Audio... onboard, gpu, or pci card?

[essjayar]

Hi

I've never really bothered with my PCs audio - after all, if it makes sound I'm happy - but since my system is boasting 3 audio devices I tried to work out what's best.

Personally I can't really tell, but out of these which is better?

Asus PZ68 V-Pro Mboard

Onboard Sound seems to be Realtek ALC892 8-Channel High Definition Audio.

... but there's also Intel HD Audio? Is this on-chip (it's a i5 2500 k) like Intel HD Gfx?

There's Nvidia HD Audio from my 560ti (but is this only for HDMI?)

and then there's a Soundblaster Audigy SE. Pretty old now, but I kind of thought as a standalone device it would take a little (prob insignificant) load from the system.

I'm running 5.1 speakers BTW.

 

[cmdrdredd]

It depends what you're doing.

What kind of speakers are you running? Is it connected to a receiver or are you outputting to some computer speakers. If the former then use HDMI if you can, if the latter just use the realtek audio. As for HDMI I'd go through the Nvidia card unless you're running Lucid MVP.

I don't know if there are any Windows 7 drivers for the Soundblaster Audigy SE.

In terms of sound quality I'd say HDMI > Realtek > Audigy

 

[essjayar]

Yes using Lucid. I've used the realtek stuff for ages but thought I'd try the Audigy since it was lying around.

So, the audigy is worst lol. I'm not that surprised since it's discontinued but has Win7 drivers thrown in.

So I'll free up that pci slot then. Ok , before I go, is it worth buying a soundcard these days for someone whos NOT an audiophile? Is onboard sound good enough for most?

PS the speakers are a powered 4 surround, 1 center, 1 sub . Don't use hdmi because my monitor has DVI/RGB ports. I guess an adaptor could work but no thanks, not tiny monitor speakers.

Silly question: Can the Nvidia drivers run the motherboard sound? I'm guessing the onboard sockets are tied to the realtek.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Onboard is usually good enough for most people. There are benefits to those who use headphones as some soundcards have built in amplifiers. It offloads the small CPU load as well. As for gaming, they pretty much use OpenAL all the time which is compatible with everything so you don't necessarily need to worry about EAX support like back in the day. The DAC quality and all the details of the specs might not mean much to you unless you know what it means and can hear the subtle difference.

The Nvidia drivers are totally separate from the onboard audio. You can have both drivers installed at once though.

 

[cantholdanymore]

May experience:
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2226311&highlight=

 

[bononos]

May experience:
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2226311&highlight=

Onboard realteks are really that good huh?

 

[cmdrdredd]

Onboard realteks are really that good huh?

I read that thread and what I gathered was that spending the money on high end sound cards, high end headphones, and high end amps because they are "high end" or "high priced" and supposedly some audiophile quality stuff, didn't net any real world gains for the OP.

Basically he was happy with onboard audio and didn't think spending $300 for amps and all that stuff was worth it.

 

[lyssword]

yeah just make sure it's not realtec 662, I replaced my motherboard from 662 and 887, big difference in audio quality

 

[nenforcer]

I'm assuming your using an analog connection between all of your sound devices and your 5.1 setup speakers.

The best choice is to use the optical / digital (TOSLINK / COAXIAL) output on your motherboard (REALTEK) directly into a receiver which then output to the speakers.

 

[wirednuts]

if you look at the technical specs for the better realtek chipsets, and compare them to most consumer audio amplifiers and receivers, youll find that they actually do match up well and there really shouldnt be a reason why the onboard sound is worse then other offerings.

like said, i think the biggest difference is a dedicated card will help save some cpu cycles, but even then its a negligible amount on today's pc's.

i have been promoting onboard sound ever since the alc888 and its variants have been released. yes, it really is good and i get really tired when people tell me their xonar card is SOO much better... because i have tried them too and i the differences i hear can easily be adjusted with the equalizer.

 

[wirednuts]

yeah just make sure it's not realtec 662, I replaced my motherboard from 662 and 887, big difference in audio quality

the THD for the 662 is higher if i remember correctly. the 888 was the first to really come up to par with home electronics. the 887 is among a few other variants that are really the 888 chipset with a few differences.

 

[cantholdanymore]

I read that thread and what I gathered was that spending the money on high end sound cards, high end headphones, and high end amps because they are "high end" or "high priced" and supposedly some audiophile quality stuff, didn't net any real world gains for the OP.

Basically he was happy with onboard audio and didn't think spending $300 for amps and all that stuff was worth it.

:thumbsup:
Note than my headphones are low impedance too.

 

[bononos]

the THD for the 662 is higher if i remember correctly. the 888 was the first to really come up to par with home electronics. the 887 is among a few other variants that are really the 888 chipset with a few differences.

The 889 has an advertised SNR of 108db, 888 - 97db, 892 - 95db.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Like I said, the specs are only meaningful if someone understands what it does.

 

[grimpr]

The realtek 892 is a very good onboard audio chip for hooking up analog stereo equipment, all the others below it are crap and best avoided.

 

[jacktesterson]

The realtek 892 is a very good onboard audio chip for hooking up analog stereo equipment, all the others below it are crap and best avoided.

Isn't the 887 and 892 the exact same chip? (only the 892 offers Digital Coax as well as Toslink rather than just toslink)


I honestly don't know, I just remember reading that sometime.

My MSI board has the 892 chip and I am happy with its performance.

 

[StrangerGuy]

If you are using multimedia speakers there is little reason why you should not use onboard these days. Whatever tiny difference compared to a high-end sound card will just get drowned in the background noise in the room.

 

[tweakboy]

Honestly the quality is pretty equal. You don't need PCI card, unless your a professional music producer.

check out the Xonar cards www.asus.com they are PCIe gl ...... This will give you best audio quality but your speakers need to be high quality to get the full effect.

Overall I think mobos audio is better then VC or CPU audio.... More space more PCB hmmmm syke!

 

[dma0991]

My onboard sound, Realtek ALC898 is just lackluster and just isn't loud enough for me, tested with Sennheiser HD201 and Audio Technica AD700. Both have a pretty low impedance rating and the onboard still fails to impress me.

Plug it through a cheap Audiophonics UCT27 USB DAC and the sound quality is a world of a difference compared to my onboard sound. The volume with the DAC is not more than 50% and it is pretty loud. With the onboard sound, 100% didn't even sound loud enough.

 

[tweakboy]

Well nVidias audio is 44khz 16bit . onboard audio is 192khz 24bit. In your case where volume isnt enough you can do what you want... You sure you got all the volume sliders up and your speakers ,, make shure of all connection...etc onboard should be louder then the nVidia ,, Or just keep your creative card.. you have nothing you will gain buying something else.

If you hvae a PCI slot use the creative, make sure drivers are properly installed etc..

 

[cmdrdredd]

My onboard sound, Realtek ALC898 is just lackluster and just isn't loud enough for me, tested with Sennheiser HD201 and Audio Technica AD700. Both have a pretty low impedance rating and the onboard still fails to impress me.

Plug it through a cheap Audiophonics UCT27 USB DAC and the sound quality is a world of a difference compared to my onboard sound. The volume with the DAC is not more than 50% and it is pretty loud. With the onboard sound, 100% didn't even sound loud enough.

I wouldn't know I run everything through my Klipsch control box.

BTW: Nvidia's audio driver isn't a sound card. It's pass through. It allows you to pass a PCM signal via HDMI to your HT receiver.

 

[grimpr]

Isn't the 887 and 892 the exact same chip? (only the 892 offers Digital Coax as well as Toslink rather than just toslink)


I honestly don't know, I just remember reading that sometime.

My MSI board has the 892 chip and I am happy with its performance.

I dont think so, i've tested them both on an analog stereo hifi setup with speaker monitors and there was a big difference, the 887 is very *weak* compared to the 892, no punch/presense/bass/mids/highs, big difference. For htpcs or anything else i would definetely go with any board that has realtek 892 onboard, as for me i use dedicated sound cards and network cards and have onboard audio and lan disabled.

 

[cmdrdredd]

898 is the new chip

 

[Magic Carpet]

Unless you're running the latest VIA codec (VT2021 I think) or ALC 889/898, IMO, any Audigy card beats onboard sound in SnR department. Some motherboards have better shielding than the rest, though. It depends. However, with a discrete sound card, you're almost guaranteed not to have any. Some of the inexpensive ASUS cards have been very nice too. Just use an external DAC with your onboard digital out