Ugh, this could get really complicated really quickly.
First off, desktop computer speakers (Logitech etc.) are generally pretty crappy -- the weakest link of your sound system by far. IOW it that's what you use for output, it won't really matter what you feed them, as long as it isn't crackly on-board audio. A pair of decent headphones is much better; you can easily tell the difference between a good source and a mediocre one on those.
If you want speakers good enough that the sound card will make a significant difference, I'd say you're looking at mini-monitors at least, something like
JBL ControlONE's. Of course, you will need an amplifier for them; similar-quality active speakers are much pricier.
With that out of the way, yeah, the difference an X-Fi makes is real and significant. How much it will matter to you is a different matter -- personally, when playing games, I find that I'm so focused on the screen that the quality of the sound makes little difference to the experience.
Finally, if you're considering gaming, not all games support all of these fancy technologies. IOW, if your game doesn't do THX or DTS, it won't matter that your card does. A good card will still sound better than a bad one, and may be worth the (rather low) price just for that.
(FYI, I have an X-Fi sound card and AKG K240 Studio headphones with it; I have those JBL ControlONE's in my home theater/audio system.)