Which Xonar to pick?

[JoshuaTheGrizzly]

I have been looking at Sound Cards lately, and looking trough all the options, I have decided that I want an Asus Xonar.

Quite simply, I want two things: That neat EAX 5.0 wrapper, and good surround sound emulation for headphones (which is the main reason I want a dedicated sound card as opposed to a on board one - ever since I used CMSS 3D, I can't live without either that or something similar). Whether the card supports 5.1 or 7.1 won't be an issue because I won't be buying surround any time soon - the cheapest possible option would be preferable since I am on a budget.

I currently have 1 PCI slot and one PCI-E 1x slot free, unless that PCI-E slot will be blocked by the 7770 or 6850 I also plan on buying... So having a card that runs on a simple PCI slot might be preferable (unless they do not offer the functions described above.)

 

[staytuned]

Try to look at this: http://event.asus.com/multimedia/xonar/find.htm

Xonar product selecting guide!

 

[gamerk316]

I have been looking at Sound Cards lately, and looking trough all the options, I have decided that I want an Asus Xonar.

Quite simply, I want two things: That neat EAX 5.0 wrapper, and good surround sound emulation for headphones (which is the main reason I want a dedicated sound card as opposed to a on board one - ever since I used CMSS 3D, I can't live without either that or something similar). Whether the card supports 5.1 or 7.1 won't be an issue because I won't be buying surround any time soon - the cheapest possible option would be preferable since I am on a budget.

I currently have 1 PCI slot and one PCI-E 1x slot free, unless that PCI-E slot will be blocked by the 7770 or 6850 I also plan on buying... So having a card that runs on a simple PCI slot might be preferable (unless they do not offer the functions described above.)

Best option is probably ASUS; I've always preferred Dolby Virtual Headphone/Speaker to CMSS3D, and their cards emulate EAX 5.0 pretty well.

@staytuned: OMG how the heck did I live without that link for so long? Now I don't have to remember ASUS's specifications off the top of my head anymore!