I've been debating over whether or not to get a $30 Sound Blaster Audigy simply because my PC only has stereo speakers (no 5.1), and I normally only use my headphones, I don't like to make a lot of noise.

Would I hear any difference between my AC '97 and an Audigy with just headphones or stereo speakers? I do a lot of gaming if that helps at all. Also a friend has told me that it offloads the sound processing from the CPU, so my games should run a bit smoother, but I find it hard to believe that sound processing eats up that much CPU power.

$30 doesn't sound like a lot, but when I have to work for $7 an hour, it sure is.

for offloading cpu work, its debatable as to how much benefit it even offers for games anymore... ~1-2fps or so, since cpus come with a minimum of 2 cores now, the second core can balance workloads pretty easily.

as far as hearing a difference, thats going to depend on the individual, as it varies from person to person... but you wont be worse off by getting a discrete sound card at any rate...

which also brings up the point, that you should never spend more on your sound card than you do on your speakers... and at only $30, it isnt going to sound any worse than it does now... ...as far as how much better a new sound card might sound... your speakers and ears would decide that.

seeing as how you are on a tight budget, a pair of new headphones or speakers are probably out of the question... speakers are naturally going to be more expensive for comparable audio quality though... but, sennheiser headphones may be the way to go too, if you can get enough money together (~$100 or so).

Thanks.

I don't really have the best ears in the world, so I don't think I'd really be able to tell. But the Audigy does have EAX, would that enhance sound quality at all?

Sound processing doesn't eat that much processing power. I wouldn't buy a sound card just for that.

The sound quality should increase, but you'd need good speakers to notice the improvement.

Your money would probably be better used to add some RAM, for example. It depends on how much you have and how much your mobo allows, of course.

I already have 2gb RAM, and an Opty 170, I think my money would be better spent upgrading my Geforce 7600GS.

yeah, eax support can be a worthwhile reason to upgrade, but mostly only for surround purposes... as it offers positional and environmental sound qualities. most sound cards, whether integrated or discrete, will support at least eax 2, creative and auzentech both offer cards that support up to eax 5 (the specific game has to offer support for a particular eax version for it to matter also).

as far as stereo headphones and eax, youll be getting added environmental effects if nothing else. again, as positional surround isnt really an option with just 2 channels.

yeah, depending on what games you play, your gpu is probably worth upgrading too.

Just to chime in I find EAX to be buggy. Some games do it right, but some don't. I have an X-fi and Bioshock for example doesn't work with EAX. If I turn it on any sounds that EAX would have effected simply aren't played.

Creative cards are great when you have a ton of 3d sounds, I think the Audigy can handle 64 and the X-fi something like 128 were as most cards can only do 20. Most games don't use that many simultaneous sounds but the ones that do benefit greatly from a good card.