▷ Sound card integrated in motherboard, are they worth it?

In this article we try to go over some of the benefits of having an improved or high-quality integrated sound card in your motherboard. If you are new to the world of sound cards, you may not know what the differences are between the sound built into a motherboard and a dedicated sound card.

You may also wonder if it's worth the extra cost of getting a dedicated sound card. The reality is that integrated sound cards have improved a lot, and unless you're an extreme gamer or looking to enter the world of hardcore audio, dedicated sound cards won't be much of an improvement if you already have a high-quality integrated one.

Index of contents

How the sound of a PC works and the importance of the sound card

The first step to understand the importance of the sound card is to understand how the audio of our PC works. Audio comes in two different formats: analog and digital. Computers are what we call digital systems, which means that they can only produce or manipulate sound in a digital format. The problem is that in the real world, all audio is found or created in an analog format. All speakers produce analog signals. Digital speakers, the ones we use for computers or home theater systems, are in fact analog speakers that can convert the digital signal to an analog format. To do the digital-to-analog conversion, a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) is used, which is incorporated into many of the speakers we see every day.

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Enhanced integrated sonar cards closely approximate dedicated ones

All motherboards have a chip called a codec, which includes an encoder and decoder, which can convert digital signals to analog signals and vice versa. In other words, all motherboards have a DAC that is part of their integrated sound card. All motherboards on the market come with built-in sound cards or built-in audio.

The problem is, since motherboards need to be small enough to fit in your tower, they have limited space for the sound card. As such, embedded audio cannot produce the same audio quality as a dedicated sound card. Many of the functions required to produce clear, crisp sound simply cannot be added to built-in sound cards. However, integrated sound cards have improved a lot over the past few years, especially on high-end motherboards that have what are known as enhanced integrated sound cards.

One of the main advantages of using integrated audio is obviously the cost. Not only do you save money on your sound card, but you also save a lot of money on new speakers or expensive headphones. You can still listen to the same music or play the same games as someone with a dedicated sound card. You will not have the same level of audio quality, but if you have a good integrated sound card, the difference will not be very large, especially if you do not have speakers of several hundred euros.

High-quality integrated sound cards have a number of enhanced or added features, which in turn produce better sound quality throughout. Features such as higher signal-to-noise ratios, lower harmonic distortion, 24-bit sampling rates, and 192 kHz resolutions among other details. These additional features are what really makes a high-end integrated sound card worth the extra money manufacturers charge us for motherboards. One thing to keep in mind is that you will need a good set of speakers or a good headphone to appreciate the difference.

Is it worth a motherboard with an upgraded integrated sound card?

Buying a motherboard with an improved or high-quality integrated sound card is more expensive than one with a more basic integrated sound card, but it will be cheaper than having to buy a dedicated sound card, so in the end and in the end we will be saving money. These enhanced built-in sound cards don't quite match dedicated ones, but they come very close.

Dedicated sound cards are not for everyone. Not only do you need to buy the sound card itself, but you also need additional equipment to get the most out of it. For most users it is more important to choose a good sound card integrated in the motherboard. Of course, you must have good quality speakers or headphones to be able to take advantage of an improved integrated sound card, because it will be useless to have it if your audio equipment is not up to it.

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This is our article Sound card on motherboards Is it worth the improved ones? Do you agree with us?

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