Answering as a layman - make sure there are no other volume controls you need turn up. There is also the -10 dBv <=> +4 dBu difference, could be that your old card had the other voltage reference. Other than that, I don't know.
Thank you very much for your quick response. I have actually made progress. Using hda_analyzer, I have changed the pin ctls to be OUT and HP, instead of just OUT. I read from the Intel doc that setting a pin to HP will enable an output amplifier. True enough, this gave a boost to the volume, it is close enough to the soundblaster's volume.
Now I am back to trying to figure out how to set the HP in the user_pin_configs hex value. Do you have any documentation references on how to set the hex value for user_pin_configs? I have tried to Google for it, and also tried to find it from Intel's website, but to no avail.
Regards Keith