Freak'n Big Panda said:
yeah I didn't think so. My friend got a xfi plat and he swears the sounds quality is better using the analogue out and the xfi's integrated DACs vs. on board sound and SPDIF but I'm thinking it's just a placebo... is this is case or is does the xfi actually do a better job at converting digital to analogue than our z5500s? Anyways if we're talking about gaming do things start to matter? If they do why?
Well, the first thing is audio is extremely subjective. So......
It is possible that the onboard DACs on the X-Fi are of higher quality than the Z5500s. I have no clue for sure, but it is a real possibility.
Now, to put things in perspective, the DACs on the X-Fi's are actually pretty crappy for the cost of the card. You can buy a dedicated DAC for around the same price that is immensely better audio quality wise (of course, I'm not so sure the Z5500s would be good enough to show such a difference.)
As for gaming, the X-Fi platinum, or any X-Fi card will help when a game is using EAX. It will off load the processor and use the sound cards dedicated audio processor for this. Many say it doesnt matter, they cant tell a difference game wise, but in my experience a sound card (Creative ones if you are serious about game audio) really helps remove hitching, but not so much a FPS improvment.
If you really want to do some research then I suggest you go to head-fi.org. They have several forums, you'll want to check out the PC audio one. They'll stear you in the perfect direction, but be prepared you could end up spending so serious cash, hehe.