Hi all, i have recently been having severe statc issues from my PC..at first i thought they were the speakers that was the problem but after buying a better pair that did not solve the issue..? I have no idea what is causing it..? my sound card is about 5 years old (audigy sound blaster) ....is it better to go with on board sound as i have read that the newer mother boards have much, much better on board sound than in previous years...will it rob me of FPS to go this way?

If You are not audiophile. go with the onboard audio card - RealtekHD is pretty OK.If You have a good speakers, invest something to external card.I use onboard RealtekHD for voice communications (ATC, ATIS and so on) - headset is connected to them. As a second/main audio card I use Xonar D2/PM which has outstanding audio quality, both playing and recording, but it is expensive.

I seem to have more than my share of sound problems, from weirdness with Captain Sim (others have had that, too, but seem able to fix it) to FS Passengers killing my frame rates when audio is on. Does this sound like a candidate for a sound card to replace my on-board sound? It seems to me that if a sound card would unload some of the work from my processor this could only be a good thing. Is there a flaw in my thinking? I'm using a Dell XPS 430 with Vista 64.

I seem to have more than my share of sound problems, from weirdness with Captain Sim (others have had that, too, but seem able to fix it) to FS Passengers killing my frame rates when audio is on. Does this sound like a candidate for a sound card to replace my on-board sound? It seems to me that if a sound card would unload some of the work from my processor this could only be a good thing. Is there a flaw in my thinking? I'm using a Dell XPS 430 with Vista 64.

---------------------------------------------I've got the Creative X-Fi Titanium. A great sound card that has eclisped all three other Creative products I have purchased in past upgrades. FSX performance is great...right down to the snarly rasp of the props biting into the air. Other uses are stellar, movies, music, vids...everything in fact.I HIGHLY recommend this card...at it can be had for around $100.00 on the web.Mitch

Picked it up and installed it today. Too early to comment on what it improves (hopefully something for the price).

Hi Tim."Picked it up today"Picked what up today?If it's the Creative X-Fi Titanium, then please do let us know how it is.I am looking into changing mine, and this Creative X-Fi Titanium does look good, and has received some raving reviews.