Opinion(s) on Creative Sound Blaster Card?

CompUSA has the following:

http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?&ref=cj&pfp=cj&product_code=315999

SoundBlaster Live! 24-bit Sound Card

Its been awhile since I've bought any computer hardware, but how would people rate this card? Probably not cutting edge, but good enough to do the job, right?

If I buy it, it will go into a multimedia Linux server to stream MP3s/streaming audio from my stereo receiver...and maybe rip vinyl to mp3s.

thanks

Yeah, it's a good enough card, especially for the price. Will do the job no problem in a Windows box, but not sure about in a Linux box.

Do you care about latency? If the answer is "what's latency?" then you probably don't. That is, if you aren't doing real time audio recording/multi-tracking, and especially using software synthesizers then the card will probably be perfectly suited for your use. Especially if you also want to play games. When you get to high end audio cards, they don't play so nice with games but they are the better choice for demanding pro-audio applications.

edit -- // I believe SB cards also have relatively low latency and can support ASIO (as opposed to the older MME, or newer but still oft problematic WDM) so for small recording projects this will probably be fine, too. I know some people use SB cards for multitrack audio, using things like Sonar.

Yes that card does play nicely with Linux (ie is compatible with most versions of linux). I think the EMUK 101 chip (used in SB live cards) is legendry, and in my opinion will perform on par and in most cases better than integrated solutions offered on the majority of mainstream motherboards. I think ASIO is supported, but in the application in which you intend to utilize the card, it should be of no concern.