luckybob wrote:The general rule of thumb is, NEVER use onboard audio. it is ALWAYS inferior to a dedicated card.
With some exceptions. Cheap sound cards often are based on CMI8738... which has been mounted in a lot of sound cards. Maybe the amplifiers are better, but...
Thinking about that, I'm using a Asus Xonar DS, based con CMI8788 (rebranded to AV200 in my card). Seems that CMI knows how to make a good sound chip... but most manufacturers choose the cheap one.
luckybob wrote:That being said, I always use my add-on card for music and gaming. and I leave the onboard turned on for skype and other online chat.
I use my sound card for both functions and left the onboard sound disable. Normally I use my speakers, but when I need to chat I connect a headset to the front panel.
Also, I had a PS2 headset (from SOCOM game) connected via USB. That headset was actually a great chatting hardware. The mic didn't catch background noise but the voice was captured OK, and being a lightweight monoaural headset, you could hear sound from the speakers.
Some friends use the sound card for gaming, and bluetooth mini headsets for chat. They're great to supress unwanted background noise, but can exhaust the battery with a bad sense of timing.
I have traveled across the universe and through the years to find Her.
Sometimes going all the way is just a start...
I'm selling some stuff!