Most sound cards should work fresh from a Linux install, but you probably won't get many of the extra features that their Windows drivers offer.
And while I don't know about Creative's pre-X-Fi hardware, genuine X-Fi cards (EMU20k1, EMU20k2) and Linux are NOT a pleasant mix. It wasn't so bad when the ctxfi driver got added to ALSA and I was still using the X-Fi Prelude in my flagship, but the X-Fi Forte's front left/right channel is completely silent for some dumb reason (while rear left/right still works, so I instead have to use that). Titanium HD users apparently can't get sound at all.
However, it doesn't bother me as much solely because Linux in its many flavors is just an OS I dabble in. I still run Windows as my primary, if only because of the games (which is also the only reason I use Creative-based cards in the first place).
Edited by NamelessPFG - 11/10/11 at 2:55pm
