I was originally in the market for a Santa Cruz, or a SB Audigy, but I've been wondering if there are any cards that are better than what Turtle Beach and Creative offer?

Here's the things I'm looking for most in a card:

-Great audio quality
-Gaming support
-Surround sound support for DVD playback (and games)
-Quality recording capabilities

I'll be using Klipsch ProMedia 5.1 speakers, with the upgrade ProMedia DD-5.1 pre-amp (it has a built in Dolby Digital and DTS decoder).

Price really doesn't matter, but I don't want to end up spending more than what the rest of my computer costs. lol.

<A HREF="http://www.terratec.net/ttus/products.htm" target="_new">TerraTec Promedia</A>

These are my preference, for all of the above.

You might find this link to be helpful:

<A HREF="http://www.digitalexperience.com/cards.html" target="_new">Digital Sound Cards</A>

Toejam31


<font color=red>First Rig:</font color=red> <A HREF="http://www.anandtech.com/mysystemrig.html?rigid=17935" target="_new"><font color=green>Toejam31's Devastating Dalek Destroyer</font color=green></A>
<font color=red>Second Rig:</font color=red> <A HREF="http://www.anandtech.com/mysystemrig.html?rigid=15942" target="_new"><font color=green>Toey's Dynamite DDR Duron</font color=green></A>
__________________________________________________________

<font color=purple>"Some push the envelope. Some just lick it. And some can't find the flap."</font color=purple>

Check out the reviews on toms site

There is a card but without the external drive and firewire

I use the the external drive with the creative external av box bcause your pc is never on the same level as sound equipment and vcr's etc.

Audigy EX will give you problems running XP as i did, because of the firewire on the card as far as i have seen.

But dell wrote a bios for the 8200 models so i'm alrite.

Major problem with EX is a crash in games and music programs after 5 - 10 mins ,total freeze and LOUD EEEECCKKK
sound .

I should have been a politician so i wouldn't have to vote

Toejam31, where would I buy their cards from? I looked around and no online stores that I've seen carry any of their cards. I surfed their site and found a "where to buy" but all the stores listed look like small local retail stores, and very few have web sites.

What motherboards give problems with sound cards ?

I will be investing in amd soon for burnout performance

I should have been a politician so i wouldn't have to vote

The reason you may have problems currently locating the cards is because TerraTec is a small computer audio specialist based in Germany, unlike Creative, which virtually has a stranglehold on the market.

I think this is about to change for the company, in a big way.

You could call their US office directly, if you'd rather not order from a smaller retailer like <A HREF="http://www.jdsound.com/" target="_new">JDSound</A>.

(407)331-8239 Voice
(407)331-4002 Support

TerraTec ProAudio, Inc
(TerraTec Promedia)
176 Oxford Rd
Fern Park, FL 32730

You could also order one through <A HREF="http://www.musiciansfriend.com/" target="_new">Musician's Friend</A>, which is <i>definitely</i> a reputable company, being a brick & mortar outlet, and not just an online storefront. If they don't have the particular card you want in stock, they could easily order for you directly from TerraTec. Phone number: 1-800-776-5173.

Toey

<font color=red>First Rig:</font color=red> <A HREF="http://www.anandtech.com/mysystemrig.html?rigid=17935" target="_new"><font color=green>Toejam31's Devastating Dalek Destroyer</font color=green></A>
<font color=red>Second Rig:</font color=red> <A HREF="http://www.anandtech.com/mysystemrig.html?rigid=15942" target="_new"><font color=green>Toey's Dynamite DDR Duron</font color=green></A>
__________________________________________________________


<font color=purple>"Some push the envelope. Some just lick it. And some can't find the flap."</font color=purple>