onboard sound 7.1 vs Xonar dx, which should i use? 2 part question

[towlie]

I have a newly built gaming pc, here are the specs.

3570k @ 4.5Ghz
sabertooth z77
32gb g.skill ripjaws z 1866
ocz vertex 4 128GB x2
Asus Titan PCI Express 3.0 1150MHz
Cooler Master HAF X 942
Cooler Master Silent Pro 1200w
Thermaltake Water 2.0 Extreme 81.3 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler
27" IPS LED CrystalPro Monitor WQHD 2560x1440

My headset is from monoprice
7.1 Dolby Digital Amplified Gaming Headset
http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=114&cp_id=11403&cs_id=1140304&p_id=9771&seq=1&format=2


I mainly play WOW, and will be getting Metro last light when it releases, and plan to buy other new high quality graphic games, but at the current moment my question more involves the performance in relation to WOW.

currently the headset is plugged in to the optic port on my z77 sabertooth 7.1 onboard sound. I think it sounds great, but I have the Xonar DX from my last system I could use
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Asus+-+Xonar+DX+PCI+Express+Sound+Card/2963455.p?id=1218690824418&skuid=2963455&sellerId=#tab=overview

My question has TWO part so please answer them both if you can.

1. Would using the Xonar DX produce better sound? (the headset sounds fantastic via onboard/optic output, but if it can get better I would like to know)

2. Does using onboard sound like on my mobo cause a heavy resource drain that could affect performance in WOW? (I have moments in 25 man raids where I get a strange lag effect, I see spells casting noticeably late after having executed them via keybinds, this tends to only happen for a few seconds here and there and when lots of different fight mechanics are taking place including large visual impacting effects by other players like aoe. I was wondering if the sound processing onboard could be adding to this lag effect)

 

[towlie]

A follow up question here
If onboard sound turns out to be what I should continue to use, what setting should I put the sample rate to via realtek hd audio manager? it ranges from 16bit 44100Hz to 24bit 192000Hz.

 

[towlie]

another followup question, if you do say a sound card will make performance better for my pc, what would be the minimum specs on a soundcard I would need (if the one I have isn't good enough that is)

 

[douglasw]

A follow up question here
If onboard sound turns out to be what I should continue to use, what setting should I put the sample rate to via realtek hd audio manager? it ranges from 16bit 44100Hz to 24bit 192000Hz.

If you can set your onboard to 24 bit 192hz there's no doubt the quality is poor..There is just no way a motherboard has the features that a sound card has like 5.1 surround and Dolby Didital live myself I'll never use 2.1 onboard the crisp loud quality just isn't there.

 

[towlie]

I tried to set it to 24bit 192000Hz and it wouldn't work, which it confuses me that the board would say its a setting on specs, and then the setting not work when selected.

it does advertise 5.1 surround sound and the sabertooth z77 mobo isn't cheap, so I am hoping it is providing all I could use. as I mentioned the headset is very loud and clear, but I don't feel like the surround sound is all that magnificent. I can hear sounds coming from directions, but not as clear and specific as I was expecting, thus my cause for raising the original question in this post.

 

[douglasw]

I also have the Sabertooth Z77 but I knew as good as the board is the onboard sound just didn't come close to the features a dedicated sound card has...My advice is if you have a pretty decent 5.1 sound system go with a sound card..Myself I picked up the Asus xonar essence STX but before I had to see if the onboard sound compared so I hooked up the onboard and I couldn't get the 5.1 to work plus the sound was terrible I can only describe the sound as snap crackle pop.Then I installed the card and man the difference was like day and night the card is very loud 124db and crystal clear..Im mainly into music so I had to go to flac format to get true surround sound..What I do is buy extreme HD music I get from extracting the music from DVD audio discs which I end up with 24 bit 192HZ 6 channel with the Mbps in the 8000 the sound quality is be on amazing..So trust me go with a sound card that has Dolby digital live.

 

[towlie]

my headset is listed above in the original post, are you saying using the Asus - Xonar 7.1 sound card would produce a noticeable sound improvement with my setup?