Need sound card for gaming, not PC

I recently bought a Turtle Beach PX21 headset and also a GTX 650 TI. Do I still need to get a separate sound card for better gaming sound and performance or is there a sound card component in the GTX 650 TI that I can use via HDMI/DVI?

At the moment I have a GTX 650 TI going into my monitor via HDMI. The LG monitor only has a din plug and no USB, so using this din plug for the headset and running a USB extension cable back to the PC.

Is this way using the GTX 650 TI for sound? Game sound is ok but not the best. Wolfenstein ET sometimes stutters. I wonder if the on-board sound card is being used and causing lag in the ET game.

Chris

Posted 2013-05-16T01:05:45.827

Reputation: 23

There is no audio card in the GTX 560 Ti, so any audio processing will take place on whatever hardware is available. The headset is USB, so it's not passing through the graphics card at all (nor through the HDMI connector). Does the headset have any other inputs, or just USB? If so, how is it connected? – Breakthrough – 2013-05-16T01:36:14.233

1btw it's a gtx650Ti not 560. thanks. – Chris – 2013-05-16T01:55:27.213

I remember when a lot of motherboards didn't have sound cards. If you wanted sound, you had to buy a sound card. – kobaltz – 2013-05-16T02:29:30.887

The px21 has a din plug and a usb plug. apparently one plug is for normal audio from the pc and the other (usb probably) is for chatting in the game (both sound out and mic). As usual all the manufacturer manuals for all the equipment is bare minimum, e.g., how to plug it in and that's all. Anyway, thanks to everyone. – Chris – 2013-05-16T02:47:20.817

– MSalters – 2013-05-16T12:36:49.527

@Chris - Same difference....There is not a single graphics card that outputs audio or even has ANY audio processing to begin with. The fact audio is passed through HDMI is a different issue. Keltari's explaination of audio passthrough is complete. – Ramhound – 2013-05-16T16:57:00.810

Answers

I agree with @Conn Darcy with one exception. Not all onboard sound cards are equal. Some cheap onboard sound cards rely on the CPU for processing. This may be the case here. The easy way to test would be disable (not mute) the onboard sound card and play your game. If the game runs fine, then its the onboard sound card. If this is the case, then you should buy a separate sound card.

Keltari

Posted 2013-05-16T01:05:45.827

Reputation: 57 019

The GTX650Ti uses audio passthrough to provide sound. Basically, the sound card built in to your motherboard is used to process the sound and then it passes it onto the graphics card which outputs it via HDMI. So you are using the on board sound card. Most on board sound cards are fine and shouldn't cause you any lag issues so it is not that causing the stuttering. That could be down to anything unfortunately. First thing I'd do is start re-installing drivers for things like your graphics card.

Conn Darcy

Posted 2013-05-16T01:05:45.827

Reputation: 434

2The game is old, i know, however both ET2.60b and ET:Legacy intermittently cause high cpu load. Maybe adding a sound card will alleviate some of this. Also looking forward to footsteps and shot sounds being easier to interpret direction, as sometimes i can't tell. – Chris – 2013-05-16T01:52:35.713

2@Chris: If you're a gamer, music lover etc. I would definitely recommend a good stand-alone sound card. With the right set of speakers/headphones and ears it'll make a world of difference! – Karan – 2013-05-16T01:58:11.623