Chaintech VNF3-250 onboard sound?

[busta_cap]

I'm building a system (A64 3000+, Chaintech VNF3-250 mb, 1gb Corsair Value Select, BFG 6800 OC, Logitech Z640 5.1 speakers, all supposed to arrive tomorrow/Friday) and I'm trying to keep everything I can off the PCI bus (currently, there'll be nothing on it).

Is the quality of the onboard 5.1 sound on the Chaintech mb acceptable/good for gaming (Doom3, Far Cry, Painkiller, NBA Live 2004/2005) and light music listening* (1-4 hrs per week)? Will it dog the system speed during games and/or applications work?

Or should I drop another $20-30 and get an inexpensive 5.1 card? And if so, what are your suggestions for a cheap but good-sounding card? I've pretty much blown my extra cash with the system as it is, so the card would have to be inexpensive.

In my current system, I have a SB Live Value 4.1 with a Cambridge Soundworks 4.1 speaker setup. It sounds pretty good, but I'm not incredibly happy with the speakers ... they're a little noisy.

* Note: the music I listen to is pretty eclectic, from metal to Texas blues to Miles Davis/Coltrane-type jazz & jazz fusion (Return to Forever, Al DiMeola, Pat Metheny)

 

[philodox]

I would say use the onboard sound and if you find it doesnt work well get a sound card. The Chaintech AV-710 is supposed to be a good cheap card. The Audigy is the only one that will give you the EAX effects though.

Another idea: If you have a reciever, stereo or DAC you could always run the digital out from your computer into it. Then you could listen on real speakers instead of computer speakers or headphones. From what I hear most gamers after hearing both find headphones more emersive than speakers anyways [its been a while since I've played any games]. For music there is no question, headphones win at your pricepoint.