It may sound (pun not intended) strange not to have a sound card on a new game-oriented computer. It seems however that the newest motherboards have AC 97 5.1 6 channels integrated chips of very good standing. So does a card really help the cpu to cope (gnawing you a few fps) and then is useful or is is a waste of money if you don't use your rig for "Computer Assisted Music"? :-violinDominique

If you don't mind the slight FPS loss, use the onboard sound. I see no point in speaning extra money for features you won't use.

I agree with ccgr. It all depends on the quality of the on-board chip. I am using a CMedia 8738 on a Soyo Dragon+ and it is a very good chip. I also have very good quality speakers to go along with it.

If you read this article you will see using the audio chipset on theAsus NForce2 motherboard will actually improve performance!http://www6.tomshardware.com/game/20030405/index.htmlFaxCap

For now I try to seperate everything from Mabo including Network, sound, IEEE1394 (ilink/fireware), and so on.The reason being is that way I can buy a cheap $50 mabo whenever I want to upghrade my CPU.Otherwise everytime I want to upgrade to new brand CPU that won't fit in my current MaboI will have to look for mabo that has everything I need and it will cost me over $100.