[Soymilk]

i've been poking around trying to figure out what i should get. im looking to stay on a budget (cheaper is better) and i'd like for it to be good at games and obviously sound good too. i remember the x-fi cards are supposed to be very good for games. from searching recent threads i've seen the forte recommended a few times; is this better than the x-fi sound cards? what about a hotrodded x-fi? i'm confident that i can hotrod an x-fi myself easily, i'm experienced with diy/soldering and have worked with smaller surface mount parts before.
 
my current amplification is a ppav2 going to a dt770/80, but my source is my motherboard's built in sound card D: so i figure it's about time to fix that.

 

[Soymilk]

one of my friends has an x-fi elite pro that isnt in use anymore, i think i can buy that off him for cheaper than buying a new auzentech forte. i saw a review online that the auzentech prelude is comparable with the x-fi elite pro, and the prelude is the higher end version of the forte right? so would the elite pro + hotrod be the way to go?