yes there will be onboard sound on these boards and i dont think it will be optional, of course it wont be the greatest quality sound ever but it should rival the sb Live! lines of cards and if its onboard you dont have to worry about a pci card of the respecting component crapping out on you at high fsb's, and you alwayse have the option to disable teh sound and use your own.... seems to me you win every way with it onboard