This sound card is fantastic. It really transforms the sound from any speakers. When coupled with an expensive set of speakers it sounds even better! I have mine hooked up to a set of Bose Companion 5's and couldn't be happier. Make sure you have a floppy power cable on your PSU or a molex to FDD power adaptor. The card lights up orange when in use which might be a consideration for people with side windows and matching setups. Drivers for this card haven't been updated by Asus for ages which is a shame but there are 3rd party drivers out there that are being updated on a regular basis to improve the quality and add functionality. The card will run in any x1 PCI-E slot or a x16 PCI-E slot if your motherboard has a spare. Overall fantastic and couldn't be without mine. My dad was so impressed with mine, he went out and bought one for himself. Both cards came from Novatech and both perfect. Excellent service as always, thank-you Novatech.

Combined with Sennheiser pc350 headset and BC2 ... big smiles

Purchased this product with some skepticism despite the good reviews. Wow am i impressed though! Been watching blu-rays on my PC with dolby digital for a while now (using my onboard sound card AD1988B) but wanted good surround sound for games, this definately delivers. Dolby live! works with any game since it basically encodes the AC3 signal from EAX and direct sound. The results are really atmospheric, just stick on dead space and you'll be running down the street after 5 mins! Really is worth the cash, espectially if you have a dolby digital/DTS decoder.

Upgraded from X-Fi Xtreme Audio to this Xonar D2X and the improvements were staggering! Just wait until I upgrade my speakers to fully enjoy this card!It is a long card 182mm in length so I also had to use one of my PCI-E x 16 slots for this card, otherwise it touches my RAM. So good bye to another graphics card! A 4870X2 should sort it!!It does need a 4 pin floppy power cable. Always download the driver from the internet for the most up to date one. Installed 7-Zip file manager to extract the driver and hey presto!Also If you have surround 5.1 setup with orange, black and green 3.5mm jacks they go into the sound card as white orange and green LED lights. Superfast service from Novatec as always, cannot fault them.

Fantastic Card! Heard sounds in songs id never herd before. The sounds are clear and sharp and no distortions. The gaming mode is also outstanding using 8 channels of hi definition sounds makes the game very realistic. I am using both speakers and surround sound 5.1 headphones and WOW! Having owned Soundblaster Audigy 4 and testing the Auzentech Cards I must say this is one of the best by far!. However due to being PCI-E the slots can be in the most arkward places so expect moving things about. Top Quality

it is one of the best audio cards from the market.at this price is the best you can get.i am (still) using windows xp.people from asus are working for the best software so you can check their website to update.this sound card just.... ROCKS.all the best

Overall, I expected a bit more than this after all its one of the first VISTA ready sound cards. Its OK but Im not sure it surpasses my Creative Audigy 4 card (even with the restricted VISTA functionality). What is REALLY dissappointing is the bundled software needs product keys (i.e. purchase payment) which is far from clear or explained in the sale literature. Oh and by the way, you will need to download the 82 page user manual from the ASUS website for help setting up your card. Novatech rocks but this isnt one of their best products.