Charl wrote:lowellyerex wrote:ooOO00OOoo wrote: Some onboard sound is better than a sound card. On some reviews people can't tell the difference
Well ok, but that's not the experience I've had with the Realtek chip and FS. I have experienced audio quirks including crackling and popping with FS and every onboard audio solution I've tried.
Other games may fare better, but there can be hidden costs. I recently read a review of the X-Fi chip (actually X-RAM, the dedicated audio RAM on the high end card - conclusion, it's not worth the extra money), and was surprised to see the difference in frames-per-second the sound chip can make to a game like Battlefield 2 (see here) - an increase of 8-10 fps over the Realtek onboard audio. Now, I have no evidence that there will be an actual FPS improvement in FS, but you will definitely get better sound, I guarantee that! Also, your CD's will sound better (the reviewers you mention obviously didn't have the X-Fi Crystallizer turned on!)
You're right about the sound quality - onboard does an OK job for most games but music definitely wants something more.
What's your recommendation on a great-sounding best-bang-for-the-bucks sound card?
Creative Sound Blaster XFI XTREME Music
http://www.creative.com/products/produc ... duct=14066
