Why Creative chose the name Sound Blaster Z is unknown, but that is indeed the moniker attached to their new $120 PCIe sound card.  As you can see from the picture it is relatively small and will fit in many HTPC cases, plus it comes bundled with a microphone.  The software comes with quite a few options, from the Creative SBX "enhancements" to Scout mode which is designed to help gamers hear audio effects, you have a lot of control over playback and with Crystal Voice system you will get noise cancellation on the microphone.  TechPowerUp liked the features that this card offered but noticed that it came at a price, when running the driver takes up 80MB of RAM.

"Creative's long awaited new line of sound cards is here. Today, we take a thorough look at the new entry-level model called "Sound Blaster Z". The sound card comes equipped with the new Sound Core processor and Creative even bundles it with a decent microphone."

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