Well my current "realtek hd aduio" wont let me use my mic without echoing whatever goes in it about 10 times and it's all distorted (but it some reason works fine in vista) but I had a question about buying a new sound card.

What soundcard would actually be better than this integrated one?
and if I bought a new sound card would the ports on the front of my pc still work?

Onboard sound has gotten quite good. If you're having problems with your mic, check the settings.

"What soundcard would actually be better than this integrated one?"

It depends on what features you need & how much you're willing to spend.

"if I bought a new sound card would the ports on the front of my pc still work?"

Only if you're able to connect the ports to the new sound card. In other words, the card you buy would have to have the necessary connectors for the case ports to plug into.

"And that's the fishing line, because Sharkboy said so!"

Your audio settings probably just need to be adjusted.

"What soundcard would actually be better than this integrated one?"

-X-Fi cards for the best gaming performance.
-Asus Xonar cards for the highest audio quality.

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