Unless you are using crappy speakers and/or poor quality audio sources, this is an excellent sound card. I can definitely tell a difference on my Logitech speakers versus onboard sound. CD quality music makes vocals sound as if the person is actually in the room, and features like X-Fi Crystallizer really help tweak the listening experience to exactly what I want. I recommend the X-Fi Gamer card, especially at this price, even for non-gamers.
Note: I'm not an audiophile, though I do appreciate quality in music and audio. If you're a person who can't tell the difference between 128 Kbps MP3 and 320 Kbps mp3 or CD quality music, then this card might be a waste of your money.