Hmm, this is questionable, but yes there might be!
As for that acceleration thing, I didn't know that...
But I have an original SoundBlaster Live and my board has an EAX chip on it showing its hardware...so check for that. It true it needs drivers to get the EAX working, but this doesn't mean its not hardware.
You might find the SoundBlaster Audigy LS 2 has a better EAX hardware system though for games, and might contain some extra up to date features.
So you could try this if you are having trouble in games,
though it could be your video card in some places making it lag on newer games.
Plus if your system isn't good enough, your system won't be able to handle EAX anyway without some glitches or lags because it takes alot, and I mean, alot of CPU power to retain the effects in the latest games. The latest Audigy I think makes it easier on the CPU chip with a new advanced version of the same technology that doesn't need it as much!
What video card have you got? What computer specs have you got?
If your not sure on any of these, download this:
http://www.lavalys.com/products/overview.php?pid=1&lang=en
It'll tell you all you need to know so you can post back.
I hope this helps
