Quote Originally Posted by kedawa View Post
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.
Quote Originally Posted by Gamevet View Post
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.
I don't really agree with that kedawa, and that really doesn't count Gamevet. The again, I guess I should have elaborated on this in my first post. If you're going to use a digital output where the sound processing is being done by an external DAC then by all means, a there is no difference between an onboard sound card and a dedicated card. However, if you're using HDMI or digital coaxial then you're still subject to possible interference. If you're using TOSlink (AKA Fiber Optic) then interference is not an issue. The largest issue with onboard sound cards are shitty DACs (Digital to Analog Converters). The second is interference from other components on the system board. If you're using analog outputs and have some half decent speakers you're most certainly going to hear the difference between a decent dedicated card and ANY onboard card.

If you really want to keep the Physx card and have better sound I would suggest an external sound device like the Extigy form Creative. However, a better option would be TOSlink to a good surround receiver with some good speakers.