realtek ac97 vs. soundlblaster audigy?

Hey guys. I am currently using the onboard realtek ac97 audio. It has worked well so far, supplying decent sound. Will this soundblaster audigy se improve the sound quality AND improve fps in games? http://us.creative.com/products/pr [...] duct=14257

Thanks guys!

Are you running XP or Vista. Vista has done away with support for hardware audio and getting support is not easy.

I recently upgraded from a Realtek 8 Channels ALC888 integrated Audio controller to the Audigy SE.
(Like you I was wondering if it was worth the money)

Result :
A slight increase in sound quality. Also I like the Creative Audio settings. it's a bit like my Iriver MP3 Player "3D" mode, although the Iriver still deliver the best sound quality of any hardware I have owned.

I also got a tremendous increase in Microphone input quality.
It's was one of the reason pushing the upgrade. I got crappy result with the Realtek microphone, and the micro integrated to my Microsoft webcam was not that great either. I was used to power on the Thinkpad for skype calls as it got a very decent micro.
Now recording quality is great, even better than on the Thinkpad.

If u want better quality you have to pocket much more money for the next good offering.
I understand that the first cards in the X-fi line (xtreme audio and xtreme player) are almost the same hardware wise as the audigy SE, with an heavier software package, so It don't seem a good deal. So if you want better you should look at the mid range X-Fi.

You may also want to read the user's reviews on Newegg, that here that I found the more user's opinions on the Audigy and on the others cards.

I agree with the above, also, being as you have a FX55 you will see a little boost since that card will offload the audio from the cpu to the card itself Audigy 2ZS