I currently have a Creative Audigy 2 ZS Platinum (audigy 2 zs with front input bay), as well as a Logitech Z-5500 5.1 surround sound hooked up to my computer. I was thinking i'd like to upgrade my sound card to something that had toslink optical out in the back, as well as being a high quality card. My system specs are as follows:

MSI P6N SLI FI motherboard
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 2.4GHz
4GB DDR 667 RAM
EVGA 8800 GTX
Audigy 2 ZS Platinum
Antec Nine Hundred case
Cooler Master 550W PSU

Now here's the big problem, I was thinking of getting a second 8800GTX for SLI, and my Power supply sits at the very bottom of my case. This means with the 2 available PCI slots, the sound card must either sit right between both video cards, or it must sit right between the lower video card and the PSU. I do game on this computer, but I'm also looking for something that will play my files without resampling. Is this possible with a $200 budget for the sound card? Should i just stick with my current sound card? Again, i'd like something that has toslink out on the back because it's very awkward to hook up my speakers with an optical cable coming out of the front, so for now I'm using the 3-miniplug cord to connect my speakers. Thanks for any replies

So you want to upgarde, because you want optical out and higher quality? Well, normally I'd suggest the M-Audio Revolution 5.1. It doesn't resample to 48kHz like Creative's cards do (not sure if the x-fi line still does that), and it's priced competitively with the Audigy 2 ZS (and X-Fi Extreme Music, I assume).

However, there are a few drawbacks, in your case. It doesn't have optical out, but it does have digital coax out, and you can get an adapter to convert that to optical, but I'm not sure how much one would cost. (Just did a quick Google search, and it looks like they're a bit over $20...maybe you should keep looking for a card with a true optical output if it's an issue)

The only other issue I see, since you said you like to play games, is that it doesn't support the newest versions of EAX, since they're a proprietary Creative thing (it supports up to EAX 3.0, IIRC).

I used to own an Audigy 2 ZS, and switched to the Revo 5.1, so I can say it certainly does sound better than the Creative card. (I'd get the Revo 5.1 over the 7.1, because the 5.1 uses some higher-quality components than the 7.1, even though it's priced a bit lower last time I checked.)

Edit: Just looked, and the X-fi cards still resample, but Creative has improved the resampling quality, apparently. That said, if you want support for the latest version of EAX, it looks like you're stuck with Creative, as far as I can see. Most non-Creative cards that offer EAX support only go up to EAX 2.0, it seems. Maybe try looking into Auzentech's cards, as well, I know they have one that's based off the x-fi chipset.

My speaker setup actually does have coax digital in. One more feature I was looking for that I forgot to list above was I would also prefer audio headers for the front ports on my case.

I looked at the Revolution and it seems like a pretty solid card, except it doesn't have headers (realize I forgot that in my original post), and it doesn't have a Vista 64-bit driver available for download, not even a beta driver.

I took a look at Auzentech's cards, and while they seem good, they lack newer versions of EAX (as stated) except for the X-Fi Prelude, which has a 150MB driver download that includes a creative driver. I was hoping to get away from the bloat, but you may be right in that I am stuck with creative for now. Although, i will keep monitoring this thread for any and all suggestions. Thanks for the reply.