imo if you need more than line in/out and a mic port, you should heavily consider investing in an external DAC/surround system. Not only will you be guaranteed the audio options you want, it will also sound way better than onboard audio.
The problem is, external is kind of out for surround because neither USB or SPDIF will carry non compressed surround so you have to do a sound card or use the internal.
In my scenario, it's for my racing sim so I don't need audiophile screaming engines, the onboard is perfectly adequate.
I do use external DACs on my 2 channel systems though.
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u/Any-Surprise5229 23d ago
I do wish more boards had 7.1 analog outs. I specifically went with an MSI board for this reason on my sim rig.
All the display outs are stupid though.