Which speakers are you using btw? If the speakers are crappy ones, I don't see any reason even to waste money on one- but your case is different. The only good alternate I could see is either you get a SB value 5.1 for second hand for 500-700 bucks odd (I am pretty sure putting up many of you guys would have it), save 1.7k more and get a g31 board- or see if the onboard sound could be repaired. I am not saying you shouldn't spend 1k on a sound card, but putting 1.7k more fetches you a better board- what if some other problem comes from the board and after you realise that the onboard going kaput is sort of a sign that the board is "dying", you will have to cough up money to get a new board- think about the alternates I am talking about. Value cards does give better sound than onboard- that's for sure. I do not know about compatibility with windows 7.