Depends on the specifications of that motherboard DAC. I'd expect the E30II to be more transparent than most, if not all mobo DACs (I also have the E30II, and it's better than my mobo's Realtek ALC880 at least with some of the more power-hungry headphones), but then you might just like the coloured sound of a mobo DAC more; more transparent does not necessarily mean better sound, as evidenced by tube amp users and the like.