Sound Blaster XI-FI: Hardware question

homesick1337

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Joined
20 Jan 2004
Messages
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I was curious if I am currently using on board sound for my computer would you recomend this card? My other box I used an AUDIGY 2 Platnium and was in the market for a sound card on my new box.

I notice different variations for the card and wanted to use it mostly for World of Warcraft and F.E.A.R along with some new games coming out. What card do I buy in the XI-FI series?

Also anyone know a good online site to buy one? I live in hawaii so the prices are higher then retail.

Thank You,
Mathew


Below are my box specs.


ASUS P5ND2 775 ATX
P4 3.60 800 FSB 2M CACHE L775
PC2-5300 DDR2-667 1GB (total of 2 gigs in system)
36 GB RAPTOR (Total of x 2 in system)
16x DVD-R/RW/CD/R/RW
EVGA 7800 GTX KO 256 PCI-E ( running in SLI )
EVGA 7800 GTX KO 256 PCI-E
SONY FLOPPY DISK DRIVE

MOUSE: Logitech MX 1000
OPERATING SYSTEM: WINDOWS XP PRO
CASE: XASER V SILVER ALUMINUM
POWER SUPPLY: NOISETAKER 600W POWER SUPPLY
 
Nobody that wants sound tobe emitted from their pc should use onboard sound for any reason.

I use X-Fi Xtreme music, the other cards either have a breakout box or more xram but thats the only difference.
 
Hey homesick, I got this card (platinum) and I have to say... GET IT!
The sound quality is great, but disregarding that for a moment, not having your cpu have to run all the sound calculations will speed up your game immenseely.
 
Thanks everyone,

of all the XI-FI cards what one is the one I should get? Is there a big leap in performance on each card?

Whats a good online site to buy it from?
 
its the same card as I explained.

the only difference is the amount of ram on the card and the breakout box you get.

I'd get the xtreme music unless you need the extra connectivity of the breakout box.
 
LordOfLA said:
its the same card as I explained.

the only difference is the amount of ram on the card and the breakout box you get.

I'd get the xtreme music unless you need the extra connectivity of the breakout box.

Thanks for the help I found the Plat version for $150 at my local compusa and the fatality XI-FI version for $270.

Now its time to debate if its worth spending $120 more and will I actually see the leap in performance if I do.

I hate to bug you , but do you think its that big of a leap where I will notice the difference when playing games like World of Warcraft and F.E.A.R between those 2 cards?
 
you wont notice a difference between card models. The only difference is the breakout box and the onboard ram amount :)

However audio quality compared to onboard ac97 or previous creative cards is immediatley obvious :)
 
Go with the Xtreame music, the breakout box is silly and a waste of money. You will notice no difference in performance or audio quality. If you need the Audio inputs and such just buy a PCI addon card for the X-FI. Its cheaper and a better solution than the rediculous box.

http://www.ihda.co.kr/skin/A/goods/productView.php?goo_code=030000006243

I have posted that link several times... just trying to spread the word.
 
And remember if you are gonna spend that much, GET SOME GOOD speakers with Digital COAX or OPTICAL!!!! Not to mention THX and Doby Digital Certified!


I have seeing people with good soundcards and the cheapest speakers, its such a waste, or visa versa.
 
for the love of god don't buy creative. they screw you cutting corners and using their tricky marketing 101. yes the sound quality is great but the x-fi lacks mini jacks,real time dobly dts-es, optical jacks and there is no way to connect a front pannel. i strongly suggest not getting it, take it from someone who has it. the only way i would buy this card again is if i had too much money or i would never want to do any of the things posted above. oh and what type of speakers you have?
 
Iceman - the x-fi has a way to connect a front panel otherwise there wouldnt be the fatality or platinum editions...

Creative is the ONLY viable home user/gamer audio card manufacturer.

Most problems arise from the fact that the user has absolutley no clue what they are doing, or didnt bother to read some important fact.
 
^ 50/50

In all honesty, there are other sound card MFG's out there. Most people like the most "X" treme ones though. And almost every card will have compatability issues or some issue with some other piece of heardware. Just murphys law.

I plan on buying a Turtle Beach and making it work just as many people have pushed the "X-fi" as the only one.

Buy what suits your needs and budget. And as for the 2-4% CPU use that onboard sound uses, 95 out of 100 users will never notice.
 
WoW, i never noticed that Turtle Beach Montego DDL 7.1 sound card, that is a killer deal and seems like a very good card comparable to the X-FI from what ive been reading it might even be better cuz of the real-time encoder. Even has OPTICAL!
http://www.turtlebeach.com/site/products/soundcards/mtgoddl/howdoesitwork.asp


One thing i couldnt find out though is up to what version of EAX does the Montego support? And does it support OpenAL?
 
the turtle beach does eax 2 and very poorly at that. it doesnt support openal last I checked.

If your main use is gaming you only have creative as a viable choice.
 
EAX 3.0 and higher is patented by Creative (sucks :( )

LordofLa is correct in that Creative is unfortunately the only solution for gamers, I will admit creative has gotten better... but competition is always good.

There are lots of other manufactures out there, but none of them are overall as good as Creative. They have their pro's and con's like everything in this world. Just do your homework, weigh you needs and wants and make your decision on knowledge, not on sales hype.. or even other peoples opinion :D
 
Does the Turtle Beach Montego DDL 7.1 sound card sound in games like Battlefield 2 / Counter Strike Source compared to the X-Fi??

Do you guys think its that big of a difference?
 
I had a HDA 7.1 Mystique (had DDL) and I was very un happy with it. the sound was lousy even compared to my old Audigy 2 Value. The drivers were buggy and weak. For music or pure movie watching... it may have been ok, but not for gaming.
 

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