Question about sound card..?

[Bowmanx4587]

I am building a gaming computer at the moment and was wondering, do I need a sound card for my pc to get sound? My monitor has built in speakers, but I will be mostly playing with a headset.. but eventually I plan on buying external speakers.. so where does a sound card come into play?

 

[TheSnowman79]

I am building a gaming computer at the moment and was wondering, do I need a sound card for my pc to get sound? My monitor has built in speakers, but I will be mostly playing with a headset.. but eventually I plan on buying external speakers.. so where does a sound card come into play?

Most modern motherboards have sound built-in. If you get a good add-in sound card, the quality will blow away the integrated sound, however.

Some people can't hear the difference or don't care. But I would definitely get a decent sound card and speakers/headset, personally.

 

[Bowmanx4587]

Best answer selected by bowmanx4587.

 

[Bowmanx4587]

Most modern motherboards have sound built-in. If you get a good add-in sound card, the quality will blow away the integrated sound, however.

Some people can't hear the difference or don't care. But I would definitely get a decent sound card and speakers/headset, personally.

thanks alot

 

[Raiddinn]

People come in asking for us to build them brand new gaming computers all the time, but nobody ever suggests they get a sound card unless they specifically ask about it.

We push out plenty of $2000 systems without any sound cards at all.

Yes the sound would be better with a dedicated card, but you would probably have to have a pretty discerning ear to tell the difference.

Having one, however, does bring with it some baggage. For one if you don't have a sound card it can't disrupt airflow nor can it generate increased heat over what is already built in.

Most of the time the sound card would be below the video card since PCIE-1 is usually the one highest on the board, that means the sound card would be between the video card fan and the air the fan wants to suck in.

I would try it without a sound card and if you feel the experience is somehow lacking then think about getting one.