The built in Audio system should be more than enough for even the higher recording needs. The on board audio on any high end board normally out shines most Audio cards in this day and age unless you go for the Very expensive high grade ones.
I would still recommend a standalone sound card to anyone in the professional field since the drivers are usually more professional oriented and are usually higher quality. The hardware is also usually more high end and higher quality components are used.
But even if you are going professional, unless you spend a ton the on board ones are still usually better in general whether or not the software is good. Especially on a gigabyte Z87 board the on board audio is pretty top notch.
Definitely, but any professional whose career relies on them producing audio definitely wants to invest in a sound card.
Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhh I guess, but the amount of sound cards out there that are actually worth paying for the extra feature set or higher quality have gotten slimmer. I mean so many laptops just for instance come with a sound card handing out 5.1 surround sound and thats just on a mobile platform. Looking at desktops, the high boards always come with something like a RealTek Audio controller that will handle all your audio needs even on the recording or higher spectrum.
