We've pitted the best of the budget cards against heavyweight home studio systems, and played MP3s, games and movies until the neighbours called the Police. And while we've found a winner, there are no losers in this line-up: the sound from a £300 pound plus home studio card isn't dramatically different from a budget card, and whether you go for a cheap and cheerful PCI card or a pant-threateningly expensive home studio system, the sound from your PC will have your hi-fi hanging it's head in shame. Best of all, each card on test comes stuffed with software that you can use to make MP3s sound spooky, movies more involving and your neighbours more murderous. <b>Gary Marshall</b>


<b>How we Test.</b>

To test our soundcards, we teamed them up with a 1.4GHz Dell Dimension with 256MB RAM and Boston Acoustics satellite speakers and subwoofer. If a card supported Windows XP, we used XP Home; if it didn't, we booted into Windows Millenium instead. We then used the same selection of games, DVDs with 5.1 surround sound, CDs and MP3s on each card to see how well they handled different types of application. For music making cards, we used the bundled software to play MIDI songs and, where appropriate, to record vocals, drum machines and electro-acoustic guitars.

-------------------------------------------

<b>SOUNDSYSTEM DMX 6FIRE 24/96...£180 Terratec</b>

Squaring up against Creative's top-of-the-range Audigy Platinum, the 6fire is designed for serious musicians. It's far too expensive just for playing the odd game, but if you want to make your own records it's a stormer.

The PCI card boasts three sets of speaker outputs (for surround sound) and a line in, and the 6fire also includes a breakout box that fits in a spare drive bay. This box gives you more connectors than you can shake a CD at: phono plugs for line/tape input, phono in and line out, coax and optical connectors for digital input and output, MIDI in and out, a microphone input with a gain control and a headphone socket with a volume control.

The 6fire delivers crystal clear sound - which doesn't flatter music or games, however, and lacks the sheer oomph of the Audigy - and when it comes to recording, it's a better performer than it's Creative rival. That's because it delivers genuine 24-bit/96KHz sampling, although when it comes to MIDI music, Creative cards are more flexible. Nevertheless, if you're into recording and mastering, the 6fire has the edge over it's rivals. It's an excellent piece of kit.

+ Lots of Connectors, excellent for recording.
- Only adequate games prformance.

"Sensibly priced and exceptionally powerful for music."....92% (Gold Award)

-----------------------------------------------

<b>SOUND BLASTER AUDIGY PLAYER...£89 Creative Labs</b>

The Player is a cut down version of Creative's state-of-the-art Audigy Platinum. You don't get it's big brother's break out box, but you do get three outputs for 5.1 surround sound, a FireWire port, and a new version of Creative's EAX technology for in-game effects.

As you'd expect from Creative, games are the card's strongest suit but it also copes with all styles of music and movies, delivering detailed audio positioning and plenty of low-end thump. If you're looking for a great all-rounder, look no further.

+ Great for games and music playback.
- Unsuitable for music making.

"The Player is a good all-rounder at a reasonable price."....88%

-----------------------------------

<b>ACOUSTIC EDGE PSC706...£117 Philips</b>

If all you want to do is lose yourself in music, buy the Acoustic Edge. It's the best-sounding card here: it flatters even the dodgiest MP3 and sounds incredible no matter what sort of music you throw at it. Bass is tight without losing punch, andit copes happily with games and DVD's.

However, don't expect too much from it's pseudo-surround QSound system: it does a decent job of turning stereo or Pro-Logic movies into 5.1 surround, but the results aren't as good as proper 5.1 surround movies.

+ Incredible sound quality and bass.
- Pricey, pointless without decent speakers.

"The best-sounding card here, but it's too expensive."....90% (Gold Award)

-------------------------------------

<b>VIDEOLOGIC SONICFURY...£70 VideoLogic</b>

The SonicFury is the cheapest card here, but that doesn't mean it's nasty. It's sound quality is very close to the Player, and the card only falls down with it's drivers. The ones supplied don't work on Win XP, so before you can do anything on an XP system, you're looking at a 19MB driver download.

When you get it working, it sounds fine, though the bass is indistinct and the overall sound doesn't flatter dodgy recordings. If you're on a budget and need a decent all-rounder, this is worth considering.

+ Significantly cheaper than it's rivals.
- Needs a huge download for Windows XP.

"A good all-rounder that won't put a dent in your wallet."....84%

-----------------------------

<b>YAMAHA SW1000XG...£330 Yamaha</b>

The Yamaha doesn't support Windows XP, and it won't deliver film soundtracks in surround sound. Oh, andit's pant-threateningly expensive. That's because it's a professional music making card for serious musicians. It's built in tone generator gives you thousands of MIDI tones to play with and the overall sound is crystal clear - too clear for home use, because it doesn't flatter poorly encoded MP3s or dodgy film soundtracks. But if you want to make music, the Yamaha is a little cracker.

+ Studio-quality tone generator in a PCI card.
- Expensive, only designed for making music.

"A great MIDI musician's tool, but complex and pricey."....86%