SIGH
it depends
what kinda listener are u?
mp3s and occasional gamin and decent sound for movies ? onboard is good enuff
if ur an audiophile/movie freak/ want the best etc
then definitely an external card...
O BTW
there is NO COMPARISON between the 2
external cards from creative like the audigy series are far more superior than any onboard / other sound cards in the market
there is also turtle beach but it isnt available here in india
and ofcourse after that there is professional level soundcards for editing purposes which is definitely not for us
get the creative audigy w/o the drive bay for best 5.1 sound
or the audigy 2 w/o the drive bay for best 7.1 sound ( and 6.1/5.1 ofcourse .. )