Good GRIEF!!!! I had no idea that 'on-board sound versus dedicated sound card' was such a debated topic on the interwebs. You could spend the rest of your life reading that drivel. So far though, from what I can gather, it is as I suspected. Although you will find a full spectrum of pro and con, when you read between the lines you find that most gamers that USED to run dedicated cards find there are no longer appreciable benefits in using them, considering the new advanced integrated sound on higher end mobo's.
Yes, your music can sound better. Yes, you can use a ton and a half more features to tweak each and every Khz band you like.. but for GAMING it just isn't necessary.
All in all, the more you read.. the more I would have to be honest and say 'It's up to individual opinion'. This isn't an area that can be really tested or benchmarked, it's up to the individuals taste. I'm probably not ever going to buy a new dedicated sound card, but if I find a really good deal on a good used one I might pick it up and try it out just to form my OWN opinion.
3 posts in a row.. can anyone say 'bored' today?!?