Hello,

I just built a rather beefy Win 7 system with i5-3570 CPU, 8 gigs ram, AS-Rock Z77 Pro3 1155 ATX Intel Motherboard.

I'd like to move my BIAB from my old utility Win XP system to this one, since my current setup takes a while to generate playback solutions etc and I get some pops and clicks in playback and rendering.

What kind of performance improvements in BIAB might I expect if I invest in something like:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829102003

over and above the on-board sound of the AS-Rock motherboard? I would probably use headphones a lot.

Is it worth it? Do I need to blow $100+ on a sound card to make a real difference?

I use Reaper as a DAW, but may explore the one that came with BIAB.