Audio Performance and Quality
RightMark Audio Analyzer
This test attempts to quantify the sound quality from an audio card by passing it on to a secondary sound card for evaluation. Our test setup passed the audio from the on-board sound to a PCI Creative Labs X-Fi card in order to complete the loop.
Rather than bring in 7 graphs for each audio card tested, I decided to include RightMark’s results that are in ‘just plain English’ rather than the complete audiophile numbers.
SummaryFrequency response (from 40 Hz to 15 kHz), dB: +0.15, -0.36 Good Noise level, dB (A): -87.2 Good Dynamic range, dB (A): 86.9 Good THD, %: 0.0099 Very good IMD + Noise, %: 0.016 Very good Stereo crosstalk, dB: -81.4 Very good IMD at 10 kHz, %: 0.017 Very good
The HD audio came up with decent results here. No cracking or stuttering was discerned during playback. If you are of the serious gaming crowd, an expansion card solution is still the preferred choice to onboard sound. The casual gamer, music listener and movie watcher would be satisfied with this solution.
