Is there a built in amp?

I would tend to think that there is an amp of some sort, however, most modern speakers have some sort of plug in to a power source, usually a wall outlet, a power on/ volume control. Creative has been a good sound card. Most speakers are powered, so it shouldn't matter. Check the web site and ask tech support to be sure. This card should be good for surround sound, provided that the source uses it. And drivers back to Windows XP SP2.