i own a creative labs live 24-bit, Its certainly an upgrade to ANY onboard audio, + Its nice and cheep . Has some nice features and importantly great sound , but i have only heard sound from this sound card. So im bound to think its good right ?, maybe i'll change my mind when goin for a X-Fi EXtremeGamer card, but i doubt there will be barely any difference in audio quality, just a leep in EAX and various other small things. But i still want one