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$50 Sound Cards Impress Versus Integrated Audio

crookedvulture writes "Most PCs have audio integrated right on the motherboard. There's much to be gained from upgrading to a discrete sound card, though. This look at a couple of sub-$50 sound cards from Asus explores what can be found at the budget end of the spectrum. In blind listening tests, both cards produced better sound than an integrated solution. They also offered superior signal quality, but neither had an impact on gaming performance. The days of hardware-accelerated game audio seem to be behind us, with developers handling positional audio processing in software."

4 of 245 comments (clear)

  1. You don't say... by zonker · · Score: 3, Funny

    $50 sound card produces better audio than a 50 cent onboard chip.... You don't say.

  2. Re:usb to spdif, then to your home stereo by Tyler+Eaves · · Score: 4, Funny

    I remember when I obsessed over such things. These days I mostly don't worry about it and spin vinyl. Sounds better anyway.

    --
    TODO: Something witty here...
  3. Re:Hypothesis Number Two: Is There a Cyber Stalker by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    Do you have a newsletter?

  4. Re:Discrete sound by Gadget_Guy · · Score: 4, Funny

    Discrete sound...Is farting silently

    No, that is a soundless indiscretion.