AC '97 Information

I’m hoping someone can help me out. I’m trying to get information on the general usefulness of my on-board sound card. My machine is a first-timer purchase and came with on-board sound via the Avance AC’97 audio codec embedded into my motherboard Southbridge. Not great I hear you sound experts say. Maybe so but I’m pleased with my Altec Lansing speakers (2 satellites and a sub-woofer) plugged into the headphone jack as the sound in games and MP3’s is great. What I want to know is does anyone have any experience with AC’97 sound? Why can’t I find any references to it on any gaming/audio sites? Is it unheard of to rely on such sound for your gaming needs in today’s gaming world? What are it's limitations regarding driving satellite speakers? If I was to upgrade my speakers to a set with 4 satellites and a sub-woofer would all satellites be driven by the sound card? How do you know generally what sort of speaker system would be compatible with your sound card? Apologies if this sounds long winded and simple but as I said, I'm new to this and I'm trying to understand it. Thanks

For general use, light gaming etc. your onboard sound will do fine. I doubt the problem with that other dudes DVD playback is because of his sound card. Sounds like some sort of driver issue. If your looking to put a four speaker system in though you will want to look for a live! or audigy card. Live! value will do just fine.

Peace