[TooNice]

So, my Elite Pro died again. "Again" refers to the fact that it is my second card. The first card was bought early 2006, but it died and was replaced early in 2007 (I guess I should be grateful it happened within the warranty period). In early 2008, I moved about for study/work, and the PC was left untouched until last month. Meaning that the replacement card only worked for a little just over a year. I haven't read of Elite Pros dying left and right, so it could be an isolated case, but it doesn't really inspire much confidence.
 
Anyway, this time it is definitely out of warranty, so I need to find a replacement. Is Creative's latest a step forward or are we dealing with yet another rebadge with insignificant progress? The Elite Pro was a nice card, to be fair. Music sounded great, gaming support is what you'd expect from a Creative card, and movies sounded great through my 7.1 speakers and AKG K701. I found that CMSS worked really well for movies over headphones (though I am less keen on it for gaming). But I don't think that I will go for another flagship Creative card. For a start, they come with stuff that I don't really need (that massive console in the case of the Elite - well, I suppose it was nice being able to simultaneously connect the K701 (at the back) and the HF-1 (via the console), but overall, it still took quite a bit of space. And well, it's a lot of money for the durability I experienced.
 
Can I expect today's midrange to be competitive/better then a 6+ years old flagship (for music, gaming and movies), or do I have to expect a downgrade/trade off? Also, are there any decent alternatives brands worth considering? It used to be that one were stuck with Creative if you were into gaming, but is that still the case? It doesn't look like EAX has moved forward at all..

 

[sonci]

Are you still gaming after 6 years, just get a girlfriend

and check your motherboards, soundcards hardly die,

 

[GotNoRice]

The Elite-Pro had a nice DAC, 116dB SNR iirc.  You'll be dissapointed if you go with a low-end card, and even most medium-end cards are going to be a side-grade.
 
I would recommend the new ZxR (top end of new Z series), otherwise look for an older X-Fi Titanium HD which has nearly the same DAC as the ZxR but can be found much cheaper now.  Avoid the low-end Z unless you're only gaming.  Avoid the Recon3D series that came out briefly after the X-Fi series, and sucked so bad that even Creative did an about-face and quickly replaced it with the Z series.