Creative Technology Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Platinum

The Creative Soundblaster Audigy 2 Platinum came with my computer so I don't know how easy it is to install, however I have installed other Creative soundcards and as long as you don't have Integrated Audio (motherboard) it's pretty easy. The features of this card are best exploited by using it's music parameters and effects. I frequently record old cassette tapes onto my computer using this soundcards RCA inputs and the quality of sound is remarkable for cassette tapes that are 25+ years old. Once your music is in mp3 format you can use the audio clean-up and tempo adjuster for fun or DJ work. It also has 1/4" input/output jacks for an electric guitar and many decent effects which you can modify and save changes. The 1/4" output jack can be used to route your guitar through an amp so you don't fry your computer speakers. In order to take advantage of the 5.1 capability you will need a 5.1 speaker system. This is a nice feature if you play computer games and you want to hear AI/other players sneaking up behind you. I highly recommend this product.