Hi, 3 years back it was still rubbish. I am gone nuy a new computer, and i record a lot of music from my radio (analog to mp3) and once in a while i play a game.

Will the onboard chip be enough for that or do i need a real soundcard?

DD is digital will that be alright now or also nog good?

I installed this board in an office box. The Realtek was very sensitive to system load. Whenever programs were launched or files copied, sound would interrupt.

I have a P35-DS3 and cannot confirm j7n's problem. I am using the Realtek drivers and disabled all sound altering effects.

Maybe Mares is right, and it has something to do with other system components, such as Radeon HD video adapter.

I indeed read about a few problem with sound altering effect on, they should be off.

But how about the sound quality, my old computer i tried it with, but the sound was thin, metal alike sound.
So i bought a sound card instead. My new computer (barebone) will only have 2 slots, so when i put in a dual slot 8800GTS card there is no room for the soundcard only for a usb sound card. Thats why i ask this.

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For the simple fact that it takes a lot of CPU time vs a nice hardware audio chipset

That was true in the P3 era, not anymore.

I use Realtek HD audio on board, it suits me for my needs.

I have a similar problem, I've noticed when EAC or Plextools are rereading sectors it causes skips in the sound output.

I also have Radeon HD card, but not sure how that would be linked.

Well from your description of your future set up, it doesn't look like you have much choice but to depend on the on-board audio. If it really does perform poorly you might want to try a USB sound card solution. (creative x-fi or m-audio transit)