Hi Gang,I really do need to upgrade my sound system. Am still running Realtek onboard AC97 stuff with half decent Altec Lansing speakers and sub-woofer.Can you recommend me anything. My system is used for very little other than FS9.Budget would be about

Sorry if this sounds obvious., but i think speakers are so important. I updated my system recently and worked fine apart from the sound. I asked for surround sound and got it (in theory) but sounded poor. I thought the soundcard was the problem but when i used my stereo speakers it sounded great.Hopefully the experts can give you more detailed advice on the actual best sound cards!CheersDan :)

While we gamers have been fortunate the past couple of years to have market competition (nVidia vs. ATI) with regards to video cards, the same can't be said for sound cards. Creative has pretty much captured the sound market, and they get to make the rules until someone challenges them.Having said that be forwarned about the Creative cards. Their advertising can at times be a bit "more than reality". And it has been said that the Creative driver writers are a bunch of gorillas pounding on keyboards. Not sure about the latter, but certainly their driver packages are bloated. An alternative is the drivers from kx Project, though these are aimed more toward audiophiles rather than gamers.The Creative cards offer some of the best sound hardware available. A good choice is the Audigy 2ZS, which can be had for $100.00US or less. And as Dan said, the best sound card in the world won't do the job unless it's matched to good quality speakers.I'll stick with my Santa Cruz till it finally dies.Hope this helps,Greg

Agree with Soarpics 100 % on this one.There has been competition coming and going but Creative have always manage to get on top. That is with superior hardware while they always have had inferior driver support.Not just with their sound cards I had a creative mpeg card for some time they never ever released any driver update out of it. Buggy as hell and just a rip off from the Realmagic Hollywood+. You could even use that

I agree. Audigy 2 with KX Project Drivers, NOT Creatives own or Windows default. Best `bang for the buck`Allcott

Do you know where to find them? I must admit I am using Audigys default drivers. Or rather some driver set I found on a russian site since my Audigy shipped with a breaked CD and they wouldn

http://kxproject.lugosoft.com/index.php?skip=1Greg

I'm quite happy with my Audigy2. Much better than the Nvidia sound with the Realtek Codec junk on my Epox 8RDA+ mobo.The actual drivers are not that bad. It works fine in all games and I also use it Propellerhead Reason (music software) with 2ms latency. The problem is the control panel which is slow and annoying, and all the junk it autostarts by default but that can be disabled.

JimmiG I guess you have analogue speakers? Anyway if you ever get home theater spekaers or digital speakers in general don

Hey Guys,Sorry for delay in saying BIG THANKS to you ALL for the input. Been away again on business - yawn !!I hate it when work gets in the way of sim time....Your help is greatly appreciated.Guess I'll be off for an Audigy system. I've got some killer Wharfedale speakers that my wife used to use a couple of years ago with Technics turntables (yes - she was a top UK DJ) Reckon they're gonna get borrowed on a permanent basis LOL.Cheers again and happy flyin all !!Eddy:-yellow1

I'm using analogue as are most people here I assume. In fact I route the sound through my normal hifi setup which is only stereo but works fine. It's too bad mobo manufacturers skimp on the DAC because the sountstorm chip itself is pretty good. Lots of effects and low CPU usage.

Yes what makes it better is that it allows you to buy home theater speakers or even HIFI gear through receivers which are generally of higher quality. That and you get 5.1 surround in games that really only support 4.1.As for music Audigy is still a bit better but for gaming I don