Sound Blaster Live! Platinum 5.1

Rating:
Summary: Only buy this if you are running Windows 98
Review: I suppose this is supposed to be a very good sound card, but it seems that the only operating system that it fully supports is Windows 98. Many of the options are not available if you are running Windows 2000 and Windows XP is particularly problematic. Of course, there are no products in the Creative line which say that they support Windows XP, even though they do have some drivers out which kinda work on occasion. I unforturnately was running Windows 2000 when I purchased this card and it was severely limited in what it would do due to the limitations of the operating system according to Creative. A Turtle Beach Santa Cruz is a much better choice for a lot less money and it actually works as advertised.

Rating:
Summary: Dont let these other jokers fool you..
Review: Ive been writing electronic music on cpu's since the days of the AMIGA 600, and sound cards have been my life since getting into PC's 8 years ago. Don't be fooled, this card is THE BEST CARD FOR THE MONEY out there. If you write music especially! It may not be the best for your 32 surround sound speaker system or whatever, but straight up this card cant be beat for the money. The next best card is the turtle beach santa cruz, which is a good card, but if you need the imputs and the superb sound quality of a professional system, Platinum Live 5.1 is for you, word on the streets.

Rating:
Summary: Great card, a little pricey
Review: The card is great at decoding 5.1 soundtracks and has a lot of excellent features. It would have gotten a full 5, but the price is a little steep.

Rating:
Summary: Good and bad
Review: This card, once it is up and running, is great. It took me a while to get it installed properly, and even longer to really know how to use the software. The documentation is bettr than a lot of computer peripherals, but still lackking in detail and not particularly helpful with the kinds of problems I was having. Prepare to do a lot of experimenting to get things to work right. But once you do get it working, woo hoo--great sound capabilities!

Rating:
Summary: Sound Blaster Live! Platinum 5.1 ROCKS!!!!!!!!!!!
Review: This is by far the best sound card I have ever herd, seen and used. My favorite feature is the abilty to mix up to 20 different sounds, programs or inputs. The remote control is very cool too. If you have a DVD-ROM you can control the DVD with the remote instead of useing the mouse of the keybord. This card is great and I have had no problems with it I highley reccomend this Card!!!!! A+ Creative Labs

Rating:
Summary: The best!
Review: This product has been very great to experience! I personally think this is the best sound card out right now. Hooking this thing up with the DeskTop Theater™ 5.1 DTT3500 Digital makes your music a whole new world. You will enjoy the pleasure of music as you never before. :)

Rating:
Summary: Watch out for Live!'s....
Review: While the sound quality isnt anything to complain about, the setup, drivers, and software for the original Live!'s and the 5.1 cards are absoutely horrible. I've never seen a manufacturer pump out so many high-rated soundcards with such buggy, system-crashing drivers. I have no idea how companies rate the Live!'s so highly when a solid 50% of users have driver problems from the beginning. Browsing the internet to find out how everyone else thought of these cards, I discovered an extraordinarily high percentage of people who had serious problems with the SB Live!'s. Save yourself some money and a lot of time and find a non-Creative soundcard. I dont think you want to end up reformatting your whole harddrive like me and many other SB Live! consumers.