External USB soundcard Vs Motherboard soundcard, diferences?

[tasty tatsyn]

Hi, to whoever has an external soundcard what are the diferences you feel, if any, compared to a motherboard soundcard?

- I'm talking/asking about CPU Audio performance mostly, something obvious like, if i use a motherboard soundcard i get stutters/dropouts and if i switch to external soundcard i can get 2 more synths or 5 more FX's than with the other one before getting dropouts.

- Inputs and outputs are an obvious diference i'm not interested in discussing...

- About sound quality, not much interested in discussing it either but feel free to share opinions... so others can read about it..

[tasty tatsyn]

Just noticed this is probably not the right section for this.....

Mods feel free to move it to viewforum.php?f=16 or where it should be..

[foosnark]

More of the "pro" audio interfaces are external, but there are some exceptions.

I don't think it makes any difference as far as performance goes (CPU, latency etc.), that is more about the specific piece of gear.

You'll probably find newer devices are faster than older ones, though -- I got quite a boost when I switched from a Behringer UMC1820 (clone of a 1st-generation Scarlett 18i20) to a 3rd generation Scarlett 18i20.


The main advantages of external are that the analog parts can be better isolated from potential noise sources, there's more space to dissipate heat, more room for I/O jacks and controls, more convenient placement of controls, maybe useful indicator LEDs, you can put the computer with its cooling fans somewhere farther from mics, you can use it with laptops, and so on.

[tasty tatsyn]

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I don't think it makes any difference as far as performance goes (CPU, latency etc.), that is more about the specific piece of gear.

You'll probably find newer devices are faster than older ones, though -- I got quite a boost when I switched from a Behringer UMC1820 (clone of a 1st-generation Scarlett 18i20) to a 3rd generation Scarlett 18i20.
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thx for sharing your experience

Can you specify a boost in what? Audio processing or just something like latency..

Been looking at external sound cards and find somewhat intriguing there's not that many USB 3/3.1/3.2/ interfaces available.

[BertKoor]

You won't be able to load one extra cpu hog on that taxing project, but latency will improve considerably. If you draw notes by mouse, then that's not relevant.

Been looking at external sound cards and find somewhat intriguing there's not that many USB 3/3.1/3.2/ interfaces available.

Audio interfaces work fine on usb2. They don't need so much bandwidth.

[foosnark]

Can you specify a boost in what? Audio processing or just something like latency..

No more glitches in my recordings (where a short amount of time goes missing), and much lower latency.

I didn't do any sort of test where I try to load multiple instances of the same plugin before and after. Usually I don't worry about CPU load, because I do a lot in hardware... sometimes it sneaks up on me though (if I happen to run a bunch of instances of Harmonic Split, for instance).

[Jim Roseberry]

With a proper dedicated audio interface, you'll achieve two things:
- Significantly lower latency
- Rock-solid performance (with dedicated ASIO driver)

Motherboard's onboard audio is OK for tinkering.
It's no substitute for a proper dedicated audio interface (for recording/mixing/etc).
Motherboard's onboard audio also has unbalanced I/O... which is more prone to noise (ground-loop hum, etc).
If you're considering using ASIO4ALL (in lieu of a dedicated audio interface with proper ASIO driver), it's a terrible substitute.

You don't have to get an expensive audio interface.
Behringer and others make affordable audio interfaces that have solid ASIO drivers.

Aside from the machine itself, the audio interface (and it's driver) is the second most critical component for a rock-solid DAW.

[BertKoor]

Aside from the machine itself, the audio interface (and it's driver) is the second most critical component for a rock-solid DAW.

I'd personally put decent monitors above both the computer and the audio interface...

[thecontrolcentre]

With a proper dedicated audio interface, you'll achieve two things:
- Significantly lower latency
- Rock-solid performance (with dedicated ASIO driver)

[Jim Roseberry]

Aside from the machine itself, the audio interface (and it's driver) is the second most critical component for a rock-solid DAW.

I'd personally put decent monitors above both the computer and the audio interface...

Agreed that you need to be able to accurately hear what's being produced.
I was just talking about the DAW part of the set-up.

[tasty tatsyn]

Aside from the machine itself, the audio interface (and it's driver) is the second most critical component for a rock-solid DAW.

I'd personally put decent monitors above both the computer and the audio interface...

I do have a DAC - Amp and pair of KRK Rookit5 (not the best but kind of do the job).
Personal opinion - It's a bit about getting used to what gear you have too and how it translates.

ex: Some people mix on Yamaha's, other's on Adam's, others on Edifier and in each of those brands there's a broad range, anyhow people are able to get good mixes on any of those.