Hi Guys,My new computer is being assembled next week and I'm planning not planning on NOT utilizing a Sound Blaster card (like the one on this machine). The ASUS motherboard has an integeral sound capability and the only sounds I'm intereste in are ATC and engine noise (I use my Hi Fi for music).Do I really need a separate sound card for FS2002 (and beyond)? I'd appreciate your experienced advice.Thanx, John

I use the only the one on my 1999 Asus and it works just fine; does music pretty well too.

I recently gave up my SB Live Value from my computer to my kids computer and dusted off the onboard sound (IWill KK266). Whilst the sound quality is quite good, I have found that the frame rate hit by using onboard sound is quite high (anywhere between 25 and 33% reduction in FR with sound on), whereas the SBV live only used to drop a frame or two when enabled. Not a serious issue if you have plenty of horsepower to spare, however when it takes me from 15fps to 10fps (eg. KSFO), I notice muchly. I am seriously considering purchasing a replacement SB Live, or maybe one of those Audigy jobbies.Gary

Thanks Guys,I guess I'll stick with the decision, but be prepared to add a card at the drop of a hat if things don't look like I think they should.John

I too use an Asus board (P4B266) with on-board audio and have zero problems. It even has SPDIF for digital output to my theater/house audio system. My old Audigy card is still in use in a different machine, but it always seemed kind of buggy. You will have no problems at all and your machine will boot faster without having to load all of that Soundblaster crap.

A separate sound card will offer better performance and more features (I.E. 5.1 sound), but if you don't want to use an Audigy, which I wouldn't blame you, try one of the Hercules Fortissimo cards. They support EAX, A3D, are great performers, and are dirt cheap compared to Audigy cards, <$50The new Audigy2 cards from what I heard eliminate most of the problems the original Audigy have and offer excellent performance and sound quality. They're going to be pretty costly though, >$99

John,The audio systems on the latest Asus boards will sound fine. The only problem they have is if you use a microphone on-line. The built-in mic circuitry is very basy. Using roger Wilco, it sounds muffled.If you aren't going to use a microphone, you will be happy with it.Rick

>"A separate sound card will offer better performance and more features (I.E. 5.1 sound),"This may have been the case in the past, but the CMI8738 device that is on my Asus board performs just as well (for everything that I need) as the Audigy card did. It has both SPDIF inputs and outputs and supports 5.1 surround - you connect all six speakers to the 1/8" stereo ports on the main board.If you're into recording your own music or have some other high-end audio use then you might want to look into a card, but for general use and gaming the on-board works very well.