Quote:Geez, what were you doing with them?
Hammer and chisel anyone? ???
I've had mine for more than five years and it's worked FLAWLESSLY!
Sure it's not the best for sound quality, but it IS better than those crappy AC97 integrated pieces of horse manure!
Who says AC'97 is crappy, don't know what they are saying. Perhaps they have seen it working with the non-WDM drivers. I know a bunch of CMI8338 sound cards that really fit your description, as they are phisically having flaws in desing, no matter what drivers you are using. I would say that AC'97, if configured at it's best, would be near a Creative Audigy board (not for accessories).
And then again, for comparison, if Voodoo cards can't show newer games, it's not the videocards to blame for first, but the development of drivers and the games themselves. Same thing applies to sound cards. Drivers are almost crucial for performance and compatibility, sometimes more than the chips themselves.