I got my Audigy Platinum eX for £125, so it'll prolly cost about $120 stateside. Audigy Platinum is cheaper.
Semi-decent amp with SPDIF etc will cost me about £250, but you needn't buy one straight away, or at all if you don't think it's worth it.
And no, Watts are the same the world over. They're Joules per second. It's an SI unit. I imagine the reason you're confused is the way that everyone gives things multiple W ratings depending on how stupid they think their customers are. Pick up any semi decent audio mag and in not one advert will you see any more that one Wattage rating, which'll look something like "0.2% THD [Total Harmonic Distortion] at 10 W"
If you're buying a sub just to get punchy bass in games, just ditch your current setup and get an Audigy and a set of Creative 5.1 speakers. Audiophilia on computers is often a futile process.
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"If you believe in the existence of fairies at the bottom of the garden you are deemed fit for the bin. If you believe in parthenogenesis, ascension, transubstantiation and all the rest of it you are deemed fit to govern the country." - Jonathan Meades
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