I have been thinking is there a difference between a sound card and onboard audio. if so what sound card is good for under $50
There's a huge difference. I can't make any recommendations for that price though because my sound card was $200, and I haven't listened to anything cheaper besides on board.
Yes, especially if you're an audiophile. Not so much on cheapo cards, though. I'd recommend an ASUS brand card.
What exactly is the difference? I'm just wondering, because I've been thinking about getting one too. I normally use my surround sound in the day, and headphones at night.
I do not have much first hand experience with dedicated sound cards, but the sound quality should also factor in. If you buy a $2000 headphone and a $200 sound card and listen to shitty youtube rips, you're obviously doing something wrong.
I'm not sure you can really find a sound card more expensive than $200...
$200 sound cards are usually the best of the best. Either way though, you're going to want to match a high end sound card with some high end audio equipment, otherwise you're just wasting potential.
Sound cards just give you much, much better sound quality. You will be able to hear things you wouldn't have heard before, and the sound will be much, much clearer and less fuzzy.
You guys are doing it wrong if you think 200$ sound cards are the high end for sound. Please thats the LOW end for sound. The real stuff goes into the tens of thousands and those are proper USB DACs that definitely sound way better than any cheapo Asus sound card (they're good for the price). Just pointing out that you guys seem to be a little ignorant on proper audio.
I was talking sound cards, not DACs. There's a difference, and of course anything that recording studios use is going to be much higher quality and much more expensive.
ASUS and Auzentech are the two brands that audiophiles tend to prefer for sound cards right now.
Do i really need a sound card? when i send sound thru my spdif to onkyo receiver it does the decoding and playback doesnt it? I mean thats my assumption when i play things in VLC media player and set the audio to spdif that would be like it going through a sound card wouldnt it?
Hey genius, sound cards are DACs...
Last time I checked, they converted digital signals to analog.
spend the money on something else like a monitor or graphic card its not worth it imo
If a soundcard is worth it or not depends on your speakers and headphones. If you use some Logitech 2.1 speakers and a generic gaming headset, don't bother, upgrade those first and start thinking about a soundcard after that.
And like Zwan said, soundcards are DAC's, with some extra features thrown in. All sound cards that can drive headphones have an amplifier circuit on the headphone out, and most soundcards support digital enhancements like Dolby surround for headhpones. But the main purpose with soundcards is to convert the digital bitstream into an analog signal that can be converted into soundwaves, just like a pure DAC.
Like SnypeUXD said, 200$ is nothing when it comes to source components, but it is sufficent for the average user of course.
@darkphate, you don't need a sound card. Like you said, it's your receiver that does all the converting and processing.
Mostly valid points, what is important though compared to onboard solutions is that dedicated soundcards are built with higher quality parts which will provide a cleaner signal, better sound quality and the ability to drive speakers and headphones that require more juice to be able to provide you with a decent output.
If it is worth it that is highly subjective and while we can give our input on it, you have to find out yourself with back and forth listening.
Depending on your listening equipment now, soundcards (even those in the 200 dollar price range) are budget solutions compared to dedicated amps and dacs that (unless DYI) easily start at the 200 dollar price range and then are mostly catered towards either those who prefer headphones or speakers that cost a similar amount or more.
you guys are taking about $200 sound card what about something under $50 this is my $700 build http://pcpartpicker.com/ca/p/xclG
either that sound card or the asus xonar dg
The DG and the DGX are the same card, just different slots (DG = PCI, DGX = PCIe). Both are aimed at headphone users.
*facepalm*
The only time people usually refer to DACs is when they're talking about external solutions. I reference sound cards as internal and DACs as external.
I thought we were talking about something like a mainstream card that an average user will enjoy, and still be in his budget, and not something that costs way more and are suited for more professional usage. And please don't group all of us into one when only one person said it.