Picking my first sound card - help please!

[sbrown]

Hey guys,

I currently use the onboard sound card on my motherboard (Gigabyte DS3), which I believe is the Realtek ALC883 8 Channel Audio Codec. However, I've heard time and time again that onboard sound is terrible compared to dedicated sound cards, such as the range of X-Fi cards by Creative.

I'm thinking of getting the Creative X-Fi Xtreme Gamer card, which I've heard delivers excellent sound quality. Is this a good card? Please bare in mind that I primarily use my computer to listen to music, watch the occasional film and play games (i.e. BF2/CS 1.6) through my headphones (A pair of Sennheiser HD485's), and Creative Gigaworks T20 2.0 Speaker System; no 7.1 surround sound or anything fancy like that.

My main question is will I see any noticeable benefits in sound quality when playing games and music when compared to my current onboard sound card? Also in your opinion, does this benefit warrant me spending £50.00? Will having a sound card affect my performance in games as well? I've heard that Creative are renound for driver issues.

Here's my current PC if it helps:
Core 2 Duo E6300 @ 3.1ghz
Gigabyte DS3
2gb PC6400 RAM
ATI Radeon X1800XT
WinXP SP2

Thanks in advance to anyone who helps me out. As I've said I have no experience in sound cards so any input is appreciated.

 

[sbrown]

Thanks all of your replies.

I'm still confused about which one to get after the mixed opinions. I've read reviews for both cards which say they're both excellent, but I can't find even one comparison between the two. One of the cards better than the other, or is it a matter of opinion?

Cheers guys.

 

[sbrown]

Thanks for the post Wayne, that's helped clear the situation up.

Have a read of this response from another forum I sometimes visit:

"Sound cards only provide actual benefits to people who do audiophile work. They also provide a psychological benefit to people who have way too much money on their hands.

You play through headphones? Onboard sound is fine for you."

What do you guys think about that? My main reason for getting an X-Fi sound card is to achieve better sound quality through headphones and this guy is telling me its overkill. Is he a bitter/misinformed idiot or righteous?