Sound card

 

 

In those early days of the PC, discreet sound cards where used for gaming.
Later they where also used for audio.
Up to 2010 a discrete soundcard was considered the way to improve sound quality.
Some went as far as to buy a pro card (Lynx , RME) not for the AD or the DA but just to get best possible SPDIF out to feed into a external DAC.

Around 2010, external “sound cards”, better known as USB DAC’s took over.
A far more flexible solution and “mandatory” in case of a laptop.

 

Over the years the onboard audio improved as well.
Some even claim it to be undistinguishable from high quality external DAC’s.

How On-Board Audio Works - Gabriel Torres 2008

Multimedia Reviews - IXBT Labs (2009)

Best sounding PC soundcard - Computer Audio Asylum 2008

The Sound Blaster Story - Custom PC magazine (2020)

What Does It Take To Turn The PC Into A Hi-Fi Audio Platform? - Filippo L. Scognamiglio Pasini February 25, 2014