Which X-Fi to get?

[EricB]

the best audio cards aren't that good for gaming. they were design for sounding good. the x-fi (music and up) is the best compromise for both

 

[veg1992]

also noteworthy that the X-Fi XtremeAudio is NOT a true X-Fi card.. its a rebadged card... (i forget which one.. I think Live! cards)

 

[NosBoost300]

auzentech x-fi... not creative.. the auzentech is under my consideration

 

[EricB]

I do notice that op amp has 5 volt output. I might have to try this out. I once had
read an article where maximum pc shot it down in direct comparison with the x-fi, so I didn't think much of it.


Soundcards - Maximum PC

edit. uh oh. after rereading the article, I think my opinion stands.

it has the potential to be better, but it obviously hasn't got there yet. 5 volt output can make it sound better to most people because louder is better to most. but in reality, louder is only better when everything else is considered equal

I'd read the article

 

[tallguy22]

Which article? There are several on that link there. I just want a soundcard that's not going to lock up my games because it can't keep up, but that isn't 200 bucks. The X-FI was great for music, I thought. I'm no sound technician, but I could tell a huge difference in clarity of cymbal crashes and thump of the bass drum. It was 5 times better than my onboard sound. (REaltek 8 channel)

For around $100 to $150, what can i get? And what are other good brands besides Creative for me to do some research about. I've only ever heard of Creative, but we're looking on the shelves of Best Buy. I've never SEEN anything else, or was just not ever looking at sound cards to begin with.