onboard compared to >$100 soundcard

[parlee]

im lookin to get a soundcard now that i have the money... how much better is the quality in gaming/movies/music? and when gaming is there increase in preformence since theres a dedicated proc for sound... if so whats the gain?

amd3700 (754)
x700pro
1gb corsair xms

 

[Flakes]

first do you have good speakers? you will notice a difference with a good set of speakers, a soundcard will increase framerates by about 5-10fps, but with a good set of speakers the sound will be clearer, more defined well balanced its kind of hard to explain the difference you have to "hear" it.

 

[parlee]

well the 5-10 fps alone is enough to make me wanna buy it... plus im playin on low sound quality so that it doesnt slow my fps as much my speakers are the 40 dollar logitech.. forget the name there 2.1 speakers, sound pretty decent but then again ive never owned a 400 dollar set of speakers