Sound card

[Chalenge]

Both the onboard and PCI/PCI-Express cards suffer more or less from electromagnetic interference inside the case. There are examples of both having some kind of a shield which I've read actually seem to help a lot. The cleanest sound would still be achieved with an external sound card (USB, maybe other ports too). That doesn't affect gameplay, it mostly is an issue for those listening high bandwidth classy music with golden ears.

Incorrect. The problem isnt EMI and it isnt directly attributable to sound cards either way.

[Bizman]

Incorrect. The problem isnt EMI and it isnt directly attributable to sound cards either way.

Thanks for the correction. I might have been mislead by information like this, widely found through the Internet and litteracy:

all electrical components are subject to interference, which is greater for components that are closer to a computer's high-power processor and video card

and tried to answer this question:

do they give you any benefit other then taking little load of your CPU?

And the meaning of my answer was that there's no big difference in sound quality. There are motherboards with well shielded good quality mobo sound circuits, and there are poor PCI-e sound cards. The one Mason has seems to be among the best of integrated ones. 

[MaSonZ]

And the meaning of my answer was that there's no big difference in sound quality. There are motherboards with well shielded good quality mobo sound circuits, and there are poor PCI-e sound cards. The one Mason has seems to be among the best of integrated ones. 

I figured as so, The board I have is made for gaming. High quality parts, think I paid like 390 for it or something when I got it around November time.

[Rob52240]

Some cards will sound better than others but you won't notice the difference with your average headset or desktop speakers.

I brought an old sound card out of retirement when my onboard sound crapped the bed.  It is THX certified and so are my amps and speakers.  But since most of the audio I listen to is MP3 at best.... I don't really notice a difference.  With the THX certified amp/speakers I am however able to put a old fashioned CD in, crank it up to maximum and not have any noticeable noise.

[Bizman]

Some cards will sound better than others but you won't notice the difference with your average headset or desktop speakers.

In most cases the speakers are the weakest link in any audio package. Years ago I hooked my soundcard to my stereo amp. I had a pair of three way speakers on my computer desk and the sound was incredible compared to the ones that came with the computer - back in the Windows 98 days...

[zack1234]

I run sound through my HD6970 as my sound card blew

[Chalenge]

Thanks for the correction. I might have been mislead by information like this, widely found through the Internet and litteracy:  and tried to answer this question:  And the meaning of my answer was that there's no big difference in sound quality. There are motherboards with well shielded good quality mobo sound circuits, and there are poor PCI-e sound cards. The one Mason has seems to be among the best of integrated ones. 

Yes. The problem is that a lot of people that dont understand the real underlying problem with audio working inside of a computer system will report things like EMI being the problem. Also, the quote you gave is highly imprecise or just outright wrong. If the processor and video card were such terrible violators of emission then they wouldnt work well in a computer at all. The issue has always been one of latency and available clock cycles. If you had been paying attention on the hardware forum here you would know this has been discussed to the point of exhaustion. Most of the issues at this date have been worked out by the manufacturers and are no longer a concern.

Most of the "echo whines" you hear these days are people that do not understand that a cheap power supply (PSU) will eventually go bad (sooner than later) and the first sign is always audio anomalies. A lot of times right in the midst of working out how to fix a problem that they have mis-diagnosed they lose their data (boot disk) and then the entire system. At that point the problem has been solved because they buy everything new again and move on.

[Bizman]

the quote you gave is highly imprecise or just outright wrong.

Wow! That quote I found in the 'net was almost a word to word translation from a review I lately read in our leading computer&HiFi magazine. Who can you trust these days, when technicians working in sound and electric labs seem to not know what they're talking about?

If the processor and video card were such terrible violators of emission then they wouldn't work well in a computer at all.

You're right, in the most situations the little background hum doesn't either matter or it can't even be played back through the cheap headsets or speakers most of us use. Again, I was just referring to the above mentioned untrustworthy HiFi techs who claim they have been able to measure noticeable differences in sound quality between in-box and out-box sound cards. Of course their job includes exaggerating the differences, both for creating market for expensive devices and keeping the owners of such gadgets happy with their purchase.

 

[Chalenge]

Post a link. I want to check these guys out.

[MrRiplEy[H]]

In my experience the largest differences in any audio system come from the actual component that produces the actual sound. Headphones, speakers, the room where the speakers are played in.

The differences in functional and standard abiding audio sources however are very small. In fact they're usually (not always as a rule) so small that even the most revered audiophiles can't tell the difference in a double blind test.

Computers on the other hand are a very difficult platform for audio especially when they're connected to external systems. They're very prone to ground looping and other disturbances. I've witnessed differences in audio quality that were quite surprising. Then again a non-flat frequency reproduction can be used to boost 'quality' psychologically so without measurements it won't be possible to compare to sources.

Creative has had these gimmicks in its cards, crystallize or what it was called, actually boosted highs and lows and added harmonic distortion to the high register. This actually destroyed any fidelity in the sound, but was very 'alive' and pleasant for the quick observer that didn't realize what just happened.

[Bizman]

Post a link. I want to check these guys out.

Here's the link to their website with availability to even read facsimile magazines as pdf: http://www.mbnet.fi/
Another magazine related: http://www.tietokone.fi/

The source of the quote: http://www.ehow.com/about_5481971_internal-vs-external-sound-card.html
And the way I found that:http://www.google.com/search?q=internal%20external%20sound%20card or similar, can't remember.

[Chalenge]

The eHow item is factually incorrect in at least two places. The author is discussing noise ratios and blaming EMI which is factually incorrect. The pdf is just like the eHow site in that the contributors are users that are not likely to be trained techs.

I will tell you the three sources of EMI and audio that I have seen none of which stem from CPUs or video cards. The first I have already mentioned (PSUs). The second would be S/PDIF cables that are too long. The third is a balanced mic input into a sound card (which is unbalanced) particularly if the mic line uses phantom power. The longer the line (approaching 15 feet) the more prone to EMI and like Ripley says external devices like amps and signal processors only make things worse. This can also be cured by using a rack mounted system close to the computer case and using custom lines that are properly shielded and only as long as possible. Using a ten foot patch for a six inch run is going to be a problem. If your doing anything like this I know a company that builds custom cables with connection types you cant even imagine exist in any length - so just ask. Very expensive though so things like this ultimately come down to rare needs.

The only possible fourth I have seen is a case switch that is shorted to the case itself. This is bad for a number of reasons but if you are hearing hum over your sound system look to the above causes and not the CPU or video card.

[zack1234]

I use G35 headphones which are very good for sound, I believe they have on board sound card.

As I said before my onboard sound card is disabled and I use a HDMI cable connected to my Samsung.

Before I changed to windows 7 from vista sound was very poor in game inregards to sound positions and there was a strange hum in the background.

This issue with sound is relative as Frame Rates, the more you look into it the more you become critical.

I enjoy surround sound in game using headphones I presume 7.1 surround speakers would be a vast improvement but again is bigger better.

This hardware section has been very informative since I have play AH

[Getback]

I never use a sound card. What comes with the MB is great!

[MrRiplEy[H]]

Most if not all 'audiophile' sound cards or computer headphone amps are external usb dongles for some reason or another. Also midi cards from Alesis etc. are external.

It may have something to do with EMI interference inside the case and/or something to do with the fact that most computer cases have a constant voltage in their chassis that leaks from the power supply. The voltage is half of the mains voltage i.e. 110v in europe. It can cause a very unpleasant feeling of you make the mistake of holding a grounded device and grab the computer case with your other hand. It also makes it a bit unnerving to connect your several thousand dollar audio system to the audio jack!