Soundcard Problems

I Have a Dell Vostro with SigmaTel Audio and Windows XP, and the sound for the mic seems to be getting worse (I installed driver updates off the website, so I'm not sure wtf it's problem is. Normally I wouldn't care about the mic, but I've been using Ventrilo a lot more lately and the static keeps getting worse.
I'm thinking of getting a USB Headset if it would help (I have a Mic somewhere on my keyboard, but my Headset doesn't work well anymore either) but if there's something I can to do fix the problem without a new mic (I just bought one a month ago, worked good at first, now static jsut keeps getting worse)
I tried adjusting settings including mic volume, but nothing is working
I thought it was a first just Ventrilo that was causing it, but it does it when I test the mic on the computer, and the static is definetly worse now.

 

It does not have a sound card, it is an integrated chip which, from my personal experience, does not work worth a darn.

The only thing that you can really do is use a USB or express sound card.

A decent USB headset would also be another alternative. There are decent ones for under $100 that work very well.

 

Ah, thank you. I've been asking a few ppl and all I ever got was "must be your soundcard" So now I know I don't have to screw with that then =3