how to choose a sound card?

im going to get a sound card, what will i look for to make a decision?
i have no money so it will be simple, i know a few things but id like to hear advices from u. dont recommend me products cuz im not going to get them, audigy, live etc. i need to decide between some models made in brasil. so, what should i better stay away from?
thanks.

well first off, u'll need to decide what ur gonna be using ur sndcard for; will it be for gaming, music, or just general usage? After u've isolated this issue, time to find some worthy candidates. But also remember that your speakers will also be an issue. If you got the best soundcard and some cheap speakers you may not be able to utilize all the bells and whistles of your card. As price is an issue, you may need to do some research for the best bargains.

yes.
forgot to say im mostly interested on gaming but i really dont have many options. a reference card for the purpose would be a soundblaster pci 128.
the fact is im still using my onboard sound and dont want to spend much money on this computer.
i gave up to get the support for EAX and stuff like that, so a little improvement on quality of sound would be already good.

edit: in the pci128 specs page the support for W2k says it is TBA, what does that mean?