Abit AudioMax sound quality?

[nermac]

Im wondering how the Abit AudioMax soundcard, that comes with the Abit AW9D-MAX MB.

The soundcard it comes with has the following specs, Onboard Audio
Audio Chipset ABIT AudioMAX HD 7.1 CH / Dolby Master Studio Certificated
Audio Channels 8 Channels.

So Im wondering, I personally use this new PC for gaming, some FPS, alot of MMOs and light movie watching / music listening. For speakers im using the Logitech X-530 5.1 surround sound.

How big of a gap in quality would there be between the AudioMax card and a Creative X-Fi Gamer? Both in sound and performance?

Any answers be most appreciated, would like to know asap as I will be buying my Mobo, soundcard etc here pretty soon.

My CPU is a CD2 E6600 btw...

 

[redwing]

I had the audiomax 7.1

If you use it in a 2.1 system (stereo), the sound is fairly decent. But if you try to use it with a 5.1 surround or higher in EAX mode in any game, expect horrible background noise and insane random hisses every time something happens on the mobo. The fact that it's a separate card doesnt seem to help much.

If you're looking to enjoy your audio in games, consider an audigy 2 or higher. The x-530 is a fairly basic setup though, so you might not hear a huge increase in audio fidelity if you upgrade the sound card, but at least you'll get rid of the background noise. The 40$ Audigy4 SE upgrade for me was well worth it.

My 2c