The last sound card i bought was the Sound Blaster Pro in 1990, and i remember when my friend and I hooked it up.. It was beyond amazing...  It brought gaming, at that time, to a "completely" nother level..  How are they these days and are they needed.  I was looking at the new sound blaster and EVGA NU Audio Card, 712-P1-AN01-KR.  
 
The generic sound that comes out of the MB seems fine to me.  So i dont know if a sound card is needed.. what does everyone think??

Built-in audio tends to be fairly decent these days. Unless you're using audiophile equipment I wouldn't recommend sound cards anymore... the driver support on my ASUS Xonar was the literal bare minimum they could get away with, and eventually the drivers caused too many problems. So I've used the onboard audio ever since.

Well, I don't hear the difference anymore (I'm too old)....I am fine with the onboard sound of the motherboards I buy....
 
I think it depends on your ear and what you're using it for...

Like it's already being said it depends on what are you connecting to it - usually audio setup plays as bad/good as it's worse component.
Take a note that for the whole audio experience usually, feelings are a huge factor. Sense of possession higher-end device itself may give you a better reception effect, even if it sounds exactly the same on a cheaper component.
I agree that nowadays integrated sound cards are way better than in the past but if you want to drive high ohm, good quality headphones I belive myself that there is a noticable difference.
 
Overall external sound cards are a much better option because of all kind of interferences inside your pc.

Interesting. I bought a sound card, but now I feel some regret. Oh well. :)

EVERY time I get a new mobo, I try the onboard sound. EVERY time I do it pales in comparison to a dedicated sound card. 
I've been doing this ever since onboard sound was available...maybe 20 platforms over the years, at least.
No need for actual measurements. The difference is obvious even to untrained ears, IMO.

I prefer external DACs, DACs plus headphone amplifiers, or DACs plus headphone amplifiers and digital music players. I have the Lotoo Paw Gold Touch and it’s stellar with my Focal Stella headphones. Lag free incoming audio too, I can use it with any USB-C source or via the 1TB SD card I have in it.

Depends on what you want and your setup. I use a Schiit Bifrost 2 DAC with 2 x Audioengine a5+speakers and a S8 POWERED SUBWOOFER with my main gaming/video editing PC. DACs are nice because no drivers are needed and it's external. If you have good speakers then you will notice a difference when going form onboard to a quality internal sound card or external DAC. Basically, it's all in what you want. As for me, I love music(metal and death metal with some occasional 70's funk) and I enjoy games, so my setup does exactly what I want for what I was willing to pay. 

ty_ger07

DavidJ5545
DACs are nice because no drivers are needed and it's external.

They all use DACs.  Internal ones use DACs.  External ones use DACs.  Ones with drivers use DACs.  Ones without drivers use DACs.
That's how digital audio works.  All digital audio uses a DAC.


Imagine paying 24k for a sound setup. I imagine for that amount of money, you would convince yourself about all sorts of different things.

While this is true, external DACs have advantages. Like I said, it's all in what you want with sound. If someone is happy with onboard sound then so be it because it's all about your setup anyway. If someone has the means and wants to dump 24k into sound, then so be it. Again it's all about your setup which should determine what you buy. A 24k sound system will definitely sound better than a 400.00 setup. When determining if you want to upgrade from onboard sound, the first step is to determine what speaker setup you are going to use. Have a nice internal or external sound card with low-end speakers will sound no better than onboard sound. It's all about your budget and a little research to get the best results.
 
Also, my statement about drivers should have been more refined in that I meant no bloatware etc. My Schiit used a simple usb driver without anything else, so no need for fluff etc, but there is nothing wrong with software as long as it's coded correctly.  

I own a NU Audio Pro that pushes a pair of DT 990s(250ohms) and it sounds quite nice. I am no audiophile,  I just pretend to be one in real life. 

cpk72
I've heard on board audio often gets spotty when taxing the cpu whereas audio cards are good in eliminating this - anyone experience or not experience this between the two

Nope

I've always been interested in EVGA's audio cards. I have Game One headphones from Sennheiser. Think it's worth the investment?