Sound card or not?

I prefer digital out into an external dac. My computer speakers are 5' tall and run off of tubes...

Yes, but using the digital out of the sound card or the motherboard?

If you already have the sound card, I don't see why you wouldn't want to use it.

Ultimately it depends on the hardware in the computer itself.

In MOST cases I find that if you use SPDIF right off the header on the motherboard it will sound better than most sound cards. Some cards have the benefit of external power, which means you can use a better power supply in addition to having a wordclock input. In those cases a sound card -- assuming you have a better power supply and dedicated clock -- will be worth keeping. But in most cases your best bet is the simple route: use the SPDIF off the motherboard directly.

The optical/toslink output sounds pretty bad. I know ASUS sells a card to connect the SPDIF from the motherboard or you can just wire up an RCA directly -- the info on how to do that is in the manual for your motherboard.

You definitely want to run digital out to a DAC or fully digital amplifier (my choice to bypass the D/A conversion, cables and separate DAC, preamp or amplifier).

Simpler is almost always better.

Hope that helps!

-Ryan
Core Audio Technology