I presently am considering upgrading from onboard sound to a separate new sound card arrangement.I really don't know whether this would be a noticable improvement and/or improve FS9 performance or not. The only fault I have found useing SoundMax onboard sound is that some addon FS9 gauge functions turn off all but my subwoofer, front left and right speakers. Sound remains pretty good though. Default FS9 gauges or other sound use does not do this and all speakers remain alive. Rear and center front speakers normally have a much lower volume also when in use. I am not sure a unique sound card would fix this. It might do the same thing. If so, the upgrade will probably be a waste of money unless it helps FS9.In considering the Audigy2 Platinum offerings, I see that in addition to an internal sound card, there is also an external module arrangement. Does either give better performance than the other?Does anyone have a recommendation as to which Audigy card or other choice offers the best performance primarily for FS9 application? Your experience and/or recommendation would be very much appreciated.Thanks:RTHP4C800 Deluxe MotherboardOnboard SoundMax Sound to Creative Inspire 5.1 5200 SpeakersPentium 4, 3.2G CPU1G PC3200/400 MemoryWinXP ProDirectX9.0bATI Radeon 9800Pro 128MBSecondary Graphics Diamond Stealth III S540 PCI 21

hi rhodges,i would highly recommend the Audigy2 ZS. should help fs9 performance a bit by off-loading some of the audio processing (especially the 3d positioning of the audio) from the CPU. also, the drivers for the ZS seem to be a bit more stable as compared to some of the previous SB cards. i don't think you'll be disappointed. i don't have any probs. with the Audigy ZS and FS9 or any of my other games. hopes this helps. happy flyin, fmp4 3.0intel 875pbz mobo9800xt1gig pc3200 ramSB Audigy ZSwinxp pro sp1dx 9.0blatest drivers for all

Thanks fm:After reviewing the offerings and putting them on a spreadsheet for comparison, looks like you pretty well nailed it on the head. I would love to have the Audigy2 ZS Platinum front panel, but I'm not sure it is worth it for double the price. My headset can plug into my volume module from the speakers anyway. I am not sure, but I think from my MB I can still access my computer front panel Mike jack as well. If not, I am not above useing an extension from the card for easier access. I don't recognize any other difference in the offerings between the two cards except this panel and the remote control. The Pro is nice too, but for even more money, and I don't really need the external module. I don't look forward to the garbage desktop Icons etc. (AOL) but assume they can be deleted.Thanks again:RTH

hi again rhodges,you can get a "non platinum" Audigy2 ZS for $99 @ Best Buy. you can safely trash the AOL/garbage icons. that's the first thing i did after installing the drivers. happy flyin, fm