Conclusions
There are clearly problems with the EAX implementation of Realtek's HD Audio codec and its associated drivers. Despite the fact that Realtek claims to support EAX 2.0, obstructions and occlusions apparently haven't been implemented correctly, if at all. For some games, that's not a serious problem. For instance, FEAR plays fine, even if the audio isn't exactly right. However, the lack of proper occlusion and obstruction support makes Battlefield 2 unplayable with EAX effects enabled.

We observed these problems on a Foxconn motherboard with an ALC882D codec, but any motherboard that uses a Realtek codec for High Definition Audio is likely to be affected. After all, Realtek handles 3D audio in the driver, which is shared among all of its HD Audio codecs. (Realtek's AC97 audio drivers may have similar problems, but we haven't tested those.) Fortunately, Analog Devices appears to be doing EAX right, but that doesn't help if you already have a board based on a Realtek codec.

So we have a problem. If Realtek wants to tout EAX 2.0 support, that support needs to be complete and functional. Game developers need to be assured that if they devote the effort to supporting EAX, their users will experience the game as intended. As it stands, those efforts will be wasted on motherboards with Realtek integrated audio. Fixing the problem should be possible through a software update, and that needs to happen as soon as possible if Realtek wants to continue claiming support for EAX 2.0. 

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