Many admins worry that enabling Realtek audio will cripple server performance. In 2024, this is largely a myth—on modern hardware. The Realtek HD Audio driver consumes approximately 0.1% to 0.5% CPU usage when idle and 1% to 3% when playing audio.

For home labs, development servers, and workstations, go ahead and install the Realtek driver. For production data centers—leave the audio disabled and invest in a USB DAC or network pager instead.