What Is The Best Soundcard For Gaming in 2021? Internal & External Soundcards

There are various bits of information and jargon you need to consider when shopping for a sound card which, unless you know a thing or two about audio, chances are you won’t be familiar with. Below is a brief rundown of all the necessary bits of information.

DAC

The Digital-to-Analog-Converter is a sub-component within a sound card that turns the digital code of the computer into a continuous analog soundwave that can be played through your outputs to produce a (hopefully) realistic sound. The higher the bit depth/bit rate, the more information can be converted into the wave and the more accurate and realistic the sound can be. 24-bit is the minimum you want to achieve good quality sound.

Sampling Rate

The other piece of information that determines the quality of a DAC is the sampling rate, measured in kHz, which affects the quality of the sound that the card is able to pick up and then replicate. The rule of thumb is that the frequency of sound a card is able to replicate is ½ of its stated sample rate, so, generally speaking, you will need a sampling rate of at least 96KHz to produce 48KHz sound, which is the standard for DVD quality sound. Those working on audio workflows will want to go higher than this however to ensure they maximize the data they can capture in any input.

SNR

SNR or Signal-To-Noise-Ratio is a number that reflects the percentage of desired signal information vs the unwanted background noise: in simple terms, the higher the SNR the clearer the sound will be and the less background hiss/buzz you will hear when you turn up the volume. You will generally want a sound card with an SNR of at least 91dB, though ideally higher, but spending money on better SNR sound cards is generally worth it if you’re planning on watching films on speakers with relatively high volumes, and definitely, if you’re doing audio editing.

Connection Ports And The Location Of The Sound Card

Traditionally sound cards were all located inside the PC itself, plugging into the PCIe slot on the motherboard, and you’ll still see several examples in this list that do so. However, this does come with certain disadvantages which mean that external sound cards are now more frequently seen than before, plugging into the PC either via a USB port or a cable lead to the PCIe slot.

The main issue with an internal sound card is the electrical interference caused by the other components (the CPU, GPU, PSU, fans etc.) can increase the unwanted background noise in the audio output – leading to the aforementioned hiss/static noise. High-end motherboards in particular do incorporate various design features to minimize this interference (using ground shields, isolating the sound card etc.) but it will typically always creep into some degree on higher volume output. The main trade-off is that internal cards obviously offer a much more compact, contained gaming PC.

Channel Support

Surround sound now comes in 5.1, 7.1 and 7.2 varieties (in increasing order of fidelity and immersiveness) for the full 3D sound experience. Surround sound support isn’t only used for speaker set ups but is also utilised by some headphones, which incorporate multiple separate drivers and miniature speakers, maximising immersion in singleplayer titles that support it. Most competitive online gamers however will still opt for a pair of quality stereo headphones, as these have lower audio latency than surround sound versions.

In short, pure gamers will not need multi-channel support in their sound cards, but if you are spending a lot of money on one it is a desirable feature to have if you’re planning on watching films and the like.

Software Features

For gamers who play competitive first person shooters in particular, one of the things you want to look out for in a sound card is the software features it comes with, which can give you the edge in-game. Depending on the software, this often means amplifying certain sounds above others in the audio mix, typically footsteps, to enable you to get the drop on people in games such as Counter-Strike or Escape From Tarkov. Scout Mode is one example of this and can be switched on or off at will.

Besides this, software features can often give you a more immersive experience, whether you’re using speakers or headphones. The GX2.5 gaming audio engine for instance, is ASUS’ proprietary software for realistic 3D effects and you will typically see that featured for all their sound cards.

Headphone Impedance

Headphone impedance is a fairly complicated concept, which has to do with how the voltage and current of an electrical signal relates to its amplitude and frequency. In terms of what you actually need to know: the sound card you use has to have a signal impedance that matches that of the headphones you’re using – the higher the quality of the headphones, typically the higher the impedance. So if you’re hoping to use a pair of high-quality audiophile headphones, make sure whichever soundcard you buy has the necessary impedance.