Sound Blaster Audigy2 ZS Platinum Pro

[rx7000]

Is this the ultimate card for awsome sound quality, keeping the pressure off the cpu, and home recording for the price?

Asus p4c800 Deluxe,1 Gig Mushkin PC3200 400 Mhz(2-2-2 cas), Pentium 4 3.0 512k 800fsb HT, Thermaltake Xaser III, Thermaltake Spark 4, WD 80 Gig 7200, Samsung 52x24x52x16, GeForce 4 MX440 (PCI).

 

[r2k]

Yes.

However, if you're more into the recording part than gaming, pro recording solutions based on the VIA Envy24 audio chip (e.g. M-Audio Delta series) are better suited to the specific task they do.

 

[rx7000]

Id say I do alot more gaming than recording, but when I record its usually for a big thing, so im willing to sacrifice a little recording proficincey for games etc. Does having a good sound card increase the computers performance? Like handle more of the actual sound processing itself instead of bogging your resources down? I dont know very much about how sound and sound cards work (What the actual cpu handles with / without a card, Im assuming its like getting a new video card where the video card is made to basically handle the graphics?)

Asus p4c800 Deluxe,1 Gig Mushkin PC3200 400 Mhz(2-2-2 cas), Pentium 4 3.0 512k 800fsb HT, Thermaltake Xaser III, Thermaltake Spark 4, WD 80 Gig 7200, Samsung 52x24x52x16, GeForce 4 MX440 (PCI).