03-19-2003, 10:15 PM
Pete,Mar 19 2003, 05:12 PM Wrote:Last time I was putting together a computer, I couldn't find an Asus motherboard without at least on board audio. The trend to put everything on the mo-board has, IMHO, gone too far.I'm not from the US so the selection here isn't quite as broad (4 or 5 brands, maybe 20 models total in the four local retailers that sell parts and not just brandname ready desktops), but a year ago when I was looking for new mobos, I was unable to find a single one that didn't at least have the AC97 audio chip in them. And that's what I got. I agree wholeheartedly that cramming audio, video, netcard, coffeemachine and whatnot on the mobo is horrible. Not only are they usually inferior to even cheap standalone cards, but they cause problems with other hardware occasionally. Especially one Via board I had 4 years ago, it had onboard audio, and the Bios they had in didn't have "disable onboard audio" option. (and flashing bios while easy always makes me a bit nervous)