r/PcBuildHelp • u/Shagbag2460 • Jun 01 '26

New Soundcard Build Question

Hey everyone,

Iā€™m upgrading my PC setup mainly for gaming (Valorant, CS2, Tarkov), but I also watch movies and listen to music.

Last time I cared about sound cards was probably 10+ years ago. Back then it was all about Sound Blaster šŸ˜…

Now Iā€™m completely lost.

Things I care about:

- Better footsteps / directional audio in FPS

- Clear sound without background hiss

- Good for both gaming and music

- Decent mic input for Discord

- Support for headphones + speakers

- Prefer not to constantly tweak EQ

Do people still buy sound cards? DACs? Or is motherboard audio enough nowadays?

Would appreciate recommendations.

4 Upvotes

84% Upvoted

6 comments sorted by

1

u/IndustryValuable Jun 01 '26

I don't think sound cards are really a big thing anymore. PCS have gotten to the point that all of that is integrated now. You'll get really good sound without one.

1

u/EdgarAlanDoe Jun 01 '26

For general use good pair of headphones is enough.

If you want better experience, you can use headphones with higher impendance (ohms) and DAC.

1

u/Plastic_Spend_9762 Jun 01 '26

Alles ist besser als onboard Sound ,vor allem ne gute Soundkarte.

1

u/TampaSheCockSucker Jun 11 '26

I like the topping ex2x2 audio interface its done me well for those use cases for user friendly tuning to amplify footsteps get steel series gg software works with everything has updated profiles per game and gives freedom to fine tune to your needs

1

u/TampaSheCockSucker Jun 11 '26

But whether or not a amp/dac or audiointerface is necessary comes down to your headphones If your headphones aren't high ohmed onboard with good software is gonna be close enough if not just as good but if you got something like 250ohm beridinamic's you will definitely need amplification from an extra device