Summary:
This Sound card is evil.... I put this card in my pc and it had this weird error in which sound would stop and start again for no reason after alot of digging up info. on the card I realized it didn't work with my frikin' processor.... what is up with that I mean my video card or somthing is a little more understandable but a lot of people have amd proccesors out there and it's really stupid that they didn't put that on the box or somthing.

Summary:
The Montego is a pretty good card. The sound is clear, but sort of thin. Compatibility is generally very good, and it works with most of the old DOS software I've tried it with. Unfortunately, the SB Pro emulation doesn't sound nearly as good as the real thing. Installation is simple, too. The MIDI is where this card falls down. The patches stink. Using the card's reverb helps some, but it's still bad. The presence of a Waveblaster header, and working MPU-401 port help. If you're serious about good sounding MIDI, use them. The Montego also supports downloadable DLS patches, so finding a better patch set without springing for an add-on card is a possibility. Turtle Beach has also updated the drivers at least once since the card was introduced. The newer drivers include treble & bass controls that I think were absent from the originals. The release of Vortex 2 cards makes the Montego somewhat less attractive. Finally, on a non-gaming point, although there's a S/PDIF digital header, the actual expansion that uses it hasn't been released as of mid-March 1999.

Summary:
First, let me say that I REALLY wanted to give the Montego a 5. The reason I didn't was that the wave table quality seemed slightly weak (though this may have been improved in their Win98 drivers, since it sounded different and a bit better under NT), and it will only emulate an SB Pro (8-bit stereo) in DOS.
Before I get to the details and the reasons why I'm in love with mine, let me encourage EVERYONE to go to Creative Labs' web site: http://www.soundblaster.com/home.html and buy a WaveBlaster II upgrade (in the online specials section) for $15! This is a Wavetable upgrade module that will fit on many sound boards (INCLUDING THE MONTEGO) and sounds GREAT! Creative is surely trying to get rid of their inventory, at this price, so hurry!
Now for the reasons why it's my FAVORITE PCI sound card on the market, today:
* It sounds GREAT!!! It has 18-bit DACs, when lower quality 16-bit
chips are found in just about everything else. It has high-quality
electronics that give you wonderful numbers like: > 92dB S/N ratio,
Programs->Accessories->Multimedia) and click on Options->Properties and check the MPU-401 box so that its slider will show up (then, make sure this isn't muted and crank it up!). You also have to go into the MIDI mapper from the Multimedia item in your control panel (Start->Setup->Control Panel) and tell it to use MIDI from the MPU-401 interface.Enjoy!!