is it worth to buy sound card?

[eziowar]

i5 4670k
gigabyte z87xud3h
Logitech Z506 5.1 sound system

so regarding my motherboard and sound system is it worth to buy a sound card? if so then which sound card will be bang for buck for my system ? any suggestion is most welcome.

 

[Mr5oh]

It used to be sound cards helped performance some, and did sound better. Today for most people a sound card isn't needed. Unless you are an audiophile, you won't notice a difference. Nothing against your speakers, but you won't notice a difference either with those.

I don't see any reason to add a sound card.

 

[leo2kp]

I have those speakers and they are plugged in to a SoundBlaster Z sound card. Your on-board sound has 110db SNR which is OK. The SBZ has 116db SNR, and better cards go up to 124db SNR. Of course none of that matters if your PC is too loud to notice any static on the speakers. Other features of a dedicated sound card may include headphone power boosting, microphone beamforming (SBZ) if you're in to online gaming, or other sound-altering features. The SBZ will also boost the volume of footsteps from a distance to aid in detecting sneak attacks, but I haven't tried that feature. I personally will always use a dedicated sound card, but I don't think they're super necessary unless you require clear, precise sound from a very quiet PC.

 

[Cons29]

while i still have a sound card (i don't really use it, but it's connected to my speakers), i use heaphones now with an audio interface.
but, with a 5.1, you can position them properly, you should be able to enjoy it more

 

[Rogue Leader]

If you are into sound quality a good sound card can make a noticeable difference. But that said it all depends on what you are outputting to. If you're using an optical output from your motherboard's onboard sound you won't notice a difference and besides some features like positional sound and stuff that some cards have you really aren't missing out.

Now if instead you have a setup like mine where I have a Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium HD which has RCA outputs so I take advantage of all the onboard processing and DAC and I output to a pair of nice studio monitors (M-Audio MV-40) then you see the advantages of a good soundcard. The sound out of my PC is nothing short of unbelieveable, but I don't have 5.1 sound only 2 channels. I do take advantage of the card's positional sound features (CMSS).

The only other card I know of like that is the ASUS Xonar Essence, also thinking about it the Sound Blaster ZxR has that typoe of setup. If you're buying a card like that and running it like I do, its worth it. But if you use optical out there really is no sound processing going on inside the computer, its all done by the device it outputs to (and if that doesn't have any processing then you're just getting fairly raw sound).

 

[guanyu210379]

For Logitech Z506? This is not a good/audiophile loud-speaker set
No soundcard is needed.
You are wasting your money for an extra soundcard.

 

[maddogfargo]

Short answer: It depends on the quality of the on-board audio CODEC. Just make sure you're getting good on-board audio and use the right connection for high end components/headphones (* usually the rear panel, not the front)

Even with high end headphones, you won't hear the quality difference between 110db SNR and 120db SNR. And as guanyu210379 mentioned, you won't hear the difference with those speakers.

 

[warhead0]

If you are using powered speakers, you won't gain too much.

If you are a headphone user and you want more out of your audio, yes absolutely get a sound card.