Onboard or Sound Card?

[MorseLady]

Is onboard 7.1 Surround Sound hi fi or do I need a proper sound card like ZS Audigy in the new PC I am configuring online? The computer will be played through my hi fi amplifier.

[Duke of Rezin]

Is onboard 7.1 Surround Sound hi fi or do I need a proper sound card like ZS Audigy in the new PC I am configuring online? The computer will be played through my hi fi amplifier.

I would say that it would be hi fi. I seem to remember when the original Audigy came out reading an article discussing that, though the Audigy 1 chip was a 24 bit chip, the corresponding circuitry (DAC and what-not) was only 16-bit capable. However, the article said that convential cd players found in home stereos were only capable of 16-bit playback. Apparently the Audigy 2 ZS is 24-bit all the way, but there have since been other sound processors that have come out for the mainstream market that are also 24-bit capable. VIA's newer Envy processors come to mind, and I think that Realtek manufactures several, though not all present day Realtek chips are 24-bit chips, they are all pretty much what could be considered hi fi. It would just be a matter of having the proper cable to connect the amplifier to the computer. That said, if you are unsure of just which processor this computer will be running, then by all means get the ZS if for no other reason than to avoid anxiety.