stereo system used w/ my PC

Ok I have a 90 watt RCA stereo system hooked up to my computer through a 3.5mm to the red and white RCA plugs. I'm using onboard sound. Would I notice a big difference in sound if I got a sound card?

It depends if the stereo system you have now is connected through a decent receiver, or if it's just outputting the sound from the RCA inputs without processing it.

its connected through a receiver (it has the 5-disc CD changer and all that) and then outputted to the speakers.

I had a notebook running that same way a DJ system and sounded great cause the amp and EQ was doing all the work.

Yeah i have my stereo/receiver hooked up like that. Your not going to notice a difference because like others said, its the receiver doing all the work. Sounds better than a CD and im using onboard sound.



Im thinking that will apply to your stereo also..

yeah that's what I thought. Thanks for letting me know!

A better sound card will give more sound detail and less noise how much better it sounds depends on how good your stereo can convert the signal to sound.

If your looking for high end sound, then you will always be better off using a dedicated sound card. Anytime the sound is built into the motherboard you are going to get some noise in the signal. Getting the sound off the board allows cleaner sound and better signal processing.

And running through your home system does nothing but process the signal that has already been processed on your computer. Unless you run a cable directly from your cd/dvd player to a digital to analog processor.

Thats a incorrect statement. The receiver is processing signals that have already been processed inside your computer. So the initial signal comes from the computer already full of noise and the receiver can not remove the noise. It can only be as good as the signal it gets.

Your right, i guess my onboard sound is damn good then



For the price of a good sound card though, unless your a DJ or have money to blow. I dont really think its worth it..



And even more so not worth it with a 90w RCA stereo

I have my system hooked up to a 150 watt Onyko stereo receiver and a pair of $200 Infinity book shelf speakers, I would defiantly hear the difference between onboard and a dedicated card. And let me tell you, it sounds much better than any dedicated computer speaker setup you can buy.