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Looking at the card itself, we can see it is a PCI-E card, and features the Sound Blaster Soundcore 3D. We like the transparent window and the general design of this card.
The card is no thicker than the height of the PCI slot so this won't cause any problems with neighbouring graphics cards etc.
The I/O panel includes 5 jacks (1 x Headphones, 1 x Line/Mic In and 3 x Speaker Out), as well as an Optical in and Optical Out.
The metal cover still allows access to the front panel header and allows some air to circulate around the board.
The metal cover can be removed with just four screws, giving full access to the very shiny PCB and components.
The main thing to note are that the jacks are gold-plated, which means they won't corrode as quickly as the more standard silver-plated connectors.
Compared to other sound cards the PCB seems to be spartan. We like the fact that the PCB is black and not green.
The back of the device only features the warranty labels and all the soldering for the connections.
My biggest problem with creative has always been their drivers and software. it is so unoptimised and clunky and often there will be huge bugs which take a long time to fix. I try to avoid them when possible if I was being honest.
How dare you speak the truth Joe!