I haven''t opened the case in a while, but I think it''s onboard. It''s a (hold on while I open the Control Panel... ) Creative Sound Blaster AudioPCI 64V.

Any idea why a cheap Creative PC mic that you can buy for <$10 has less noise than a regular vocal mic for $20? Is it because Creative designed the mic to work well with their sound cards?

As for a sound clip of the noise, I''ll see if I can upload it somewhere and post a link.

The onboard sound card may help explain why you are picking up noise from the mouse, monitor, printer, etc(That is, if it is interfering with your signal flow in general. If those noises are, for sure, coming through the mic, then try to pad and isolate your equipment.) Be mindful of flourescent lights in the area, too. Sometimes they can create anomalies in a mic pickup, though usually in a buzz or tone. Investigate nearby appliances, TV''s, Microwaves, refridgerator, things plugged into the same electrical strip, etc, etc. If something is causing noise in the electricity, an cheap onboard card may allow it to interfere with the microphone feed. Perhaps by using a more sensitive mic, the intereference became noticable.
Note, these are all semi-educated stabs in the dark. Try using the mic somewhere else completely, someone elses house.

If you are serious about sound work, I would recommend going out and picking up, at least, a Sound Blaster Live!. Its one of the best of the previous generation of sound cards. I understand about tight budgets, but you should be able to pick up a Live at a good price, as the newer models continue to be cranked out.

You probably want to plug the mic into a preamp then into to your computer. Most mics aren''t designed to be plugged straight into a soundcard except for the "stick" type that come with computers. This couold explain the hiss. A few (quite expensive) soundcards have a preamp built in but most don''t.