherboard AsRock B450 Pro4
Cooling Arctic Freezer 34 /w Noctua NF-P12
Memory Silicon Power XPower Zenith 2x8GB @1600 MHz
Video Card(s) Gigabyte RTX 2070 Super Gaming OC 8GB
Storage Crucial P5 Plus 1TB / Crucial MX 500 1TB
Display(s) Dell P2419H
Case Fractal Design Pop Air /w 3x Arctic P12 PWM
Audio Device(s) Creative Sound Blaster Z + Edifier R1000T4
Power Supply Super Flower Leadex III 650W
Mouse Microsoft Intelimouse Pro
Keyboard IBM KB-8926
Software Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
Benchmark Scores Turns on on the first try! Usually.
So I've been looking into upgrading my speakers somewhat. Right now I have a cheap 2.0 set that works just enough for my needs, some gaming and music listening.
I am by no means a sound snob and personally cannot tell the difference between decent 320kbps MP3s and flac audio.

I plan to buy the Edifier R1280T speaker set in the near future and I've been wondering whether I should upgrade my soundcard as well. As a budget upgrade, I've seen people recommending cheaper sound cards tho some suggested to stick with the onboard stuff if the speakers are not really high-end. Right now I can get a Xonar DGX for a reasonable price but I figured I'd hold off buying it if it is not necessary, if the onboard will do the job that is.
Currently, the board I'm using has a Realtek ALC887 codec and from the motherboard review on here this implementation a got decent review on that part.
So, yay or nay on the sound card upgrade, and if yes do you have any (budget oriented) recommendations?
 
Last edited:

eidairaman1

The Exiled Airman
Joined
Jul 2, 2007
Messages
40,435 (6.61/day)
Location
Republic of Texas (True Patriot)
System Name PCGOD
Processor AMD FX 8350@ 5.0GHz
Motherboard Asus TUF 990FX Sabertooth R2 2901 Bios
Cooling Scythe Ashura, 2×BitFenix 230mm Spectre Pro LED (Blue,Green), 2x BitFenix 140mm Spectre Pro LED
Memory 16 GB Gskill Ripjaws X 2133 (2400 OC, 10-10-12-20-20, 1T, 1.65V)
Video Card(s) AMD Radeon 290 Sapphire Vapor-X
Storage Samsung 840 Pro 256GB, WD Velociraptor 1TB
Display(s) NEC Multisync LCD 1700V (Display Port Adapter)
Case AeroCool Xpredator Evil Blue Edition
Audio Device(s) Creative Labs Sound Blaster ZxR
Power Supply Seasonic 1250 XM2 Series (XP3)
Mouse Roccat Kone XTD
Keyboard Roccat Ryos MK Pro
Software Windows 7 Pro 64
Pcie/pci, ht omega, creative labs, e-mu
 
Joined
Nov 30, 2015
Messages
712 (0.23/day)
Location
Croatia
Processor Ryzen 5 3600 PRO
Motherboard AsRock B450 Pro4
Cooling Arctic Freezer 34 /w Noctua NF-P12
Memory Silicon Power XPower Zenith 2x8GB @1600 MHz
Video Card(s) Gigabyte RTX 2070 Super Gaming OC 8GB
Storage Crucial P5 Plus 1TB / Crucial MX 500 1TB
Display(s) Dell P2419H
Case Fractal Design Pop Air /w 3x Arctic P12 PWM
Audio Device(s) Creative Sound Blaster Z + Edifier R1000T4
Power Supply Super Flower Leadex III 650W
Mouse Microsoft Intelimouse Pro
Keyboard IBM KB-8926
Software Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
Benchmark Scores Turns on on the first try! Usually.
Pcie/pci, ht omega, creative labs, e-mu
I'm looking for PCIe cards, so you're saying that a sound card is necessary/worth it?

Also, the only ht omega cards I found are far and away from budget cards.
 
Joined
Dec 10, 2014
Messages
1,325 (0.39/day)
Location
Nowy Warsaw
System Name SYBARIS
Processor AMD Ryzen 5 3600
Motherboard MSI Arsenal Gaming B450 Tomahawk
Cooling Cryorig H7 Quad Lumi
Memory Team T-Force Delta RGB 2x8GB 3200CL16
Video Card(s) Colorful GeForce RTX 2060 6GV2
Storage Crucial MX500 500GB | WD Black WD1003FZEX 1TB | Seagate ST1000LM024 1TB | WD My Passport Slim 1TB
Display(s) AOC 24G2 24" 144hz IPS
Case Montech Air ARGB
Audio Device(s) Massdrop + Sennheiser PC37X | QKZ x HBB
Power Supply Corsair CX650-F
Mouse Razer Viper Mini | Cooler Master MM711 | Logitech G102 | Logitech G402
Keyboard Drop + The Lord of the Rings Dwarvish
Software Windows 10 Education 22H2 x64
Your onboard audio is enough. No need to waste money since the new speakers aren't that special anyway.
 
Joined
Aug 6, 2017
Messages
7,412 (3.05/day)
Location
Poland
System Name Purple rain
Processor 10.5 thousand 4.2G 1.1v
Motherboard Zee 490 Aorus Elite
Cooling Noctua D15S
Memory 16GB 4133 CL16-16-16-31 Viper Steel
Video Card(s) RTX 2070 Super Gaming X Trio
Storage SU900 128,8200Pro 1TB,850 Pro 512+256+256,860 Evo 500,XPG950 480, Skyhawk 2TB
Display(s) Acer XB241YU+Dell S2716DG
Case P600S Silent w. Alpenfohn wing boost 3 ARGBT+ fans
Audio Device(s) K612 Pro w. FiiO E10k DAC,W830BT wireless
Power Supply Superflower Leadex Gold 850W
Mouse G903 lightspeed+powerplay,G403 wireless + Steelseries DeX + Roccat rest
Keyboard HyperX Alloy SilverSpeed (w.HyperX wrist rest),Razer Deathstalker
Software Windows 10
Benchmark Scores A LOT
Your onboard audio is enough. No need to waste money since the new speakers aren't that special anyway.
actually,this is very far from the truth.
I have a measly microlab 2.1 system, 1280t is a much better setup
when I upgraded alc8xx (don't remember but it was on z77 extreme 4) to alc1150 I heard it instantly.
 

eidairaman1

The Exiled Airman
Joined
Jul 2, 2007
Messages
40,435 (6.61/day)
Location
Republic of Texas (True Patriot)
System Name PCGOD
Processor AMD FX 8350@ 5.0GHz
Motherboard Asus TUF 990FX Sabertooth R2 2901 Bios
Cooling Scythe Ashura, 2×BitFenix 230mm Spectre Pro LED (Blue,Green), 2x BitFenix 140mm Spectre Pro LED
Memory 16 GB Gskill Ripjaws X 2133 (2400 OC, 10-10-12-20-20, 1T, 1.65V)
Video Card(s) AMD Radeon 290 Sapphire Vapor-X
Storage Samsung 840 Pro 256GB, WD Velociraptor 1TB
Display(s) NEC Multisync LCD 1700V (Display Port Adapter)
Case AeroCool Xpredator Evil Blue Edition
Audio Device(s) Creative Labs Sound Blaster ZxR
Power Supply Seasonic 1250 XM2 Series (XP3)
Mouse Roccat Kone XTD
Keyboard Roccat Ryos MK Pro
Software Windows 7 Pro 64
So I've been looking into upgrading my speakers somewhat. Right now I have a cheap 2.0 set that works just enough for my needs, some gaming and music listening.
am by no means a sound snob and personally cannot tell the difference between decent 320kbps MP3s and flac audio.

I plan to buy the Edifier R1280T speaker set in the near future and I've been wondering whether I should upgrade my soundcard as well. As a budget upgrade, I've seen people recommending cheaper sound cards tho some suggested to stick with the onboard stuff if the speakers are not really high-end. Right now I can get a Xonar DGX for a reasonable price but I figured I'd hold off buying it if it is not necessary, if the onboard will do the job that is.
Currently, the board I'm using has a Realtek ALC887 codec and from the motherboard review on here this implementation a got decent review on that part.
So, yay or nay on the sound card upgrade, and if yes do you have any (budget oriented) recommendations?

Budget?

Onboard is as budget as you can get.
 
Joined
Jun 1, 2011
Messages
3,817 (0.81/day)
Location
in a van down by the river
Processor faster than yours
Motherboard better than yours
Cooling cooler than yours
Memory smarter than yours
Video Card(s) better performance than yours
Storage stronger than yours
Display(s) bigger than yous
Case fancier than yours
Audio Device(s) clearer than yours
Power Supply more powerful than yours
Mouse lighter than yours
Keyboard less clicky than yours
Benchmark Scores up yours
On-board is hit or miss depending on the actual mobo. I used to use an Asus Xonar sound card on my Asrock P67 & KIller z270 motherboards. On my current gigabyte Z370, the on-board is just as good as the sound card so I don't use it.
 
Last edited:
Joined
Aug 6, 2017
Messages
7,412 (3.05/day)
Location
Poland
System Name Purple rain
Processor 10.5 thousand 4.2G 1.1v
Motherboard Zee 490 Aorus Elite
Cooling Noctua D15S
Memory 16GB 4133 CL16-16-16-31 Viper Steel
Video Card(s) RTX 2070 Super Gaming X Trio
Storage SU900 128,8200Pro 1TB,850 Pro 512+256+256,860 Evo 500,XPG950 480, Skyhawk 2TB
Display(s) Acer XB241YU+Dell S2716DG
Case P600S Silent w. Alpenfohn wing boost 3 ARGBT+ fans
Audio Device(s) K612 Pro w. FiiO E10k DAC,W830BT wireless
Power Supply Superflower Leadex Gold 850W
Mouse G903 lightspeed+powerplay,G403 wireless + Steelseries DeX + Roccat rest
Keyboard HyperX Alloy SilverSpeed (w.HyperX wrist rest),Razer Deathstalker
Software Windows 10
Benchmark Scores A LOT
I'd certainly vote for getting something new,but I'm skeptical about the cheapest xonar/creative labs cards too.
How about that sound blaster z ? it's good price and people say it's better than alc1220. it'll blow the integrated sound quality on that old b75 mobo for sure.
do you have a spare pci-e slot ?
 
Joined
Oct 2, 2005
Messages
3,059 (0.45/day)
Location
Baltimore MD
Processor Ryzen 5900X
Motherboard ASUS Prime X470 Pro
Cooling Arctic liquid freezer II 240
Memory 2 x 16 Gb Gskill Trident Z 3600 Mhz
Video Card(s) MSI Ventus 3060 Ti OC
Storage Samsung 960 EVO 500 Gb / 860 EVO 1 Tb
Display(s) Dell S2719DGF
Case Lian Li Lancool II Mesh
Audio Device(s) Soundblaster Z
Power Supply Corsair RM850x
Mouse Logitech G703
Keyboard Logitech G513
Software Win 11
When I bought my Ryzen system I got a Sound blaster Z for under $100 because no more PCI slots for my X-Fi.
Sound quality is the same or better as the old card X-Fi and much better than the onboard, the Edifier R1280T 's are definitely nice enough to hear the difference, I have a pair myself.
Plus it has dual outputs so you can hook up 5.1 and headphones at the same time and switch via the SB app instead of having to unplug and replug things.

The only issue I encountered was the Gigabyte X470 had major issues with detecting non GPU PCIE devices but that was gigabytes issue not the card, I think you should be fine with the B75 chipset.
 
Joined
Nov 30, 2015
Messages
712 (0.23/day)
Location
Croatia
Processor Ryzen 5 3600 PRO
Motherboard AsRock B450 Pro4
Cooling Arctic Freezer 34 /w Noctua NF-P12
Memory Silicon Power XPower Zenith 2x8GB @1600 MHz
Video Card(s) Gigabyte RTX 2070 Super Gaming OC 8GB
Storage Crucial P5 Plus 1TB / Crucial MX 500 1TB
Display(s) Dell P2419H
Case Fractal Design Pop Air /w 3x Arctic P12 PWM
Audio Device(s) Creative Sound Blaster Z + Edifier R1000T4
Power Supply Super Flower Leadex III 650W
Mouse Microsoft Intelimouse Pro
Keyboard IBM KB-8926
Software Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
Benchmark Scores Turns on on the first try! Usually.
I'd certainly vote for getting something new,but I'm skeptical about the cheapest xonar/creative labs cards too.
How about that sound blaster z ? it's good price and people say it's better than alc1220. it'll blow the integrated sound quality on that old b75 mobo for sure.
The soundblaster would definitely be an improvement, tho that brings the question of is it necessary? I can't really justify spending on a more expensive card if the return will be barely noticeable. Also, just checked the prices that sound card is like 70% of the speaker price.

I actually sort of found a result. I'll just get the speakers and later on, if necessary I'll just pop in a card.
 
Joined
Aug 6, 2017
Messages
7,412 (3.05/day)
Location
Poland
System Name Purple rain
Processor 10.5 thousand 4.2G 1.1v
Motherboard Zee 490 Aorus Elite
Cooling Noctua D15S
Memory 16GB 4133 CL16-16-16-31 Viper Steel
Video Card(s) RTX 2070 Super Gaming X Trio
Storage SU900 128,8200Pro 1TB,850 Pro 512+256+256,860 Evo 500,XPG950 480, Skyhawk 2TB
Display(s) Acer XB241YU+Dell S2716DG
Case P600S Silent w. Alpenfohn wing boost 3 ARGBT+ fans
Audio Device(s) K612 Pro w. FiiO E10k DAC,W830BT wireless
Power Supply Superflower Leadex Gold 850W
Mouse G903 lightspeed+powerplay,G403 wireless + Steelseries DeX + Roccat rest
Keyboard HyperX Alloy SilverSpeed (w.HyperX wrist rest),Razer Deathstalker
Software Windows 10
Benchmark Scores A LOT
The soundblaster would definitely be an improvement, tho that brings the question of is it necessary? I can't really justify spending on a more expensive card if the return will be barely noticeable. Also, just checked the prices that sound card is like 70% of the speaker price.

I actually sort of found a result. I'll just get the speakers and later on, if necessary I'll just pop in a card.
well,it isn't necessary,you'll get them playing on integrated too.
but the point is what batou said,1280t is a very nice pair of speakers and you'll get better sound out of them on a better sound card.the difference should be instantly perceptible.
you said you don't see a difference between 320kbps mp3 and flac,but that's cause you said you're on cheap 2.0 speakers and the most basic sound card too. I can't imagine that with a big upgrade you'll not see the difference with time.We only know what we're used to.That's the problem with people who tell you that there's no point in getting a sound card upgrade.

btw I was gonna get the 1280t at one point myself too :) but I spent it on moar games and another ssd again cause I'm a moron :laugh:
 
Last edited:
Joined
Dec 10, 2014
Messages
1,325 (0.39/day)
Location
Nowy Warsaw
System Name SYBARIS
Processor AMD Ryzen 5 3600
Motherboard MSI Arsenal Gaming B450 Tomahawk
Cooling Cryorig H7 Quad Lumi
Memory Team T-Force Delta RGB 2x8GB 3200CL16
Video Card(s) Colorful GeForce RTX 2060 6GV2
Storage Crucial MX500 500GB | WD Black WD1003FZEX 1TB | Seagate ST1000LM024 1TB | WD My Passport Slim 1TB
Display(s) AOC 24G2 24" 144hz IPS
Case Montech Air ARGB
Audio Device(s) Massdrop + Sennheiser PC37X | QKZ x HBB
Power Supply Corsair CX650-F
Mouse Razer Viper Mini | Cooler Master MM711 | Logitech G102 | Logitech G402
Keyboard Drop + The Lord of the Rings Dwarvish
Software Windows 10 Education 22H2 x64
actually,this is very far from the truth.
I have a measly microlab 2.1 system, 1280t is a much better setup
when I upgraded alc8xx (don't remember but it was on z77 extreme 4) to alc1150 I heard it instantly.
Maybe. But in what way if I dare ask? Personally as long as the audio is not distorted I'm fine. And most of the time I don't even use it from the PC. I turn it on to hear the radio or play songs from my phone via BT. So yeah, sound quality on speakers might not be my thing.

BTW both Creative and ASUS have horrible driver support. At least ASUS has third party drivers iirc. So try to get external USB sound card if you can. I think Sound Blaster E3 or E1 are external.

Yep. Sound Blaster E1 (https://www.amazon.com/Creative-Headphone-Amplifier-Integrated-Smartphones/dp/B00J2JATL0) It's sold as an headphone AMD/DAC but connecting to PC you can also use their software if you need it.
 

FreedomEclipse

~Technological Technocrat~
Joined
Apr 20, 2007
Messages
23,306 (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┻━┻
Maybe. But in what way if I dare ask? Personally as long as the audio is not distorted I'm fine. And most of the time I don't even use it from the PC. I turn it on to hear the radio or play songs from my phone via BT. So yeah, sound quality on speakers might not be my thing.

BTW both Creative and ASUS have horrible driver support. At least ASUS has third party drivers iirc. So try to get external USB sound card if you can. I think Sound Blaster E3 or E1 are external.

Yep. Sound Blaster E1 (https://www.amazon.com/Creative-Headphone-Amplifier-Integrated-Smartphones/dp/B00J2JATL0) It's sold as an headphone AMD/DAC but connecting to PC you can also use their software if you need it.

Creative also have 3rd party drivers just fyi. >You can find them here< - no AE-5 support yet sadly as the creator doesnt have an AE-5
 
Joined
Jan 11, 2006
Messages
38 (0.01/day)
Sound Blaster Z is what i settled on... perfect solution for me.
 
Joined
Jan 17, 2010
Messages
12,280 (2.37/day)
Location
Oregon
System Name Juliette // HTPC
Processor Intel i7 9700K // AMD Ryzen 5 5600G
Motherboard ASUS Prime Z390X-A // ASRock B550 ITX-AC
Cooling Noctua NH-U12 Black // Stock
Memory Corsair DDR4 3600 32gb //G.SKILL Trident Z Royal Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 3600
Video Card(s) ASUS RTX4070 OC// GTX 1650
Storage Samsung 970 EVO NVMe 1Tb, Intel 665p Series M.2 2280 1TB // Samsung 1Tb SSD
Display(s) ASUS VP348QGL 34" Quad HD 3440 x 1440 // 55" LG 4K SK8000 Series
Case Seasonic SYNCRO Q7// Silverstone Granada GD05
Audio Device(s) Focusrite Scarlett 4i4 // HDMI to Samsung HW-R650 sound bar
Power Supply Seasonic SYNCRO 750 W // CORSAIR Vengeance 650M
Mouse Cooler Master MM710 53G
Keyboard Logitech 920-009300 G512 SE
Software Windows 10 Pro // Windows 10 Pro
The Xonar DGX is a great budget card. Best bang for the buck and you will notice the quality over any onboard sound. I have tested this many times with many boards including the Gigabyte Creative labs Amped-up Audio on the G1 boards. Keep in mind its still not as good as a external DAC
I have an extra one laying around, to bad your not in the US
 
Last edited:
Joined
Jan 11, 2006
Messages
38 (0.01/day)
Is that PCI-E x1 or PCI card?

Great audio quality, especially for headphone users, but one of the DGX cards is well-documented to frequently cause blue screen crashes in Windows 10 upon exiting sleep mode. There are third party drivers available that usually fix the issue for people. The official drivers have not been updated in a few years so it's very clear that Asus is no longer interested in supporting this card. I recommend looking elsewhere unless you enjoy troubleshooting.

Newer = better generally, all you're paying for with a soundcard is software processing access today.
 
Joined
Nov 30, 2015
Messages
712 (0.23/day)
Location
Croatia
Processor Ryzen 5 3600 PRO
Motherboard AsRock B450 Pro4
Cooling Arctic Freezer 34 /w Noctua NF-P12
Memory Silicon Power XPower Zenith 2x8GB @1600 MHz
Video Card(s) Gigabyte RTX 2070 Super Gaming OC 8GB
Storage Crucial P5 Plus 1TB / Crucial MX 500 1TB
Display(s) Dell P2419H
Case Fractal Design Pop Air /w 3x Arctic P12 PWM
Audio Device(s) Creative Sound Blaster Z + Edifier R1000T4
Power Supply Super Flower Leadex III 650W
Mouse Microsoft Intelimouse Pro
Keyboard IBM KB-8926
Software Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
Benchmark Scores Turns on on the first try! Usually.
The Xonar DGX is a great budget card. Best bang for the buck and you will notice the quality over any onboard sound. I have tested this many times
I have an extra one laying around, to bad your not in the US
That's the one I was looking at but I'll have to postpone the upgrade either way due to some circumstances, thank you for the feedback tho.
Is that PCI-E x1 or PCI card?

Great audio quality, especially for headphone users, but one of the DGX cards is well-documented to frequently cause blue screen crashes in Windows 10 upon exiting sleep mode. There are third party drivers available that usually fix the issue for people. The official drivers have not been updated in a few years so it's very clear that Asus is no longer interested in supporting this card. I recommend looking elsewhere unless you enjoy troubleshooting.

Newer = better generally, all you're paying for with a soundcard is software processing access today.
The X models are PCIe. Now that I spent some time redoing cables in the PC I figured out I should be looking at half height cards and sadly the Z is full height. Full height cards will fully block air access to the GPU, I know it's not a hot card but either way. But as I said, I'll have to postpone this upgrade for now. Also, thanks for the input.
 
Last edited:
Top