Do sound cards amplify headphones?

[socrates047]

i have a decent full range pair of headphones that i use for music and gaming. the onboard sound doesnt sound loud at all when cranked to the fullest.
i was wondering if a sound card would make the headphones really shine. desktop amplifiers are the $h!t but the price tags are astronomical, so i was wondering if a simple $50 sound card would do better amplifying than onboard

i like loud booming bass and mid but onboard sound is pretty tame for me.

 

[astrallite]

Soundcards will vary, anywhere from 500mVrms to 2Vrms. There's no guarantee from card to card if a particular one will have greater output voltage than your onboard.