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PCMusic & AudioHardware

What are the best PC sound cards around $100?

7

Options
Considered

20

User
Recs.

Aug 27, 2023

Last
Updated

3 Options Considered

Best PC sound cards around $100	Price	Interface	Connections
-- Creative Sound Blaster Z	$93.84	PCI Express x1	Headphone out, 3x Line out, Mic / line- in, S/PDIF in/out (Optical)
-- Creative Sound Blaster Audigy FX	$39.98	-	-
-- ASUS Xonar DX 7.1	93.86	PCI Express x1	4x Line-out, Shared S/PDIF Out & Mic/Line-in

Creative Sound Blaster Z

Top Pro

Produces good audio quality that is clean with minimal distortion

With this soundcard, audio will sound clear and positional audio in movies and games will also be improved. The Cirrus Logic DAC used produces clear audio with very little to no distortion. Also, this sound card enhances sound stage and audio separation compared to on-motherboard audio. See More

Top Con

More on the expensive side

Unless you need the Beamforming microphone technology, Creative offers the Sound Blaster Audigy for almost half the price and similar features. See More

Specs

Interface:PCI Express x1

Connections:Headphone out, 3x Line out, Mic / line- in, S/PDIF in/out (Optical)

Audio Resolution:24-Bit/192 kHz

Top Pro

SBX Pro Studio software offers a lot of audio enhancement features

Creative's audio software offers a lot of control over the sound card's features including audio enhancements, 5.1 surround sound options as well as EQ adjustments. This will allow you to customize many aspects of your audio experience with the sound card. The software is cleanly laid-out and is intuitive to use. See More

Top Con

The LED light on the side can be too bright

This can be a problem if you have a side panel window on your PC. The red LED is quite bright and can get distracting. The LED cannot be turned off. See More

Top Pro

Can support audio setups with optical connectors

Optical in/out ports are present if you have speakers with optical connectivity, and should result in optimal sound quality. This soundcard also has the necessary analog ports for a 5.1 surround sound setup. See More

Top Con

Short warranty period

Creative provides 12 months of warranty, compared to 36 months of warranty for ASUS soundcards. See More

Top Pro

CrystalVoice can enhance mic quality

This is a handy feature if you do a lot of voice chat while gaming and should result in clearer and easily audible sound. CrystalVoice can dynamically adjust mic volume, reduce ambient noise and echo and can also boost your mic volume. See More

Top Pro

Can power high impedance headphones

This sound card can bring out optimal volume and sound quality even from high impedance headphones. This has an amp that can sufficiently power 600 ohm headphones. See More

Top Pro

Reduces CPU audio processing overhead

This sound card has a dedicated quad-core processor which takes the audio processing load off the CPU. This frees up CPU resources for optimal computer performance while also providing high quality, delay-free audio along with additional audio effects/enhancements. See More

Creative Sound Blaster Audigy FX

Top Pro

Can easily fit in compact HTPC setups

This is a low-profile PCI-E card and comes with both a standard PCI bracket as well as a low-profile one. This makes the sound card really easy to fit in many PC builds, including HTPCs which sometimes can only accommodate low profile cards. See More

Top Con

May not be an upgrade over some motherboard audio solutions

The Audigy FX's feature set is quite basic, and some on-board solutions from higher end motherboards may already have similar, if not better features/audio quality. See More

Specs

Sample Rate :192 kHz

Headphone Amp:600 Ohms

Surround Sound Speaker Support:Yes (5.1)

Top Pro

May improve sound over older on-board audio chips

This is a great budget solution if you are having distortion or other audio problems with your on-board audio. The Audigy FX produces rich sound with very minimal distortion. See More

Top Pro

Can power high impedance headphones

Most headphones will be able to output adequate volume levels and good audio quality with this soundcard. The headphone out can provide enough power even for 600 ohm headphones, and can be a significant upgrade over your motherboard's headphone output. See More

Top Pro

Supports 5.1 speaker setups

This soundcard has the necessary analog out connectors for a 5.1 surround sound speaker system. See More

ASUS Xonar DX 7.1

Top Pro

Supports 7.1 or 5.1 surround sound

This sound card has connectors that can accomodate 5.1 surround sound speaker setups. Asus offers software which allows for virtual 7.1 surround sound for enhanced audio immersion over 5.1 surround. See More

Top Con

Cannot power high impedance headphones

This sound card does not have a headphone amp so high impedance headphones may have less-than-optimal sound quality and low volume output. See More

Specs

Interface:PCI Express x1

Connections:4x Line-out, Shared S/PDIF Out & Mic/Line-in

Measurements: 25 cm x 17 cm x 8 cm

Top Pro

Produces clear audio with minimal distrotion

The audio from this sound card is clean and with very little distortion. Sound is also much fuller compared to many low-end on-board audio solutions. See More

Top Con

Requires additional power

You will need to connect a floppy-drive cable from your power supply to this sound card for adequate power. This can be an annoyance and can add cable clutter inside your computer. See More

Top Pro

Audio connectors should last a long time

The analog audio connectors in this soundcard are gold plated. Not only does this promote efficient signal transfer, but these connectors do not rust over time, improving their longevity. See More

Top Con

No separate connector for S/PDIF

The S/PDIF is connected to the shared line/mic-in with a separate adapter, which could be a problem for people wanting to use both digital and analog devices simultaneously. See More

Top Pro

Can easily fit in most PC builds

The sound card comes in a half-height PCI-E form factor. Also, a low-profile I/O bracket is included, making this sound card much easier to fit in compact HTPC computers. See More

Top Pro

Compatible with Linux

This is a good sound card option if you are on Linux. Asus has proper Linux drivers for this sound card. See More

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