Should I buy an external sound card?

I am planning on buying a new gaming headset (arctis 3) and I'm wondering if it would be smart to buy an external sound card to plug the headset in. I have a cheaply made laptop so I guess the internal sound card that came within it is pretty bad. I'm also noticing static noise that is constantly being bothersome when I'm using my headset. The headset I'm using now and the headset I'm planning to buy is both analog 3.5mm jack. I have little clue when it comes to sound card, but in summary I'm wondering if an external sound card would give me better/clearer audio, louder audio and get rid of the static-noise-free audio.

 

Yes, it would get rid of the static.

No, you should not buy one.

The reason is that the Steelseries Arctis 3 isn't high-end enough to really notice the difference. You need to get higher-end headphones for the static hiss from onboard audio (due to EMI on the motherboard).

If you're at that price point for headsets, I'd recommend you get a USB headset instead. Something like a Steelseries Arctis 5, or one of the new Sennheiser GSP 350s.

You'll probably get some audiophiles in here telling you to buy an external USB DAC. Don't do this. It's a waste of money for you, since you don't have the headphones or the source material to make use of it. Those same audiophiles will probably come in and throw around terms like soundstage, clarity, highs / mids / lows / bass, etc, neutral signature, etc etc etc. None of that applies to you. An audiophile is going after neutral, unprocessed, balanced perfect reproduction of 2.0-channel stereo sound. As a gamer, you want intentionally unbalanced, and intentionally processed sound (for virtual surround sound). Otherwise, your sound will come out very flat and "un-fun." So, don't buy a USB DAC.

 

@Mjaaaland try disabling all sound enhancements and/or rolling back to default Windows drivers.

 

Thanks for good answers!

I'll probably go for the Arctis 5 since it was my second choice anyways.


Edit:

One more thing actually. Would it mabye be a good decision to buy Roccat Juke 7.1? It's only 20$ thus making it cheaper to stick with arctis 3 rather then buying an arctis 5.

 

Edit: The reason is because a fully standalone USB headset like the Steelseries Arctis 5 will have all of the hardware matched to each other. The DAC has been tested and matched to the shape of the headphone earcups, and the sound drivers in those earcups. The virtual surround sound has been tested and matched to the sound signature of the Steelseries Arctis 5. If you go with a seperate USB sound card, you run the risk of having mismatched components, which may lead to crappy virtual surround sound or less-than-awesome overall sound.

The time when you'd want to start considering separate headphones and DAC is when you can't find a single product that has all of the features & audio quality you want. For example, if you started looking at entry-level audiophile headphones (~$150 to ~$200); or if you wanted to buy a DAC, for the reasons that you can't find the quality or features anywhere else. For your price range, none of these apply.

 

I should also say... the best bang-for-your-buck in gaming headsets is the Kingston HyperX Cloud or Cloud 2 (the $20 difference is for virtual surround sound). The Steelseries Arctis line competes directly with these; these were out first; and these are consistently rated & liked better than the Steelseries Arctis headsets. The HyperX Cloud / Cloud 2 sells for $80-$100, respectively.
https://www.amazon.com/HyperX-KHX-H...=1501506388&sr=1-1&keywords=hyperx+cloud&th=1



BTW, the next step up above those are the Sennheiser gaming headsets. You'll see model numbers like PC3xx (PC353, PC360, PC363, etc) or model names like G4ME Zero / G4ME One. They start pushing into entry-level audiophile level of audio quality, in both the sound drivers and the microphone. These are headphones worth buying, if you think that one day down the road you might want to start upgrading DAC / sound card and start pushing into even better audio quality. These are the "big brother" to the Sennheiser GSP 300/350 headsets; both of which compete directly with the Steelseries and Kingston headsets. They usually run $150-$200, but I found a $130 listing below.
https://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-3...116&sr=8-5&keywords=sennheiser+gaming+headset

 

Alright, I see why now Thanks again, this helped me out a lot.