Help: Which sound card should I get?

Help me out here, please...

My son just picked up some high-end Razer headphones for gaming, TeamSpeak, and Skype. Naturally, they sound pretty mediocre on the built-in Realtek ALC889 audio, plus there’s this annoying interference/static noise...

Best Buy has a bunch of $67 in stock, so I was thinking of picking up a dedicated sound card there, but honestly, I don't know the first thing about them 😍. I'm basically shopping purely on price—if I'm spending the money, it better be worth it. Since I don't want to blow the budget too hard, I'm stuck deciding between these:

1. PCI, TERRATEC Aureon 5.1, retail = $60
2. PCI, Creative Labs Audigy SE, 7.1, bulk = $66

How much of an actual upgrade would it be to go with something like:

- PCI, ASUS Xonar DG 5.1 = $83
- PCI, ASUS Xonar DS 7.1 = $118
- PCI, Creative Labs Audigy X-Fi Xtreme Audio, bulk (SB0790) = $123
- PCI-E, Creative Labs Audigy X-Fi Xtreme Audio, bulk = $120

Is there even any point in going for the more expensive stuff?

Oh, right—the headset is the Razer Piranha, and the Best Buy page for sound cards is here.

thanks

Grab yourself a Xonar DG 5.1—it’s basically tailor-made for headphones. It has this dedicated amp specifically tuned for them; it isn't exactly built to power massive floor speakers, but for headphones? It's stellar. That Aureon Terratecov card is a ten-year-old relic—just forget about it. Even if it costs $17 as much as that C-Media junk, it’s just not worth the money... I actually cleared out a whole box of Aureon, Fun, and those other Terratecov dinosaurs recently. 😁 The same goes for the Creative Labs Audigy SE; it’s totally outdated now. If you really need Dolby and you’ve got a surround setup with an S/PDIF input, the DS 7.1 is worth picking up—it packs quite a punch for the price—but if your priority is headphones, stick with the DG 5.1.

Thanks, man, I really appreciate it... you hit the nail on the head. This is exactly what I was looking for... looks like I'm pulling the trigger on the Xonar. 👍

thanks