Quick question regarding the sound cards

[Slurpak]

Alright guys, not sure if this is the right forum for this question, if it is in the wrong one then sorry, and please move to the correct forum.
I have a Mordaunt Short Genie 5.1 surround sound speaker system in my room.
I don't do any audio editing or anything like that, im purely looking for good sound quality for gaming, and good quality sound for my music (i tend to play my music very loud hehe.)
If i want to make the most of this speaker system, would it be worth upgrading the sound card from the 6 channel on board 5.1 sound card? how much difference will i get from the standard sound card compared to the £19 Sound Blaster Audigy or the £30 Sound Blaster Xtreme Audio sound card?

cheers
Slurpak

 

[pengipete]

Unless you plan on using the PC for audio recording and editing - as a recording studio - you're almost certainly better off sticking with on-board sound. The reason I say "almost" is that there is a subjective element involved - you may like the sound better from one or the other but unless we're talking about an older, slower PC with a shortage of RAM, there's no appreciable difference in terms of performance.

If you decide to try a sound-card, the biggest hurdle is drivers. Creative (bless their cotton socks) have a less than enviable record when it comes to releasing stable drivers for Vista and Windows 7 so check thier forums before spending. One area where I've notices a lot of Creative owners complaining is SPDIF connections with many reporting poor quality, incorrect speaker placement and lack of volume from some speakers. Also, the SB extreme may look better on paper - it's branded as an X-fi card - but in reality, it's just an Audigy card with some X-fi features tagged on in software. In terms of audio quality it is indistinguishable from an Audigy 2 or Audigy 4 card. The only real advantage the Extreme has is that it uses a PCI-e interface which may be important depending on what slots you have available. Audigy cards are all but ignored by Creative these days and many owners have been using customised drivers for the last four years courtesy of a very talented chap called Daniel K but even he seems to have given up.

My hobby and main use of my PC is recording live instruments - guitars, vocals etc - so I use an Audigy ZS2 Platinum Pro sound-card (without getting too techy, it's better for live recording and playback) and - subjectively - I prefer the sound (slightly clearer to my ears) but the onboard Realtek on my motherboard (Asus P6X58D-Premium) is "warmer" and superb for watching movies and listening to CDs.

In theory, an add-on card reduces the load on the CPU and RAM in the same way as a graphics card does compared with on-board graphics. In reality, modern PC's have more than enough power that any performance difference is irrelevent.

All things considered, I'd recommend you stick with the onboard sound unless you have a specifc problem. If you have a bit of spare cash and want to try a soundcard, read as many up-to-date reviews as possible and check out the manufacturer's forums before buying. Avoid older cards unless you are sure that they will support the card with new drivers etc. I'd also suggest widening your search beyond Creative - Asus Xonar cards are highly rated as are AzunTech. (one word of caution - some Asus soundcards only work on specific motherboards and are pretty awful anyway so double check as some sellers don't bother warning buyers)

Another quick tip. Having perused eBay recently for soundcards, there are a lot of cards being sold on there for more than you can buy a brand new one from a dealer or Amazon. Having said that, the prices you quoted for the Creative cards are pretty good so you could get most of not all of your money back by selling them on eBay if you decided to have a dabble.