The sound card is basically currently abundant in the form of a PCI card, with a few brands starting to delve into utilizing PCIe x1 as the primary slot on the motherboard. The sound card is basically an upgraded version of your on-board sound that most of us use today. It has more options, some of the cards are created purely for one market(i.e. gaming sound cards), and they provide great audio with the right combination of sound card and sound system(speakers, headphones, etc.).
The most hyped but over-exaggerated sound card company is Creative. They’ve been around for a while, starting out with the Creative Audigy series, and expanding into the sound cards loved by the media known as the Creative Xtreme Gamer series sound cards. However, if you actually buy one and try to listen to the differences, you won’t hear much difference. Some of their cards range anywhere from 90 dollars to 200 dollars… and really, is the sound difference worth the price? I don’t think so. Unless you’re an audiophobe, you can’t really tell the difference. If you can, it’ll only be minor.
ASUS is an ignored, but awesome company that makes very very good sound cards. Currently in the market with their ASUS Xonar series sound cards, their sound cards are made for all-round great audio, ranging anywhere from gaming or simply listening to peaceful classical music. They surpass Creative in performance… however, some of their cards are very expensive. Other companies like ASUS include Auzentech.
So, are sound cards really worth the cost? Well, it depends. If you’re thinking of getting a sound card, ask yourself these questions:
1. Why do you need it? What will you use the card for?
2. Do you have a sound system that will bring the most out of the card(a good set of speakers are always good)?
If you don’t have the answer for even one of those questions, you won’t need a sound card. If you have a good answer for both questions, and you have the money to spend, step up right ahead and pick a quality sound card out of the list.
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