X-fi XtremeGamer Fatal1ty Pro series

i have the X-Fi xtrememusic.

http://www.soundblaster.com/products/product.asp?category=1&subcategory=208&product=14066

It appears that they all have the same capabilities but with different software bundles and ports.

cant comment on the fatal1ty, but in terms of the X-Fi a great card. You will run into trouble on Windows VIsta but on XP performance is great.

Gaming perfomance is awesome and music performance awesome.

The 24 bit crystalizer delivers noticeable quality if you decide to go that route.

Have not tried the CMSS-3D audio on headphones yet but i can imagine it being pretty wicked.

I see the fatal1ty offers a thing called game ram or something. only real difference i can see.



I am using creative speakers so the match is great.
 
Agreed.

I have the XtremeMusic and I'm very happy with it. It's probably the best bang for your buck card, the extra ports and whatnot are only really useful if you're a musician or are going to use the extra fuctionality.

As for CMSS-3D, bleh, I prefer the music I listen to be reproduced exactly the way it was recorded, but that's a personal preference thing really.

S1ght, rather go for the cheaper XFi and spend the extra cash on a good quality amp/speaker setup/pair of headphones. I have my Xfi playing through an old (I mean 1979 kind of old) Denon amp for gaming and I use my Fostex T40RP headphones for music production, and it is a superb card.

I don't think many games really support the XFI's gaming drive/xram(whatever) yet, I'd rather upgrade my XFI later when/if more games really use this feature and put my Xtrememusic in the media center PC.

My 2c

halicon said:
i have the X-Fi xtrememusic.

http://www.soundblaster.com/products/product.asp?category=1&subcategory=208&product=14066

It appears that they all have the same capabilities but with different software bundles and ports.

cant comment on the fatal1ty, but in terms of the X-Fi a great card. You will run into trouble on Windows VIsta but on XP performance is great.

Gaming perfomance is awesome and music performance awesome.

The 24 bit crystalizer delivers noticeable quality if you decide to go that route.

Have not tried the CMSS-3D audio on headphones yet but i can imagine it being pretty wicked.

I see the fatal1ty offers a thing called game ram or something. only real difference i can see.



I am using creative speakers so the match is great.
Click to expand...
 
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Well I have the Logitech Z5500 speakers and a Plantronics DSP 400 (which is usb and wont use the sound card)... if only our prices were like america then it would be about R800 for this X-fi :)
 
S1ght said:
Hi all,

Was looking at sound cards and came across this 1 & was wondering if anyone here currently owns 1 with nice high quality speakers that can say whether R1700 for this is worth it and how well it performs :)

http://www.soundblaster.com/products/product.asp?category=1&subcategory=208&product=15854

Thanx in advance
S1ght
Click to expand...

Well if going by the creative 2.1 speakers I used to own then creative speaker fidelity is the way to go for the money you want to spend. Else those cheap home theatre systems is not a bad option as you get 5.1/7.1 sound setups for the Fatal1ty at the same time and have a DVD player for your PC to boot.
 
halicon said:
cant comment on the fatal1ty, but in terms of the X-Fi a great card. You will run into trouble on Windows VIsta but on XP performance is great.
Click to expand...

Why would you run into trouble on Vista with the X-Fi? I'm about to buy a new Windows Vista PC and was considering getting an X-Fi XtremeMusic. Are there any other cards (preferably under R1 500) that would satify my needs on Vista?

I listen to a lot of music, use my computer as an electric guitar amp with GuitarFX 3 and often use audio creation/editing tools such as FL Studio and Adobe Audition. In other words, sound quality, high SNR and low latency are very important to me.

I was also wondering whether upgrading to an X-Fi card would really make R1000's worth of improvement over onboard 8 channel, 24-bit Intel HD Audio which will be included on my motherboard? My current onboard SoundMax 6 channel is killing me.

EDIT: I'm using 2.2 Sharp speakers with an integrated 3000W PMPO amp and Sennheiser HD500 headphones, so I want to know whether I would hear a noticable improvement with my current output hardware - I don't have enough money for new speakers as well as a good sound card.
 
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I noticed a fair amount of difference from my SB Live Value compared to my new XFi Xtrememusic.

One thing the XFi does do (over alot of onboard cards) is provide good ASIO support. I've used Native Instrument's Guitar Rig 2 as a guitar amp with nex to no latency at all, perfectly responsive. When I'm working in Renoise (my music software) I can easily handle 5ms latency with ASIO, it's tops.

General music playback is sharper and more defined, but it's not catastrphic, it all boils down to how fussy you are.

If you're a gamer, the XFi will allow you to take advantage of the EAX 4 and HD audio settings in games like BF2, Quake 4 etc; etc;

There are plenty of reviews and comparisons on the XFI range which go in depth about SNR (Signal to Noise) ratios, quality, features etc;
 
When comparing the X-Fi XtremeMusic to my next motherboard's 8ch Intel HD Audio based solely on manufacturer specifications, however, the X-Fi doesn't look all that much better, I must say. Especially considering the fact that my entire motherboard with integrated audio costs R900 while the X-Fi alone costs R1 200. Compare the X-Fi XM(specs in red) with the Intel HD (specs in blue)

MAXIMUM STEREO RESOLUTION AND SAMPLING RATE
32 bit 192 kHz
32 bit 192 kHz

MAXIMUM 8ch RESOLUTION AND SAMPLING RATE
32 bit 96 kHz
32 bit 96 kHz

SNR (20kHz Low-pass filter, A-Weighted)
109dB
75 dB

THD+N at 1kHz (20kHz Low-pass filter):
>0.004%
>0.01%

PHYSICAL CONNECTORS
3-in-1 function (Digital I/O1 / Line In / Microphone) 3.50mm FlexiJack, 3.5mm Front / Rear / Side / Center / Subwoofer jacks, 4-pin Molex Aux-in jack, AD_Link (26 pin) connector
3.50mm Mic and Line-in jacks, Front/Surround/Rear/Center/LFE 3.50mm jacks, digital coaxial, digital optical
Click to expand...

Various independent sources reviewing Intel’s HD Audio on high end Realtek ALC880 codec motherboards, say it is at least as good, if not better than, the Creative Audigy4. It’s certainly cheaper than the Audigy :D

Alas, even though I know I’m being taken for a ride by Creative, I think I’m still going to buy the X-Fi XtremeMusic.

SOURCES FOR MY COMPARISON:
http://www.creative.com/products/product.asp?category=209&subcategory=669&product=14066&nav=1
http://www.digit-life.com/articles2/intel-hdaudio/intel-hdaudio.html
 
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I recently got the Xtrememusic (after months of drooling), to complement my Altec Lansing MX5021 speakers. I also use Sennheiser HD200's and HD212's when not wanting to disturb my g/f.

Besides the "I-wants-it-so-bad" factor, I was irritated by the occasional sound glitches I was experiencing with my NF4 onboard sound in games.

The X-Fi's extra software features are 'nice', but not mind-blowing. Music sounds a little better than before and the sound in gaming has smoothed out. I've admitted to myself that I would probably have been similarly satisfied with a regular Audigy 4 at half the price.

Those specs for your Intel look very decent and I'd probably agree with the comparison to the Audigy 4. If you are being irritated though, go for the X-Fi, but don't expect to be gobsmacked by the change. It felt like a subtle improvement to me.
 
Edwe said:
Why would you run into trouble on Vista with the X-Fi? I'm about to buy a new Windows Vista PC and was considering getting an X-Fi XtremeMusic. Are there any other cards (preferably under R1 500) that would satify my needs on Vista?
Click to expand...

I dont think you will have a problem, I had a problem because i was using BETA drivers, but I am sure Creative have released new drivers for Windows Vista.

I know the final driver is due for release or maybe has been released.

So yeah I blame it purely on the drivers.
 
n1hilist said:
I noticed a fair amount of difference from my SB Live Value compared to my new XFi Xtrememusic.

One thing the XFi does do (over alot of onboard cards) is provide good ASIO support. I've used Native Instrument's Guitar Rig 2 as a guitar amp with nex to no latency at all, perfectly responsive. When I'm working in Renoise (my music software) I can easily handle 5ms latency with ASIO, it's tops.

General music playback is sharper and more defined, but it's not catastrphic, it all boils down to how fussy you are.

If you're a gamer, the XFi will allow you to take advantage of the EAX 4 and HD audio settings in games like BF2, Quake 4 etc; etc;

There are plenty of reviews and comparisons on the XFI range which go in depth about SNR (Signal to Noise) ratios, quality, features etc;
Click to expand...

agree with everything said here. I also upgraded from a SB Live Value and am happy. I used my onboard crappy SoundMax Audio Chipset which is just rubbish.

Definitely good ASIO support and yesterday was the first time i watched a DVD and was bowled over by the surround performance.

Was nice shift, but if you are not into music or dont mind all right sound then onboard sound should suit your needs. (for those of you contemplating).
 
Does anyone know whether Creative will release new mid to high range sound cards for Windows Vista anytime soon? As good as the X-Fi XtremeMusic looks, it's nearly two years old.

I was wondering about alternatives to Creative cards, so I stumbled upon this little card for R1660, which looks far better than any of the Creatives I've seen. It's available from www.prophecy.co.za.
 
K, this might sound like a stupid post since I'm still a little new to the whole sound thing but say I got this sound card, would the performance increase be about the same as If I disabled my onboard sound now as it takes off the load from the cpu? :)

eg. In company of heroes with onboard enabled I get average 25fps on max at 1280x1024 but when onboard is disabled I get average 34fps...
 
It should yield slightly better performance than onboard sound, but not more than about 5% (meaning 5fps more). Modern onboard chips have improved in their performance in the past few years.

But the stability and quality of your audio may just be a little better too.
 
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