Pros: I'm no "golden ear", so I won't extol the sonic virtues that may or may not be present. It sounds good to me, and that's all I expect. My old speakers always gave a loud pop when I turned on the computer, but that's now a problem of the past.

Cons: It's a little unfortunate that you need to download and install the Creative app, but this is hardly a deal breaker -- just an annoyance. In low power mode (i.e. when it's left powered on, but detects no sound and so goes to sleep) it takes longer than I would like to wake up again, but we're just talking a couple of seconds, so not a big deal. One time, though, it wouldn't wake up and the Creative app (and Windows) said no speaker detected. Was this a problem with the Katana or with my PC -- I have no way of knowing. It took several reboots and trying several different USB ports before the problem cleared up as mysteriously as it had appeared.

Overall Review: Overall I have no regrets with my purchase.

Pros: Beautiful graphics; completely silent when doing simple Windows activities. World of Warcraft and Assassin's Creed: Syndicate look fabulous.

Cons: The fans really rev up when I'm playing games; the sound is ever present and annoying. While I enjoy the graphics, I cannot recommend this card and I wish I had gotten something that was truly quiet rather than just quiet according to EVGA's marketing department.