I am building a new computer. I have everything picked out, except sound cards.

I am going with a Gigabyte GA-768XP-UDP3 MOBO, that has Realtek ALC889 onboard sound.

I just have a 2.1 speaker setup. I am not a big sound guy, just want something halfway decent.

Is it worth getting a separate sound card for this, or will the onboard sound on this MOBO be sufficient you think?

The onboard sound will probably be enough for you. And if not, you can always get a sound card later.

There isn't really much of a point to get a sound card these days, I consider the main reason to get one if one need good ASIO drivers, but few people do.

DIsagree. My CL X-Fi Xtreme Music card is very noticeably better sounding than an oboard card through good speakers (using Camridge Soundworkss Microworks). To me, sound is just as important as grapchics.

Soundcard. Onboard sound of my motherboard is okay. But recently I did place a simple Creative soundcard and it's all better
Especially for Skyrim which has known issues with onboard sound.

The onboard sound you will get will be halfway decent, so you should be good to go mate.

btw...you'll get alot of advice from people telling you that your onboard isn't as good as other options, and they will usually be right (sometimes not for the right reasons...). But with a 2.1 setup and not being a 'big sound guy', most recommendations to do other than onboard will be overkill IMHO. Personally, I'm a high performance headphone guy, and onboard isn't enough for me, but I'm a hair-splitter on audio issues.

Example:
If the OP claimed to be a big sound guy, and audio was super important, this would be useful info...but I doubt the OP uses Cambridge, therefore all this tells you is that Zanderat finds audio to be very important and he's willing to pay for very good quality...which doesn't really answer the OPs question.

One last question, is it worth the extra $100 performance wise to get the Intel Core i7 2600k 3.4Ghz as opposed to the Intel Core i5 2500k 3.3GHz?

Do you plan on getting anything better than stock cpu fan and overclocking? If yes, you can get quite a bit out of that i7, and therefore quite of bit of value for that $100. If you are not into overclocking, I'd say stick with the i5 and save the $100.

Sure it does. He asked if it was worth it. I say, yes.

I plan to install the CPU as is and do nothing else with it. I've never overclocked in my life, and don't even know how

While OC'ing can sound scary if you've never done it, it is a great way to get the most for your money with cpu's. For example, with a $60 cpu fan, an average case (as in not terrible air flow), and a few hours of work, you can get your cpu to perform safely at speeds equivalent to spending $500 more on a better gpu. The software and expertise is all free, and you can be very conservative in your targets, really risking almost nothing, and still see a difference. The reason that i72600 is desired is because of its OC ability. Just something to consider if you are looking to get the most out of your dollar.

FINAL question!

Is the Western Digital Caviar Black 7200 RPM 500GB drive worth the extra money of the WD Caviar Blue 7200RPM 500GB? Both are SATA 6.0Gb/s but the Black has a 32MB cache vs a 16MB cache on the Blue.

HDD Cache is very important, get as much as you can afford for a given drive size.

Depends on how much more it is IMHO. In reality, you won't notice that extra 16mb cache, unless you are an enthusiast (some notice, but most people wouldn't). The Blacks are reliable (I have that exact drive). However, depending on pricing, with HDD being overpriced right now (partially due to Asian water floods), you may consider a solid state drive instead for your games. You may be able to pick up a decent 120gb SSD for about the same price as that Black, and that is a buy you won't regret (for either OS, games, or both).

Google intel SRT. Will let you use an SSD as a cache drive (will make games load faster is the best feature imo of this)

Just a suggestion!

I would take a Samsung Spinpoint F3--not F4--over that drive, and I'd get 1TB. But WD is a good brand, too.

As others have said, if you're willing to spend more for a drive, and with the flood-induced disk prices, I'd seriously consider adding an SSD rather than more money on a mechanical drive. http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ssd-review-benchmark,3115.html a recent overview to check out if you're interested. You still want a big mechanical drive, but if you're willing to pay for performance, you'll be much happier with money spent on an SSD.

A good soundcard will sound better and will take some of the processing load off your CPU. The question is are you the kind of user that will notice it. Your call. If price is paramount and an iPod sounds good to you and you do not overclock or even stress your CPU then just stay with the onboard sound. On the other hand ........

It's money better spent pretty much anywhere else. If you are sacrificing any other upgrade to get a soundcard, then I'd recommend against it. I'd also strongly recommend not getting a Gigabyte motherboard for LGA 1155. No UEFI, cold boot issues, mediocre feature set, and mediocre VRMs.

The argument that it takes some load off the CPU by processing sound for it hasn't really been relevant for years. Sound puts such a tiny load on a modern CPU that it's completely negligible.

Modern realtek chips are very good, and don't have the driver problems that realtek used to have. Also, you can always add a soundcard later. Settling for onboard sound now and then deciding you want a soundcard later costs you absolutely nothing extra, since you're getting onboard sound either way. There's a very good chance you wouldn't notice the difference at all, especially with your average 2.1 speakers.

Pretty much all the Gigabyte boards had excellent reviews. I've used them in the past and figured I will continue until proven otherwise.

There are better boards for the same or less. Brand loyalty is illogical, but its a choice you're free to make.

I already had placed the order anyway

I assume it will work. Otherwise I will send it back.

It'll work fine. I got a 1155 Gigabyte board after my ASUS board died, and it's just as good if not better.

ASUS makes great boards too, but trying to get a replacement from their customer service is almost impossible.

I've never needed a soundcard for anything. The only reason that I could think of to get one is if you have a 5.1 surround sound system. I do not, I have onboard. My sound system is powered by a pair of http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v119/chevelle_7172/Pioneer/100_0262.jpg (Not actually a picture of mine) which are hooked into an amplifier/audio controller which is then hooked into my computer. I have no idea if a dedicated soundcard would enhance my audio quality though.

The only time that I've ever had a dedicated sound card was when one came with a pre-built that I had many years ago.

There are some good reasons to have a sound card. Features, in some cases. One compelling reason is for things like http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolby_Digital#Dolby_Digital_Live. Using the Realtek software codec I had issues with DDL when the CPU was being hit especially hard. Adding a sound card with a dedicated DSP for processing Dolby Digital Live fixed that problem.

As
As people have said, you need a good set of speaker or headphones to get anything out of a sound card. Onboard sound is fine, in general. But there IS a significant difference in quality if you've got the speakers.

http://techreport.com/articles.x/14500 - this is a few years old, but still relevant
http://techreport.com/articles.x/19997 article.

Most people can tell the difference, when a good or even $20 sound card is paired with better speakers/headphone. Of course, then you've spent $20 - $300 on a sound card, and then doubled that cost on speakers.

The sound card can wait, but I found a few advantages worth noting. If you get a sound blaster that is, check http://www.creative.com/soundblaster/alchemy/. It recreates EAX environmental audio effects that got lost with vista and 7. Also, a sound card releases theorically drain on the CPU. Today's CPU can handle much, though.