Hey, I've had this problem for a while. When I turn my speakers on fairly loud (90$ Klipsch ones from bestbuy) that are connected to my computer's onboard sound (Realtek HD) I hear a hissing sound from them, such as "ssssssssss........, or like pink noise" And it does the same thing when I plug headphones in the speakers... Also, another problem, the left speaker tends to die out completly when I adjust the volume, I have to keep tapping it to hearin the left speaker then finally one time it'll start working again, but, it does not do this when I plug headphones directly into the computer. Now, I took the speakers back to bestbuy and had them test it on their computers, and none of this happend there, they were perfectly fine. ffs, lol. So is it cause of my Realtek HD Onboard sound? Or something else on my computer? Has anyone had this problem before, or know how to fix it? Also, while I'm asking (cause I think I may need to get one) Does anyone know any good cheap external sound cards?

Sounds like you may have connections setup wrong. Are you sure you have the correct drivers installed for the realtek chip? If the integrated sound doesn't cause hesitation or skipping I recommend sticking with it. A cheap add in card probably won't be any better quality. Maybe not as good.

Normally when you boost sound past a certain point (about 75%-90%) you will hear a hissing sound, or static. Just buy a stereo , run winblows at about 75% volume, and then adjust the volume with the stereo/amp. This is normal. Unless it is hissing at a low volume, than it is normal.

ayim I have HD Realtek sound on my MBoard and I can assure you that hissing is not normal. I can play full volume with clarity. Do you have a total of six ports on the rear of the MBoard?