EVGA NU Audio Card, 712-P1-AN01-KR, Lifelike Audio, PCIe, RGB LED, Designed with Audio Note (UK)

Pros: If you have high-quality headphones or speakers, this sound card offers a major improvement in sound quality over on-board audio and even over most add-in sound cards. I decided to try this card because the on-board audio on my new high-end motherboard sounded dull and lifeless. From a hardware standpoint, the NU Audio has not disappointed. Its sound quality is very clean and very detailed, with an analytical sound (as opposed to warm or tube-like), and the card has no problem at all driving my 300-Ohm headphones. This is a great way to get exceptional audio from your PC without the clutter of an external USB DAC and headphone amp.

Cons: The drivers and software are immature (unintuitive UI and unhelpful error messages) and missing some basic features that you'd find on most other sound cards. While the company continues to advertise 5.1-channel output via the card's optical digital output, as of writing this review (2 months after the card launched), the drivers still cannot pass-thru the required Dolby or DTS formats for surround sound. In other words, this currently is a stereo-only card -- no surround support at all. The drivers/software also lacks support for low-latency monitoring (sidetone), so this card will not work well in situations that require performance feedback (e.g. recording voiceover/singing, or even just hearing yourself while gaming/streaming with a headset/headphones). Also, most sound cards allow "stereo mix" or "what u hear" recording, but not the NU Audio. Some of these features may or may not be coming in future software updates, but there is no clear indication of which features and when they might show up.

Overall Review: To save yourself some troubleshooting, it's important to note that this card requires a true (5-wire) SATA power connection from your PC's power supply. You cannot use a 4-wire Molex-to-SATA adapter because it lacks a 3.3V wire -- the NU Audio card will not power up nor be detected. EVGA really should make this requirement clear, as it's not mentioned on the box, in any of the included documentation, nor in the system requirements.

Pros: -Incredible sound depth
-Easy to use software
-Wonderful range
-Better than my Sound Blaster Z for music/movies/general media consumption

Cons: NOT good for gaming. If you put this card into a system with a high-end video card there will be interference. When I watch YouTube or listen to music this sound card is incredible. But when I play games or use any application that stresses the GPU the card produces a hissing/buzzing sound that is simply intolerable. I attempted to swap PCI-e slots, change power sources, change USB ports of my equipment and even unplug everything from the machine. This card sends a hissing noise through my 3.5mm headset when I stress the GPU. Such a disappointment.

Overall Review: If you're using this card to game, don't. I read about this issue in a review before I purchased it but I was hoping I wouldn't run into the same thing. Alas I have and am now returning it in favor of the newer Creative Sound Blaster AE-5.

I wanted to give EVGA a chance but this ain't it, Chief