Game performance
We'll kick things off with a selection of four of the most recent PC games on the market, each based on an entirely different engine. All games were tested with Fraps, which logged frame rates as we played through 60-second sections of each title. Tests were run five times and the results averaged. We've also provided a look at how frame rates tracked through our 60-second gameplay run and the median low frame rate for each card.

Display resolutions and in-game detail levels were chosen for each game with an eye towards delivering frame rates that we'd be happy playing with normally. These settings were maintained regardless of the audio card used.

Bioshock
Bioshock uses Unreal technology, delivering native support for OpenAL in Windows Vista. DS3D GX didn't work properly with Bioshock at first, and the game would fail to run with EAX enabled. However, Asus was able to quickly get us an updated .dll for the Xonar's drivers that resolved the issue.

The Xonar doesn't deliver the highest frame rates in Bioshock, but it's not far off the pace set by the X-Fi XtremeMusic.

Call of Duty 4
Call of Duty 4 uses an engine of developer Infinity Ward's own creation. In Windows Vista, audio is handled by OpenAL.

Average frame rates are pretty close in Call of Duty 4. Given the variable nature of Frapsing real-world gameplay sessions, I wouldn't worry about differences of only a couple of frames per second.

Crysis
Crytek's latest engine is an absolute beast, and rather than relying on any form of hardware acceleration, it includes a software audio mixer designed to deliver the same listening experience regardless of the user's sound card.

Even with Crysis crunching positional 3D audio with a software mixer, the X-Fi manages the highest average and median low frame rates. The Xonar DX is right on its heels, though.

Quake Wars
id Software has long supported cross-platform APIs like OpenGL, so it's no surprise that Quake Wars uses OpenAL under Windows Vista.

The DX may finish at the bottom of the pile here, but frame rates are pretty close across the board.