Sound card for 2.0?

[Xiphoid]

I recently upgraded from a cheap 5+ year old 7.1 logitech system to a set of 2.0 Audioengine A5's. Overall, they are great speakers and I'm now having a hard time not listening to music while net-surfing and gaming. However, I've notices a lot more lagging now while both gaming, (primarily warhammer online,) and listening to music in Windows Media Player.

I've been using onboard sound for a while now, mostly because my motherboard (Asus P5W DH) has both analog and digital outputs so I can output to both my PC speakers and home theatre system as needed. I have an old Audigy 2, but that lacks the digital output. :(

Does anyone have any suggestions for decent soundcards that have both analog and digital outputs around the 75-150USD range?



My current setup is:
XP Pro 32bit
Core 2 quad Q9300(I will be putting my X6800 C2D back in soon... as the early rev P5W's don't like overclocking quads.)
Asus P5W DH Deluxe
xfx 8800gt 512mb
Audioengine A5 speakers
Fatal1ty headphones - when I need to be in "stealth mode"

Thanks for the input!

[EniGmA1987]

Bluegears b-Enspire is a great card for the money, and doesn't get the dropout that a lot of cards have at high volumes through analog. Or the HT-Omega Striker 7.1 sounds even better, but has some serious signal droop issues through analog. You can fix it by turning down the wav output level on the computer, but it does take some tweaking to get perfect. Also, the Auzentech X-Plosion Cinema looks pretty good, but I havent had any personal experience with it.

[Xiphoid]

I'm really debating between the X-fi titanium and HT omega striker. The striker seems to get higher reviews overall, but is also ~$15 more right now after shipping from newegg. ($85v$100. Not a big deal, but I'm on the fence.)

I will probably buy the striker, but I have to wait a few more hours until I get home. Any more opinions on the two would be great.

[ROBSCIX]

Actually, the striker is quite old now. Atleast a few generations ago and while not a bad card there are better cards for the same or less money. The Striker doesn't have any hardware acceleration so I am guessing this features is a moot point for you. If you need good sound but are still trying to save cash go with the Xonar DX 7.1 Have a look here: LINK (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829132006)

[Xiphoid]

Thanks to everyone for your inputs!

The Xonar looks great, especially at that price, but the lack of optical output kills it for me. :shrug: I also needs the connection on the card for front panel audio... which shot down the turtle beach montego card.

I am currently looking at the HT Omega Claro (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829271004), but is a little more than I was hoping to spend. I doubt the non-7.X through analog will be an issue since I'll be sticking with the 2.0 A5's for a while. hmm...

The Creative X-fi Titanium (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829102024) is also cheap, but I'd really rather stay away from SB and creative unless there is a better option that fits all my needs.

Edit: I'd also consider the Auzentech X-fi Prelude, but $200 is probably out of the budget.

I'll have to sleep on it.

-Xiphoid

P.S. Sorry if my grammar and typing is shot... I've been up since noon yesterday.

[ROBSCIX]

The Xonar DX has optical output. It has both coaxial and optical via adapter plug.

[Xiphoid]

The Xonar DX has optical output. It has both coaxial and optical via adapter plug.

Ack! I didn't see that before. Card has been ordered!

Thanks again for the help. You prevented me from buying another SB/Creative pos.:p: