If your computer's audio ports are located on the same panel as the USB, FireWire and other ports on the back of your computer, your computer has an onboard chip that produces audio. Onboard audio chips are inexpensive to produce, and many motherboard manufacturers utilize them. In most cases, a typical computer user has no need for a discrete sound card. However, there are benefits in owning a discrete sound card, and if you crave the best in audio quality and gaming or recording performance, you may find the upgrade worthwhile.
Noise and Interference
An onboard audio chip often has a poorer signal-to-noise rating than a sound card, and because it is located among the tightly packed components of the motherboard and often tends to pick up electrical interference. This can result in hissing and crackling noises, particularly when listening to computer audio through headphones. Sound cards usually do not suffer from this issue. A sound card is installed in an expansion slot and is perpendicular to the motherboard. This leaves some distance between the sound card's components and those on the motherboard. In addition, sound cards generally have higher-quality digital-to-analog converters, resulting in superior signal-to-noise ratings.
Game Performance
A sound card has a chip that processes the instructions needed to produce audio, while onboard audio relies on the computer's central processing unit to perform this function. Onboard audo therefore can reduce the display frame rate of games, which often utilize the computer's processing and audio capabilities simultaneously. However, the effect is minimized with fast processors. In a 2010 review, computer website The Tech Report compared a computer's performance in several current games in a computer with onboard audio versus a sound card. In the games tested, the computer's average frame rate improved little with a sound card, increasing by a maximum of four frames per second. The computer's processor was an Intel Core i7. The difference may be more pronounced with slower processors.
Inputs and Outputs
A high-end sound card typically has a large assortment of input and output ports to satisfy customers' varying needs. Some of the ports that you might find on a sound card include ports for MIDI synthesizers, 1/4-inch and 1/8-inch analog audio ports, digital audio ports and ports for surround speakers. An entry-level onboard audio chip may have just two ports: one for speakers and one for a microphone. Premium motherboards may include onboard audio chips with additional input/output ports.
Recording Characteristics
An onboard sound chip typically has characteristics that make it unacceptable for music recording. In addition to having a poor signal-to-noise ratio, an onboard sound chip may have a poor-quality microphone connector optimized for computer microphones rather than recording equipment. A sound card may offer higher recording resolutions up to 32 bits and may have the ability to record from multiple inputs simultaneously.
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