Onboard Audio vs dedicated sound card

[Cloud121]

All right, so I've officially decided on the video cards I'm going to purchase here in a couple weeks. Now I have a dilemma I've since thought decided on, but am now coming back to.

Basically here's the deal: Do I keep one of my three GTS 250s in for PhysX (GTX 550 Ti 2-way SLI + PhysX card), or take it out, and put in a dedicated sound card (GTX 550 Ti 2-way SLI + sound card)?

Batman: Arkham City is really the only game I own at the moment that would need the dedicated PhysX card, as Arkham Asylum and Dark Void will likely be pushing 60 FPS with everything (PhysX included) set to max settings. Though I do plan on buying Metro 2033 (another PhysX game) eventually, and I would need the dedicated PhysX card just to try to stay above 40 FPS (if even that).

Not too mention that taking out the graphics card (currently using 3-way SLI) would put less strain on my power supply (650w).

[Polygon]

Onboard sound is always going to sub par. Just about any dedicated card is going to provide better sound quality. Whether or not you'll hear the difference is another thing. You can have the highest quality sound card but if you have crap speakers you'll never hear the difference.

[Genesaturn]

Poly is spot on. I wouldn't waste money on a dedicated sound card unless you have the means to listen to it properly. I have a 5.1 Creative Labs sound system as well as the Razor gaming headset and its pretty awesome WITHOUT a dedicated sound card. Which is because I built this machine less than a year ago and haven't gotten around to buying one. If your a big PC gamer it can make a world of difference having a dedicated sound card...especially when playing games like Counter-Strike, or Call of Duty. I can hear the direction of opponents more clearly and the sound is extremely rich.

If you don't game much on the PC or use it as like a dedicated dvd/bluray player then I don't think I'd spend the money as it generally doesn't effect music quality.

[Cloud121]

I do have a Logitech 5.1 sound system for my computer, and I'm planning on buying a headset here in a couple weeks as well. Also, I almost game exclusively on my PC now.

[kedawa]

Having a dedicated sound card made a considerable difference back in the days of Windows XP, but these days I wouldn't bother unless your onboard audio is giving you some kind of issue, like noticeable interference or a really bad signal to noise ratio.

[Gamevet]

Having a dedicated sound card made a considerable difference back in the days of Windows XP, but these days I wouldn't bother unless your onboard audio is giving you some kind of issue, like noticeable interference or a really bad signal to noise ratio.

Yeah. My pc board has a built in 7.1 surround with optical out. I've had it connected to the 5.1 in my livingroom and it sounds great.

I'd stick with using the 3rd slot for a physx card. Your power supply isn't enough to handle 3 cards and even (2) GTX 550's is really pushing it. I have a GTS 250 in one of my PCs, and it requires a 475 Watt powersupply. My other PC has a 750 watt powersupply and (2) GTX 460s in sli; it really heats up when the cards start to push it.