Nope . If the onboard sound uses Realtek ALC 1150 or better then it ' s pretty much cutting it close to a dedicated PCIE sound card . Not worth it as I ' ve been through multiple sound cards with Z 97 motherboards and higher . I ' ve used the ASUS Xonar DGX , Creative Soundblaster Z in the past . While it may be better the difference was barely noticeable other than the virtual surround sound feature . While it may eliminate background noise better I ' d rather stick with onboard . The more better alternative choice than a dedicated sound card at this time is currently a external DAC Amp like the Schiit Fulla A all in one compact USB solution for example which is what I am using now , but to really take advantage of it you will need some pretty decent headphones .