Well in that case, that explains why my onboard card doesn't start muted on live CD's and talking installers. The ATI onboard audio I currently have is using several hda modules including snd_hda_codec_realtech and snd_hda_intel. Apparently, this is what has been tested, and so it works as expected. As for sound quality, I seem to get similar playback quality from both devices. I need to test recording quality, but I think this new ATI device is at least as good as the old soundblaster that I've had for about 5 years, and it appears to have more output channels. ~Kyle
