Sound card recommendations?

Hey everyone!

So, I picked up some mid-range Apple speakers as a temporary fix while I save up enough cash for a proper amplifier and high-end monitors. The thing is, the sound quality is pretty underwhelming... I was thinking about grabbing a budget-friendly sound card—since my PC is a bit of an older model, it doesn't make much sense to overinvest—to see if that might help. Specifically, whenever I crank the volume up a little too high, the clarity just seems to vanish into thin air...

Do you think this specific sound card would actually make a noticeable difference?

I could also get something similar to this one for free...

Is the first option perceptibly better? Would there be any real difference when running them through basic Apple speakers?

Right now, I'm just using the standard integrated audio on the motherboard.

Oh, and one quick side question. What’s the best way to check what kind of RAM I’ve currently got installed? I need to know if a new stick I find online will actually be compatible with the one already in my machine...

Thanks for the help.

Honestly, upgrading your sound isn't going to do much for you... those integrated chips aren't really any better than some cheap little sound card you'd find at Best Buy... plus, your speakers actually play a massive role in the whole equation more than people realize...

just go ahead and install Speccy so you can actually see what kind of memory you're working with