Good idea! The sound card on my laptop is going out, the sound is very low and scratchy. What I discovered is that when I plug in my headphones, just the ones that came with my phone, the sound is perfect and the volume is fine. Not sure why, perhaps it isn't the sound card but the speakers. It's been great though, and I've been able to put off buying a new laptop. Definitely give that a try before doing anything too expensive or difficult.