Creative Technology Sound Blaster® Audigy® 2 Platinum EX

Pros: Great sound quality, extensive inputs/outputs, good game bundle
Cons: Price, Recording software hard to use, My remote control doesn't work!

Alright, I built my own computer for college, and it's really nice. I play guitar and sing a little, ...

Pros: Great overall card. Nice mix of features
Cons: Cost, Creative's buggy and confusing software\drivers

I've had this card for about 6 months I guess. I got it for recording music and for using it as my 5.1 audio for dvd's played through my pc's video out to my tv. It works great for both of these things and is also great in games. My only complaint would be price, I don't think it was worth the $225 I paid for it, and the drivers\software. Creative has always lagged in this area. I had to completly re-install xp the first time I installed the card because when upgrading to the latest drivers something went wrong and I lost a lot of the funcionality of the card. Also the software\settings are very confusing. I've managed to get mine set up the way I want, but I'm a PC tech for a living and I can only imagine the troubles other people less knowledgeable would have. So if you know PCs and can afford it, go for it! :D