Sound Card, Should I buy?

[waleedfsd]

So I know what you're thinking... Why do I NEED a sound card... well that's because my Motherboard Sucks ass, I use a Core i7 3770 and for reference my motherboard doesnt even have USB 3.0 support so along with its many Defects so is its Natural Audio, both the recordings have Hella Static (Electrical Interferences) and the Audio sounds muffled compared to my Laptop.

So I can't afford a new Motherboard and I don't wanna buy a DAC because of the Desktop space, So I'm thinking of buying ASUS Xonar AE Sound Card. So here are a few Questions I wanted to know before I do:

1- Will it improve the Recordings of any USB mics I have?

2- and If not then will it improve the Recordings of the mic that I plug Directly into it? Like a Headjack Mic

3- What do people look for when buying a mic... like just for recording normal sound... Is the Hz?

because Lately i have heard a few mics that had more Hz but sounded bad and some mics had fewer Hz and Sounded better? So what's up with that... Most of these questions are about the Mic because I know most of my Problems concerning the In game or Video audio will go away with the Sound card but i wanna know how to Make the Recordings good i think thats the hard part.

 

[gamerk316]

1- Will it improve the Recordings of any USB mics I have?

No. USB is it's own thing; it doesn't go through a motherboards or soundcard hardware, a USB audio device is it's own soundcard.

2- and If not then will it improve the Recordings of the mic that I plug Directly into it? Like a Headjack Mic

Yes, but keep in mind that most soundcards do not focus on audio input nearly as much as output. If you want something more geared toward recording, then I would look at more professional options rather then gaming soundcards.

3- What do people look for when buying a mic... like just for recording normal sound... Is the Hz?

The key factors are the soundcards ADC [analog to digital converter], and the sensitivity/isolation of the microphone.

 

[waleedfsd]

1- Will it improve the Recordings of any USB mics I have?

No. USB is it's own thing; it doesn't go through a motherboards or soundcard hardware, a USB audio device is it's own soundcard.

2- and If not then will it improve the Recordings of the mic that I plug Directly into it? Like a Headjack Mic

Yes, but keep in mind that most soundcards do not focus on audio input nearly as much as output. If you want something more geared toward recording, then I would look at more professional options rather then gaming soundcards.

3- What do people look for when buying a mic... like just for recording normal sound... Is the Hz?

The key factors are the soundcards ADC [analog to digital converter], and the sensitivity/isolation of the microphone.

So are USB Mics better? and is low sensitivity/Isolation in a mic is what considered good? and how much will the ASUS Xonar AE improve my output sound? I hear it has a 150 Ohm AMP

 

[gamerk316]

1- Will it improve the Recordings of any USB mics I have?

No. USB is it's own thing; it doesn't go through a motherboards or soundcard hardware, a USB audio device is it's own soundcard.

2- and If not then will it improve the Recordings of the mic that I plug Directly into it? Like a Headjack Mic

Yes, but keep in mind that most soundcards do not focus on audio input nearly as much as output. If you want something more geared toward recording, then I would look at more professional options rather then gaming soundcards.

3- What do people look for when buying a mic... like just for recording normal sound... Is the Hz?

The key factors are the soundcards ADC [analog to digital converter], and the sensitivity/isolation of the microphone.

So are USB Mics better? and is low sensitivity/Isolation in a mic is what considered good? and how much will the ASUS Xonar AE improve my output sound? I hear it has a 150 Ohm AMP

As a general rule: Anything USB is worse then a dedicated sound card due to not investing in as good hardware to handle conversion to/from analog/digital. There are exceptions, but sound cards are typically better.

Can't really comment on specifics for microphones; that falls outside my area of expertise.

The ASUS Xonar AE will help your output, but you need speakers/headphones that are good enough to be able to hear any difference.