are sound cards worth it?

are sound cards worth it, because i have no idea and cant really tell, as i've never had one. so are like the x fi sound cards really worth it? or is there some thing better? all of this is in comparison to the sound card on the gigabyte UD5

Probably not if you aren't using really high end headphones, or running a HTPC with an outside amp for movies or music.

Most onboard sound is good for most things these days if it's a halfway decent MOBO, depends on what your doing I guess.

Just asking if a sound card worth having is a bit vague

I think they are myself.

My wife uses little blue there below with onboard sound and it doesn't sound bad, but it's a major difference from when I use big blue with the Auzentech here for the HTPC sound system to an A/V receiver with the soundcard for movies etc.

Do you think your current sound is annoyingly lacking in bass and clarity? Then yes, a sound card might be for you.

Are you quite happy with your current sound? Then no, don't spend any money, as you would probably not notice the improvements a lot.

I've been using $90+ discrete sound cards for 3 years, and will never go back to onboard as long as I can afford not to. Even with cheap headphones, a decent sound card (any $20 card is no better than the motherboard embedded sound, so don't bother with them) will make sound better, whether you're listening to music or gunshots and zombies growling in a game. You may not notice the improvement immediately, but if you use a good sound card for a few hours, and go back to motherboard sound, you'll immediately notice tinny highs, bass distortion (when the bass even shows up), and fuzzier sound.