Will a sound card help my current setup?

[statz22]

Hi,

I have razer makos (2.1 speakers) in use with the rig below and don't plan on getting rid of them anytime soon. My asus deluxe 1156 mobo comes with some on-board audio features like DTS - Im no audiophile so Ill leave a link to the mobos description - maybe someone can tell me how good this onboard really is:

http://usa.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=yZD4yFdLw1l3gZ35&templete=2

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1) Would a sound card benefit my makos - or is my onboard just as good with my 2.1 speakers?

1a) If a sound card will benefit (and money is not a issue) - which card would you recommend?
[a card in one of my exposed PCI-e will block half of my gpu fan) where as I have a clear PCI slot even once i go Xfire]

I've been looking at the following but open to suggestions...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829271001

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829271003

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829132006

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829132010&cm_re=stx-_-29-132-010-_-Product

2) The makos also have a second line out in the form of the red/white audio inputs - would there be any advantage to getting a sound card with these inputs too - like the STX?


Thanks in advance!

Statz


My setup....


Intel i5-750 @ 4.0Ghz w/ H70 Cooler | ASUS P7P55D Deluxe | Vapor-X HD 5850 1GB @ 775/1125 | 8GB (2x4GB) Corsair Dominator 1600 @ 2000 11-10-10-24-2N | Intel X25-M 80GB SSD + WD Caviar Black 1TB | CORSAIR 750W | ASUS 23.6\" 1920x1080 | Antec 902 | Razer Mako 2.1 Speakers | Win 7 Ultimate 64

 

[thechief73]

1. Its really only you can decide if your on-board is not good enough, it most likely is a realteck? chip, but almost everyone will tell you a soundcard makes a good difference.

1a. Any of the listed card are top choices and will do the job better than anything out there, so any Asus Zonar or HT Omega will work perfectly. Just do NOT buy a Creative card

2. The signal will be low power analog so I doubt the 3.5mm or RCA will have any noticeable difference to them, but the RCA due to the thicker and better shielded wires will be theoretically be better.

 

[dEAne]

The first two links were very good. I have tried ASUS Xonar DX 7.1 Channels PCI Express and have great sound. If you are an audiophile you don't buy this - ASUS Xonar Essence STX Virtual 7.1 Channels or any RCA connection, try the SPDIF.

http://www.tech-faq.com/spdif.html

 

[statz22]

Best answer selected by statz22.