Creative Sound Blaster Recon3D Fatal1ty Professional (70SB135600000) 5.1 Channels 24-bit 96KHz PCI Express x1 Interface Sound Card

Pros: This is with out a question the best sound card I have had in may years. I have been running onboard sound for a long time thinking it was as good as a Sound Blaster. Boy was I wrong everything from music movies to games are much better on a Sound Blaster! If you have the speakers to handle it this sound card will give you the best sound you can get from your system.

Cons: None what so ever.

Other Thoughts: To the people having problems all I can say is it is not the fault of this Sound Card you need to look else were for the problem. I have now built 3 rigs with this card and none of them have any static popping or anything else that would distort the sound quality. From the rich deep bass to the great high tones everything this card sends to the speakers is nothing short of great.

Pros: Easy Installation. Great sound quality. Headset Jack is amazingly loud and clear. PciE interface is nice, since the PCI clots are covered by graphic cards.

Cons: none

Other Thoughts: I was having trouble with the audio of my ASUS M4A79T Deluxe AM3 motherboard. Bought this to elimate the issue. I am still amazed at the sound clarity from this card, no hissing or buzzing. All around a great card.

Pros: Enough options for me for movies/music My CV LS12 and desktop tweets (stereo not 5.1)sound much better than with my old audigy value card.I had to race to get the bass turned down!!Though iv never owned a real expensive sound card im very happy with this one.Games are much improved also havnt used the beam mic yet so no feedback on that sorry.

Cons: It sits on top of my vid card theres zero clearance there not sure what to do when i go with crossfire but the card stays hehe....

Other Thoughts: I uninstalled the old audigy drivers double checked bios made sure onboard sound was off put the new card and disk in then updated it and had zero problems,about 20 minutes.Iv got a new copy of windows 7 and a GA 990 fxa UD3 board.

Pros: *Wonderful sound over onboard Realtek 5.1.
*Deep bass, wonderful mids, and ear piercing highs.
*Fully controllable 10 band EQ
*THX Pro

Cons: A little involved setting up (use newest drivers not CD) but well worth the 5-10 minutes fine tuning.

Other Thoughts: Compliments my:
ASUS Sabertooth
i2600k @ 4.5ghz
32gb RAM
2x GTX590's
1200x PSU

Pros: Easy install (no surprise with PCIE), sounds good (when it works)

Cons: This card doesn't work reliably. Sound crackles and pops, right and left channels cut in and out to the point where it is almost unusable. Have made a full run of attempts to correctly disable motherboard audio settings, load latest drivers, etc - also installed the card into a fresh build. Problems persisted across both speakers and headphones, even with all the fancy settings on the card disabled. STAY AWAY from this product.

Other Thoughts: I didn't purchase this card from NewEgg, otherwise I would've been able to return it (nothing but awesome customer service from NewEgg) - my local retailer wouldn't take it back, so I'm just trying to warn others. Creative Labs offered no useful tech support, simply suggested I re-install drivers and reboot... no kidding...

Pros: I can't think of any pros that make it stand out over any other soundcard... The on the fly headphone/speaker switch is nice?

Cons: The driver support for this card is abysmal. Incessant crackling that disappears and reappears whenever it feels like it. I think the worst of all though is the apparent and random speaker channel swapping that will make you go crazy. Sitting at the computer listening to music only to have all sound completely shift to only your rightmost speakers is nothing short of obnoxious.

Sure, there is a temporary solution; which is to rapidly scroll back and forth between x.1/stereo/headphone in the drop down menu until it stops... But then just 10 seconds later it shifts again, and it will keep doing it.

Other Thoughts: Just stick to onboard, get an external amp.

Pros: It looks very pretty, and it fits into my mobo... andddddd, the drivers work? At least it gives me a reason to go back to retailer where I purchased it.

Cons: It sounds like absolute horrid dung, this Recon 3D (scout mode) junk they're pedaling is horse dung at best. The crackling, popping, and hollow base reminded me of the first releases of the XF-I series. A true testament to taking 2 steps backwards...

Other Thoughts: I bought one of these to replace a Creative XF-I Titanium HD, and like all people I bought into the Recon 3D/Scout mode marketing hype... After about 8 to 10 hours of playing different FPS's and meddling with settings. Playing various bouts of music, and watching the occasional video on YouTube; I've come to the conclusion that I've wasted my gas, a credit transaction, and part of my life on marketing hype.

Though, it happens to the best of us... I think my next purchase will be an ASUS Xonar, I seem to be having very good luck with ASUS products and I'm 1 for 3 with Creative being I had to RMA my old Extreme Music back in the day...

Pros: Sounds good when it works.

Cons: Bought this card for Battlefield 3. This card crackles and pops on just about every other map in Battlefield. DO NOT BUY IF YOU ARE RUNNING SLI. Still waiting on a fix from Creative. Their customer service is non existent. The crackling is so bad I can't even play. Just pulled this brick out and went back to onboard sound. Please don't support this company!

Other Thoughts: Worst money I have ever spent. Will never buy another product from Creative again.

Pros: Great sound really it is. Got some old Sony wooden speakers and they enhance it and blew my on board sound away..

Cons: I understand people giving this a bad egg. Since its not exactly plug and play. If your computer doesn't recognize it go into your bios and turn off your on board sound card. Simple as that also get the latest driver from creatives web page. If you hear no sound not to fear go back to driver and run it again and select repair. This is what I did to get mine going. Not going to knock any eggs down really please with the end results.

Other Thoughts: Wow games on my headsets blow me away. L4d2 the sound is so crisp that glass breaking and zombies become life like. Don't let me get start with bf3 now. Great product once every thing is configure.

Pros: A lot may talk trash on this but if you got the sound system to back it the THX tech and mic settings not to mention the on board processor make it worth the money. It will not cut your pc's performance at all really due to the on board processor. The mic features highlight online gaming killing background noise and equalizing your voice even if your yelling into the mic as a raid member stands in fire or your squad mate is walking into a 3 man ambush with a sniper prone in the window.
And last but not least the THX (Which i tested with both netflix 5.1 and star wars the clone wars) sounded very nice on my Logitech surround sound system creating a very detailed environment.
This is for Gamers, not audiophiles.

Cons: Not for Audiophiles (THUS the name Fat!lity -_-)