Creative Labs recently sent us over one of their new Sound Blaster Z sound cards. The Sound Blaster Z is the entry-level in their latest sound card line and we were very excited to review it, given the sometimes controversial outlook on discrete sound cards by gamers.

Creative's long awaited new line of sound cards is here. Today, we take a thorough look at the new entry-level model called "Sound Blaster Z". The sound card comes equipped with the new Sound Core processor and Creative even bundles it with a decent microphone.

Kitguru says: Good value for money combined with excellent performance. Recommended.

Good build quality; Value for money; Powerful headphone amplifier; Easy to use software

Unattractive and slow loading software; Stiff competition

Gaming with the Sound Blaster Z is truly a spectacular experience. The Sound Blaster Z is an ideal all-round solution for your PC gaming and entertainment needs. It comes complete with the Sound Blaster Beamforming Microphone for crystal clear voice communication.

Well Built; Lighting; Great sound quality; Beam mic

Better than Onboard but with todays tech; not substanitially; no light control :

I got this sound card to replace my Asus Xonar DG which died on me. The difference in sound quality between this card and the Asus is quite noticeable. Much more clarity and crispness in the high end. Bass seems punchier and more detailed.

Great sound; Excelent gaming and music performance; great software

Plugs on the back are poorly labeled; You need the manual to know what's what; No option for a front CD drive panel

This sound card is very good, after I installed and configured it I just noticed the difference between my onboard and this one. The effects are good, the SBX Pro Studio is very powerful, there's some issues as driver supports from Creative, they don't continued supporting these cards so much, but...

Dedicated sound cards provide better audio quality, more features and more stable drivers than on-board audio, but most of us aren't prepared to pay the Earth for one, particularly if we spend more time gaming than listening to uncompressed audio through a ￡300 pair of studio headphones.

It's great if all you're doing is listening to music.. but if you need it to use skype, vent, etc, then no. I thought maybe mine was just faulty, but after reading online it seems that others have had the same problem.

this was a perfect step up from my Audigy 2 zs. excellent sound,decent price,5 minute install for hardware and software. The 3d aspect of this card will blow your mind, it took songs of mine that I thought the 3d sounds I put in were gone. nope it was all there extra crisp, clean and clear.

Makes a huge difference over using on-board sound, whether listening via headphones or speakers. Did require some initial sound balancing and tweaking though, using the provided software.