Question about soundcards + audio interfaces

[cigarmd]

Hello everybody, first time poster.
I'm in the process of planning out a basic "project studio" but I'm fairly new to the world of digital recording and there's one thing in particular that keeps confusing me as I do my research. Although I might use this thread to ask more questions as I go.

It sounds as though the terms "audio interface" and "sound card" are used interchangeably. I'm planning on getting a Focusrite Saffire Pro 40 audio interface to run into a PC I'm building. If I'm using an external interface like the saffire, does it matter what sound card I'll be using? Or should I still look into buying one slightly more tailored to audio production?

Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[gecko zzed]

The terms are used interchangeably because they are interchangeable . . . . effectively an interface is a sound card.

The difference is that an interface (e.g. saffire) is designed specifically for recording, whereas onboard soundcards, while they can be used for recording, do not do it so well.

If you get a saffire, it takes the place of an onboard soundcard, and you do all your recording, monitoring and playback through it.

 

[cigarmd]

That actually makes a lot more sense, thanks for clearing that up for me!