Confused about Creative X-FI Cards...

T

The Cisco Kid

Gawd
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Mar 31, 2007
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Ok so I just built a new system and am already missing my old Audigy 2 ZS. The onboard Audio just doesn't work for me. I've read some good reviews about the X-FI series, but need some help deciding on a card. Mostly used for gaming with about 20% music use.

I'm also very confused about the full X-FI cards vs. the slim versions...is there a difference in quality?

I'd like to go the slim version if the quality is good and it supports EAX.

Thanks for the help!
 
No, the slim line X-Gamer is a normal X-fi complete with 20KX DSP. The X-Audio does not contain a X-fi DSP chip (20KX) and is generally avoided by people when looking for X-fi's. So the only slim card you may want is the X-gamer. Hope this clears it up for you...
BTW, the Xtreme Gamer is being put out to replace the Xtreme music, which is being discontinued.
 
From Newegg's X-Fi Fatality description:

There's 64MB of onboard RAM as well, freeing up demands on your PC's memory and increasing overall gaming performance.
Click to expand...

yesssssss
/napoleon dynamite
 
The Cisco Kid said:
Ah ok, I am now less confused lol. :p
Click to expand...

Here's the X-Fi lineup from low-end to high-end (NOTE: The XMod is *not* included, as it actually replaces the Extigy, and is designed for non-internal use):

XtremeAudio: Lacks both the Crystallizer and any hardware audio acceleration. Lowest-end X-Fi in North America. Strongly recommend avoiding!

Xtreme Gamer: Released in 2006. This actually replaced the XtremeMusic in North America, and like the XtremeMusic supports both the Crystallizer and hardware audio acceleration. It typically sells for $30 less than the XtremeMusic, but includes the same bundled software. My base recommended X-Fi model, and Audigy series replacement.

Fatal1ty Professional Series: Also new for 2006. This is the same card included in the still-available X-Fi Fatal1ty, minus the bay-mountable X-FiDrive, X-RAM and all. If you play games that support X-RAM (Battlefield series), then *this* is the X-Fi for you. This model is actually *easier* to find online than retail.

X-Fi Fatal1ty: The Pro Series plus the X-FiDrive. If you need to connect to a home theater or stereo system, then this is one of two options in the X-Fi lineup, and is the least expensive.

X-Fi Platinum: The 800-pound gorilla of the X-Fi line. The X-FiDrive is in an external *breakout box*; this model is aimed almost squarely at prosumer users, not gamers (the sheer number of I/O options, as well as the software bundle, clearly reflects the miche it's aimed for). Except for the professional/prosumer audio user, this is Obvious Overkill, and the price reflects that.
 
I have a X-fi xtreme gamer and Logitech X-540 5.1 Really like this setup
i consider it a really nice surround sound with out breaking the bank
highly recomend it if your on a budget and still want the best possible sound
also would like to let you know i saw a noticable improvement in performance going from audigy 1 to X-fi xtreme gamer and the sound positioning is alot better.

I am running this in windows vista home premium 32bit no problems with drivers so far
 
Thanks again for all the replies!

I'm going to get the X-Fi Fatal1ty Xtreme Gamer Pro Series w/ the X-RAM support. I'm a BIG gamer and have some great speakers (Klipsch Pro Media Ultras 5.1) that still work just as well as the first day I got them!

This was the first time I've used onboard audio and I tell ya, I was spoiled with my Audigy. To me, the sound is night and day.

Hopefully I'll be able to grab the Fatal1ty at BestBuy tonight...fingers crossed!
 
the xram is really only used for battlefield, very few games actually use it

and I was under the impression the xtrememusic had the same features the xtremegamer has, plus some other stuff. atleast the creative website would lead you to believe that
 
The info is that the X-Game is replacing the now discontinued X-Music. They are supposed to be identical except the one card is half height.
 
weird

so I imagine the xtrememusic will no longer be supported with new drivers while the xtremegamer will?
 
All the X-fi's are basically the same card with the exception of a few components such as X-Ram or Opamps...etc. Drivers for other versions will always be compatible with the X-Music. So it would seem.
 
Audioguy said:
The info is that the X-Game is replacing the now discontinued X-Music. They are supposed to be identical except the one card is half height.
Click to expand...

So with a decent pair of headphones and some Klipsch Pro Media Ultras, will I be able to tell the difference between the slim XtremeGamer (one that's replacing the XtremeMusic) and the Fatal1ty? If the the difference is marginal, then I will opt for the slimmed version. I have plenty of RAM, so I'm not the X-RAM would make a difference.

Any thoughts?

Thanks!
 
tell a difference as in sound quality? there shouldn't be any difference at all

and here's a great thread I found that shows definitively the differences between the xmusic and the xgamer:

http://episteme.arstechnica.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/67909965/m/303005802831/p/1

scroll all the way down the the tables. the difference between the xmusic and xgamer is
just the plugs, oh and the physical size of the card. if I had known I probably would have just got the xgamer. something to note: the xgamer says it has an optical out plug which would be used for digital sound, however the digital sound is only limited to 2.1 and not surround (5.1 and 7.1)
 
spectra260 said:
zipzoomfly has the X-Fi XtremeGamer Fatality for $134 with a $40 rebate right now. $94.99 after MIR and free shipping.

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=290248
Click to expand...

Doh! I just purchased the XtremeGamer! Oh well I'm happy with it except....

I can't get my friggen speakers to work! I can get my headphones to work great via the green plug, but my speakers have ZERO sound. They were "somewhat" working with the onboard audio, but now nothing :(. I had a few moments of excitement when using the control panel, but I couldn't for the life of me get the 5.1s to all function correctly. Any thoughts??

Is there a known issue with Klipsch Pro Media Ultras?? I've had they babies for 4 years with zero problems :(.

Thanks!
 
The Cisco Kid said:
So with a decent pair of headphones and some Klipsch Pro Media Ultras, will I be able to tell the difference between the slim XtremeGamer (one that's replacing the XtremeMusic) and the Fatal1ty? If the the difference is marginal, then I will opt for the slimmed version. I have plenty of RAM, so I'm not the X-RAM would make a difference.

Any thoughts?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

You wouldn't think so, but I bought the regular xtreme gamer (slim one) and tried it in battlefield 2142, and no matter what I tried, whenever an explosion went off in the game, I got this crackling static sounds through my speakers/headphones. I returned it and bought the xtreme gamer fatal1ty edition, and all the static and stuff was gone. Nothing but crystal clear sound.
 
Ok, I'll take it back today. "Fingers Crossed" :D

UPDATE: I called Creative and they gave me a nice answer! They said the reason I couldn't hear my speakers was, because the X-Fi audio control panel is not yet optimized for Vista. I went back to the onboard audio and got ALL the speakers to function preperly YAY!

I think I'll wait until better drivers come out before purchasing an X-Fi again.

Thanks for the help all!!
 
No Kidding, You waiting for new driver from a company who has shotty drivers to begin with. I hope they get their act together for Vista. There hsa been reports of Snap, crackle and pop issues, ststic..no sound as you had. New operating system same old driver issues with them...:rolleyes:
 
Yeah I was really worried my trusty Klipsch Pro Medias were shot...thank goodness it was just cruddy drivers! I actually got them working using the onboard Realtek High-Def drivers and audio counsel. I'm actually pretty happy with the sound!
 
Audioguy said:
Have you checked out the X-Meridians? There is one nice sounding card.
Click to expand...

Hmmm....never heard of um. To be honest my Sound Card research hasn't been the most extensive. I've always used Creative except for a Turtle Beach I purchased years and years ago lol.

I'll take a look!
 
How are the Vista drivers and over all stability compared to X-Fi? Will there ever be such a thing as a stable sound card?

I think every PC I've ever built has at some time or another has run into Creative soun card problems.

So dual Audio cards?!? How does that work? Sounds awesome
 
Actually driver support on XP is rock solid from my experience. 32 Bit Vista drivers are stable as well. 64 Vista drivers are yet to be released but should be here actually any day now.. As for my DUal card setup I have a Creative Labs card and a X-Meridian installed. Game audio is processed by the Creative DSP adding EAX or OpenAL effects then the audio data is transfered internally to my X-Meridian. There is no noticable latency and no real extra overhead. The X-fi has nothing over the X-Meridian for sound quality. The only feature it doesn't have is EAX or OpenAL as of yet. Using a small application I have both. EAX, OpenAL and awesome sound quality.:cool: I have no real preference for EAX, it's for other reason...My rig does have these abilities though. :cool:
 
The X-Fi Elite Pro is a good middle-ground alternative to using two cards. The Elite Pro should scratch very close to -- or possibly surpass -- the analog output quality of the X-Meridian, but it can't deliver multichannel encoded audio out of the digital out as can the X-Meridian or other C-Media Oxygen HD-based cards, which is one of the two main reasons why one would run a dual-card configuration. For gaming, though, the Elite Pro is a bit overkill, especially considering the poor-quality compressed audio in today's games.

Very few companies are pumping out stellar Vista drivers, so Creative is certainly not the odd man out of the bunch. Of course, C-Media seems to be doing quite a great job with Vista, so that's something to consider.

Personally, if 80% of your time is spent gaming, I can't really suggest not getting an X-Fi, so I'd probably stick it out for better driver support.
 
From what I hear the Elite Pro can't stand up to it either. Espeically with modded amps.
This is from guys who own both. OF course opinions are subjective similar to sound.:cool:
 
The Cisco Kid said:
Ok so I just built a new system and am already missing my old Audigy 2 ZS. The onboard Audio just doesn't work for me. I've read some good reviews about the X-FI series, but need some help deciding on a card. Mostly used for gaming with about 20% music use.

I'm also very confused about the full X-FI cards vs. the slim versions...is there a difference in quality?

I'd like to go the slim version if the quality is good and it supports EAX.

Thanks for the help!
Click to expand...

He also left out the ELite Pro version. The Xtreme Gamer and the Xtreme Music is that same card. The difference is that;
The older Xtreme Music ships with Hard Wires for the Internal I/O Drive bay like the Platinum.
and
The AD Link for the I/O Console like the Elite Version uses.

Vista is more of a problem than the sound card LOL! But you might have gotten better help from Moofasa and others;)
 
Audioguy said:
OF course opinions are subjective similar to sound.:cool:
Click to expand...
Very true. My assumption is that the Elite Pro's output is a little cleaner and a little more accurate, while not as sonically pleasing as the X-Meridian, but that's essentially what I wanted in a sound card.

Really depends on what you're going for. I like to let other components color my sound, so I wanted a pure source.
 
Have you heard a X-M when modified with LM4562's Phide? Very nice indeed. Quite a few guys are adding these LM4562's to X-fi's now although they are surface mount chips it is being done. Actually the E-Pro is probably the only X-fi I would ever consider. If it doesn't sound even close to my XM -why bother? Quite a few people are modding the power Cap on the X-fi's aswell.
 
phide said:
Very true. My assumption is that the Elite Pro's output is a little cleaner and a little more accurate, while not as sonically pleasing as the X-Meridian, but that's essentially what I wanted in a sound card.
Click to expand...

If you use quantitative parameters to define "clean" and "accurate", the Elite Pro is ahead and the difference is not so small.

The usual suspects will jump and say that numbers mean nothing but cards that put the EP to shame for real also do it in objective tests.

Then again, people often describe a neutral sound as dull and the coloration as detail.
 
HSE said:
If you use quantitative parameters to define "clean" and "accurate", the Elite Pro is ahead and the difference is not so small.

The usual suspects will jump and say that numbers mean nothing but cards that put the EP to shame for real also do it in objective tests.

Then again, people often describe a neutral sound as dull and the coloration as detail.
Click to expand...

Falls off Chair! QFT!
 
Donnie27 said:
Falls off Chair! QFT!
Click to expand...

Nice to see your quality posts adding to the Subject at hand:rolleyes:

The E-Pro, sounds good IMO, sounds alot better then the other cards in the series for sure.
Numbers for the most part do mean nothing, where and when do they define quality?
There are lots of examples of devices that measure great and sound bad and vice versa.
 
Audioguy said:
Nice to see your quality posts adding to the Subject at hand:rolleyes:

The E-Pro, sounds good IMO, sounds alot better then the other cards in the series for sure.
Numbers for the most part do mean nothing, where and when do they define quality?
There are lots of examples of devices that measure great and sound bad and vice versa.
Click to expand...

E-Pro is great for Music and most folks are NOT going to be nit-picky enough to complain with its GREAT sound. I liked the upgraded opamps on the XMeridian slightly better but no two folks' hearing is the same and are more than likely affected by sound differently. What's great to one, might sound like shit to another.
 
If your hearing is so bad that you can't tell a soundcard sounds amazing you should save your money for hearing aids and leave the sound cards for the people who appreciate sound quality;) I have heard all of CL line up, non compare to the XM for sheer quality. The E-Pro sound very nice but the ones I heard have been modded aswell so they sound better then stock cards. Perhaps I have been spoiled by the sound of the XM. X-Fi's are being modded all the time now aswell.
 
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