USB sound card for Music/Gaming and Microphone in

[hicks12]

Hi Guys, currently I am using onboard for my sound and microphone connections which is a Realtec ALC898, this doesnt seem that great for music/films and primarily gaming (used to use a dedicated Xi-Fi titanium soundcard), the motherboard I am using now doesnt have the slots required for internal soundcards so I am now in the market for a usb equivalent. 
 
Microphone quality seems to have a fair bit of noise and I know its just the onboard being bad so I need something with a solid microphone input, as I play games I would appreciate something being great for giving positional audio or surround sound for my headphones (currently using AD700s, planning on changing sometime soon).
 
Budget is around £50 - £150 I will spend the extra if need be but ideally < £100 would be preferable, doesnt need to be portable as its for my desktop.
 
So far I have got these on my short list:
 
Asus Xonar U7 - £72 
 
Creative sound blaster X-Fi HD sound card - £69
 
 
Both similar on price, are there any others I should be considering and what would you guys go for?
 
Any helps appreciated!
 
Thanks

 

[PurpleAngel]

  Asus Xonar U7 - £72 
 
Creative sound blaster X-Fi HD sound card - £69
 
Both similar on price, are there any others I should be considering and what would you guys go for?

Check out the Creative Labs Omni 5.1 USB sound card.

 

[hicks12]

Thanks purple angel, another one to add to my list haha, any reason why you would take that one over the other xfi?its cheaper by a few quid and somehow has microphones built in (got my own,so sound is key) so it's interesting to know how its better .

Cheers for the help thus far!

 

[PurpleAngel]

Thanks purple angel, another one to add to my list haha, any reason why you would take that one over the other xfi?its cheaper by a few quid and somehow has microphones built in (got my own,so sound is key) so it's interesting to know how its better

.

Cheers for the help thus far!

The Omni seems to be Creative Labs newest USB sound card and uses the latest Creative software, SBX Pro Studio.
So I would assume it a better gaming external sound card then Creative's older USB sound card.
Plus I like anything with the word "Omni' in it.
 
So your computer does not have any free PCI-E slots?
What is the make and model of the motherboard?

 

[hicks12]

Its an asus p8z77-i mini itx board, downsized a lot this year and one of the sacrifices was the XiFi Gamer card (the original one... not the cheaper rebrand!) .
 
Yeah that Omni one does seem better the more I look at it so I will probably go for that, got nothing to write down on my christmas list so I guess I will shove this on there now to give someone an idea haha.
 
Appreciate the help! Now to find a new headset

 

[PurpleAngel]

  Its an asus p8z77-i mini itx board, downsized a lot this year and one of the sacrifices was the XiFi Gamer card (the original one... not the cheaper rebrand!) .
 
Yeah that Omni one does seem better the more I look at it so I will probably go for that, got nothing to write down on my Christmas list so I guess I will shove this on there now to give someone an idea haha.
 
Appreciate the help! Now to find a new headset

Might consider the Sony MDR-MA900, seems to be getting a lot of positive feedback.