strange you say xfi on your last system.. Im guessing the issues are defnintly driver related to other hardware.. Im fighting this Xfi all the way in Xp and Im no lightweight in electronics/sofware or hardware. I just installed win7 (dualboot) and its fluid and responsive RR seems to like it, but I didnt see any driver support for the Xfi 5.1 yet.. I will give it a try if i find one though. another concern is the sever thump upon resume.. I have laptop setup and didnt get it with the onboard prior. Im not using one of those fancy $100-200 power supplies that come with anti thump so Im gonna make 5v USB switched relay for amp remote see if that helps.