# Should I buy a soundcard?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-buy-a-soundcard/404758>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [May 19, 2007, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-buy-a-soundcard/404758 "2007-05-19T21:15:13Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Gozu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gozu/32/6615_2.png) [@Gozu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gozu)\
**Post date:** [May 19, 2007, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-buy-a-soundcard/404758/1 "2007-05-19T21:15:13Z")

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I have recently purchased some Klipsch promedia 2.1 speakers (they’re great) and I wonder if I should use something other than my onboard Realtek ALC850 sound module.

I would be using the soundcard for Stereo playback of music only. Virtually all of it MP3s at 192 Kbps or lower bitrate.

I ain’t gonna need:

no gaming features.  
no optical out.  
no surround.  
no midi.  
no sound mixing/editing capabilities  
no nothing else that’s not stereo music playback.

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**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\
**Post date:** [May 19, 2007, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-buy-a-soundcard/404758/2 "2007-05-19T21:22:26Z")

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No, probably not. Sound cards are good for sound manipulation and higher end things like 7.1 sound. You don’t need one for the plain vanilla stuff you are going to do.

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**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\
**Post date:** [May 19, 2007, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-buy-a-soundcard/404758/3 "2007-05-19T23:27:54Z")

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I agree. Unless you get something like a 5.1 or 7.1 setup and actually use it, a soundcard isn’t worth it. I’ve got one that works with my Altec-Lansing 4.1 setup, but then again I play games where audio coming from all around me is actually useful (some RPGs, FPSes, that kind of stuff.)

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**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\
**Post date:** [May 20, 2007, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-buy-a-soundcard/404758/4 "2007-05-20T03:01:04Z")

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I’ll say this - turning off my onboard sound and using a basic $19 Soundblaster Audigy card greatly improved the gaming performance on my Dual Core 4300 system. Much more than I thought it would have any right to.

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**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\
**Post date:** [May 20, 2007, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-buy-a-soundcard/404758/5 "2007-05-20T07:48:21Z")

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The signal-to-noise ratio for D/A conversion on the ALC850 is -86 dB, which isn’t too good. Most sound cards are quieter than that.