Why Your Gaming PC Needs a Sound Card

The job of a sound card is to control the input and output of audio signals. Also known as an audio card, it comes in handy when editing video, composing music, listening to music, watching a video, and for educational purposes. Many people don’t realize how entertaining it would be if they have a good sound card in their computer, let alone in a gaming computer. If you are watching a 3D movie or playing an intense game on your computer, your built-in sound card can’t deliver on sound quality. So, for the best experience, you will need an additional sound card designed for gaming to give the 3D sound emulation.

Recommended Sound Cards

The cards below are not only great for gaming computers. They are also under $200.

HT | OMEGA Claro Halo 24-bit 192KHz PCI Interface Sound Card w/ a built-in HI-FI Headphone Amplifier
ASUS Xonar DX 7.1 Channels PCI Express x1 Interface Sound Card
ASUS Xonar Essence STX Virtual 7.1 Channels 24-bit 192KHz PCI Express x1 Interface 124 dB SNR / Headphone AMP Card
Creative Sound Blaster x-fi Series of Sound Cards

The above is a list of sound cards that I have used in the past and they all performed very well. There are better and more expensive ones though. The reason I settled for the list above, was because they are the perfect balance of price and performance. Some sound cards come with a headphone amp, you should look out for this.

On-board Sound Cards Use System Resources

Most motherboards are loaded with a built-in sound feature. Your computer probably has a built-in sound feature. Instead of replacing your motherboard, you can simply add an external sound card. The built-in sound card uses system resources including memory and CPU. So, an external card will help save these resources and boost the performance of your computer.

It is best to settle for sound cards made for music professionals and gaming computers. They are designed for low latency input/output and maximum audio quality. They are also equipped with different inputs than the average consumer cards available. Your computer could have the right video card, RAM, and processor, but because you are using a built in sound card, the high-quality graphics might choke a bit. The sound card is one of the things you should check out when buying a gaming computer.

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-By Dominic

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