Decided to upgrade my setup's sound so I bought a Sound BlasterX G6 and a pair of Klipsch speakers. Man, I've been missing out. Onboard audio can't hold a candle to soundcards. My motherboard is a number of years old now, but I've seen comments from people who have expensive new ones and even they say theirs can't match the audio quality this badboy puts out. This stuff certainly put a dent in my wallet but you get what you pay for.
Some onboards are okay but yeah I haven't ever not had a soundcard of some sort going back to ISA cards . Currently using a Sound Blaster Z.
I still miss EaX though