How much do you plan on spending on speakers? You can pick up
these for $250 I think. Depending on what you're getting it may be prudent to just use your onboard card.
I recommend you don't buy too much more than you need. If you buy high end parts and can afford to get a new system every 4 years... if you buy more mid-range parts you can probably replace for the same total price every two years... and, if things go the same... you will be better served. Some things, like sound cards, don't change _that_ much so get a decent one if you are going to have decent speakers. If you want to spend $250 on speakers for the one I suggested or similar then you might as well get a card with optical output. Then you can just transfer it as you upgrade your system--just like with a good case, HDD, or optical drive. Also, try not to buy into dying technology... I have a nice motherboard but I opted for socket 478 instead of LGA775... bad move considering now I'll have to replace my mobo too when I get a new chip... not to mention graphics card and RAM since PCIe is now the standard. If you are able to build your own machine then don't feel you need to get something and be stuck with it. Save money now so that when today's high end technology is already old you can afford better stuff.
Haven't USB drives / internet completely replace floppies, yet? I bought one in 2004 and never even plugged it in. It's just taking up space in my case.
Jam it back in, in the dark.
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