Benefit of Recording through DAC analog input vs Notebook Input?

[Brawn]

Is there any benefit to recording using a mic through the dac analog input as opposed to the notebook mic input?  Reason?

Thanks!

 

[non-entity]

If you have onboard sound, the answer is a plain 'yes'. It also depends on the mic you are using. In most cases it would be no completely different ball game, so there's nothing bad in recording a little speech or whatever using your onboard mic input, but if you want to record music, I'd recommend to go the outboard route.
 
The reason: onboard chips are rather simple solutions that aren't as sophisticated as (most) outboard solutions. Analog to digital conversion and vice versa simply differ in terms of quality. You could cut a steak with a serrated butter knife, but a steak knife simply does the job better.