How Do You Chose A Sound Card

Right Now I am Using Intergrated Sound Which Is RealTec. However I have it connected to four Yamaha Speakers and Sub-Woofer that sounds great. However with a dedicated sound card would they sound better. (By a large margin?) How would I go about buying a sound card, what do I look for?

By it's features, compatibility, reliability and testimonials.

aka. http://www.newegg.com

My two cents is that just about any sound card will sound better than onboard, and it should take a bit of load off the CPU as well.
That said, I spent just $20 on a Diamond Multimedia 5.1 and switched off the onboard RealTek chip. I heard a difference right away: much better detail, better treble, and no more hangs when a program was running when music played at the same time.
Tom

FYI, Creative tends to have the most support with games with features such as EAX. Creatives are nice cards but are lacking in terms of the variety of plug-ins, so if you plan on using something other than computer speakers or headphones, try looking for a different brand of card.



If you do plan on getting a Creative X-fi, DO NOT get the Xtremeaudio or Xtrememusic.

So What Would You Recommend? I'm willing to spend up to fifty dollars. Willing to pay more if it makes things a lot better.