Anyone have an X-Fi? [Archive]

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Fibbles

25th May 2006, 07:20

I'm currently debating wether or not to buy a Creative Labs X-Fi Xtreme Music. I want the Fatality for the front panel and X-Ram, but I'm not prepared to pay out my butt for it ($289 vs $120 for the Fatality).

I've read a bunch of reviews and all, but are there any user opinions anyone would like to share?

I've got an Audigy 2 (plain) right now.

lbreevesii

27th May 2006, 16:43

gnarly pricing, but i'd love to have the fatal1ty. I may buy one once I get my nice speakers built.

Fibbles

30th May 2006, 16:27

I just bought an X-Fi XtremeMusic @ ZipZoomFly for $113 + $2 for Fed Ex 2 day shipping. The free shipping option uses 5-7 day Fex Ex Home Ground :o

It also has a $30 mail in rebate (must buy by tomorrow and post the rebate by June 30th).

The Fatal1ty is $259 with an $80 MIB and the Platinum is $171 with a $40 MIB.

Pretty good deals, if the rebates do come. I seem to have missed this offer at Newegg.

bobvillain

30th May 2006, 18:59

:thumb:

Thanks for the heads up! I just ordered one. I've been waiting to find it for under $100.

Fibbles

31st May 2006, 03:06

:thumb:

Thanks for the heads up! I just ordered one. I've been waiting to find it for under $100.

Cool, same here. Best Buy had them for $99 apparently, but I missed the sale. Oddly enough, I had no idea there was a sale :o

Pyrokinetic

31st May 2006, 06:17

Fibbles

31st May 2006, 06:31

I own an X-Fi XtremeMusic and really like it, however, I have to use a headphone extension cable to use my headphones. I also have to reach around the back of the case to switch between my 2.1 speakers and the headphones--a real pain. I now wish I had coughed up the money for the Platinum edition, which I probably will do after I convert my current system to a LAN rig. (When I upgrade my main system late this year).

I was really close to buying the platinum. What stopped me is worry. Worry about what? Well, first there's the crackling/popping issue people (seems like a lot of people are on CL's forum) and then there's the new gaming oreinted soundcard comming from Razer (makers of the Diamondback/Cooperhead mice). That was announced at CeBit earlier this year - it's a sound system using a pair of proprietary phones and the soundcard. Supposedly with a 720° range of aural whatever's that's aiming high for CL's X-Fi series. That system is interchangable, meaning you don't need to use Razer's phones and the soundcard 100%, but you can use either one with your other stuff (like the card with my HD555 Senn's). If that card is awesome, I might want one and if I love it, what would I do with the X-Fi? I know it's too early to make any statements about anything, but I wanna think about the future - I don't do that with my water cooling and now I have too much stuff that I'l never use. It all builds up! Sigh!!!

I'm gonna have your issue with the constant switching: my new Creative Labs 5.1 speakers don't have a headphone jack :angry: (why didn't I notice that earlier?) If all goes well and I prefer my phones to speakers on the X-Fi, I'll just use the phones eclusively (the speakers were only $50, sigh...) I want to listen to Klipsch's Ultra 2.0 set - they have a phone jack and a line in for an MP3 player.

Marquee

31st May 2006, 07:02

I have the Creative X-Fi FATAL1TY edtion card. The card works well comes with great software to orginize muise sort and create music. Its the best card I think out there but does cost alot. From my point its worth it.

Note: If you a hardcore gamer dont intall the software for the Remote because it runs 24/7 and take uplot of memory. Also make sure to have great headpone not sure what your using but good sound card+bad phones = shitty game play.

Fibbles

31st May 2006, 09:15

I almost got the Fata1ty, but I don't want to spend that much with the Razer card out there.

Sennheiser HD 555's are my phones. They were $145

Marquee

31st May 2006, 13:44

Does the Razer sound card have a setting like x-ram. Something like a large memory for loading large sound files?

Da_Rude_Baboon

31st May 2006, 14:18

Is the X-RAM used for anything though and does having X-RAM show a proved performance increase?

Fibbles

31st May 2006, 14:25

Does the Razer sound card have a setting like x-ram. Something like a large memory for loading large sound files?

Check the links for anything like that. Heck, it might just be a Creative gimmick for all we know.

Is the X-RAM used for anything though and does having X-RAM show a proved performance increase?

That's what I want to know. How usefull is X-Ram and who'd using it? BF2 uses it, well, they use the X-Fi for the highest level of audio, but I don't know if they use the X-Ram. The other X-Fi cards actually have 2mb while the X-Ram enabled cards have 64, or at least that's my understanding of what a Creative forum admin said.

Marquee

31st May 2006, 18:24

The X-RAM is not what makes the performance boost. Its the card. The X-Fi card process sound better with out the need of the CPU power. The X-RAM comes in use if you a hardcore game. With X-RAM the game will load up and use high quality large files. They will give a more Rich gaming experience. The X-Fi core is what gives the performance boost. So if you like to game and sound is important then its time for X-RAM cards. If your just anther gamer that games a little then go for the X-Fi card with out X-RAM.

Fibbles

1st June 2006, 02:53

Well DRB, it seems that X-RAM caches uncompressed audio.

Marquee, would you mind explain how it is that the X-RAM works there? You just mention that certain cards are better for games, but give no reason of why. We're after the why's and how's :thumb:

I changed the order of my post, but the forum seemed to die in between that and would not let me change it, so I left it.

cobalt6700

1st June 2006, 08:12

Well DRB, it seems that X-RAM caches uncompressed audio.

Marquee, would you mind explain how it is that the X-RAM works there? You just mention that certain cards are better for games, but give no reason of why. We're after the why's and how's :thumb:

Well DRB, it seems that X-RAM caches uncompressed audio.

did you mean to say that twice?

or is it just the old age catching up with you? :D

Da_Rude_Baboon

1st June 2006, 09:56

Pardon?

I would still like to see some performance figures though comparing a card with or with out X-RAM.

Greeny

1st June 2006, 13:48

According to the CPC review, theirs no difference between the 64MB equipped x-fi and the standard x-fi as far as performance is concerned. No figures for you, but I guess figures which are identical aren't very interesting anyway.

http://www.custompc.co.uk/custompc/reviews/79312/creative-sound-blaster-xfi-xtreme-music.html

Tits on a bull.

Greeny

1st June 2006, 14:05

Tom's has some actual figures which were provided by Creative running on a modified Unreal 2004 engine.

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/2005/08/18/creative_x/page22.html

Some gains to be had possibly if anyone actually decides to use it.

Da_Rude_Baboon

1st June 2006, 17:09

Nice links. A couple of things worry me though.

The graph below (source: Creative) gives you an idea of the effectiveness of X-RAM, which increases with the number of voices used...

...Naturally, this demonstration remains fairly theoretical for the moment; we'll have to wait to see what game developers will do with this new technology. We'll report back to you when the first optimized games become available.

Greeny

1st June 2006, 18:24

I hear the new top-end card will also come with some "magic beans" which you can plant in the garden and grow-your-own quad SLI setup. Still not interested?

Marquee

2nd June 2006, 00:58

Fibbles

2nd June 2006, 06:02

Ok in a nut-shell the X-RAM is not a performance boost in you computer. The X-RAM is a performance boost in your gaming experience. The X-RAM with some games enables the loading of high quality (larger) audio files. The high quality files gives you a better environment feeling.

Its not about performance with the X-RAM. All the X-Fi card use the same chips and the same core. I am sure a card with X-RAM will perform less then anther card with out X-RAM because you have to load all that files to the memory and then un-load it. But this performance difference should be small.

I doubt it. Performance boost? To boost performance you need number, and Creative has only its own BS #'s. You mean it enhances the gaming feeling? So to get a better gaming experience I have to shell out more money. Creative says all the X-Fi cards enhance gaming and the X-RAm only works when optimised for it.

A review I read stated that the Creative UT2k4 demo was um, blown up a bit - their real world testing showed nothing, except maybe a 0.1% difference.

Marquee

2nd June 2006, 10:35

Pug

2nd June 2006, 12:10

I am 100% sure that my computer when upgrading from a PCI Creative 128 Sound Blaster card that my computer runs better. Also the sound quility is pure L33t. I have yet to exprince that static sound and poping also. And the X-RAM is LeeT when you play games like quake 4 and FEAR.
What is this LeeT of which you speak?
You can buy this? :huh:

I guess you're too young to remember the AWE64 Gold and its SIMM sockets then?
This is really nothing new - it's just marketing spin aimed specifically at users like yourself.
gg Creative. :rolleyes:

PS. Fwiw, I don't "exprince poping" either. :shrug:

Psykotik

2nd June 2006, 13:02

Exprince poping?

Isn't that something to do with absconding monarchs taking residence as a pontiff?

Da_Rude_Baboon

2nd June 2006, 14:35

I saw a program called body popping with the pope. Might be something to do with that.

Fibbles

6th June 2006, 14:46

Some people have nasty crackling and popping noises comming from speakers that are hooked up to an X-Fi. Luckily I don't have it either.

I don't know if the X-Fi is all that great from my Audigy 2 or I just can't tell the difference :mellow:

Oblivion doesn't seem any different, nor do any of the games I've tried. It might be worth trying out the ultra sound quality on BF2, but so far, I suppose it's an OK upgrade comming from an Audigy or lower (I really noticed a difference comming from a Live to an Audigy 2).

That being said, I'm really really looking forward to trying out Razer's solution. Kinda weird, the one time I didn't buy into Creative's hype, I don't feel the X-Fi is anything special. Coincidence or something else?

Greeny

6th June 2006, 15:02

In the old days their was nasty crackling and popping coming from the Live/Audigy cards on a few of the chipsets at the time, mostly the Via chipset boards I think. Tweaking the PCI latency timeout fixed it in some cases, in other cases it might be caused by high PCI bus frequency, sometimes different driversets might help, but it can be hard to upgrade soundplaster drivers.

I replaced my Live series card as it crackled and popped like a bastard on my AMD Via board no matter the settings/tweaks that were tried. In my case it was probably the high bus frequency as I was slightly overclocked and in them days there were no clamps for the PCI/AGP bus frequency. The creative cards seem quite intollerant of non-standard bus speed.

I find it somewhat disturbing that were quite a few generations on from the Live card and still we see the same old problems.

DickNervous

6th June 2006, 15:21

I just ordered the X-Fi Extreme Music on the basis of a friend (Gruntman), who just got one, told me the other night when he first used it. He said "I feel dirty. Like I am cheating. I can hear when people are running, walking, even crawling in CoD." That coming from a pretty hardcore gamer was enough to sell me. Not enough to sell me the Fatality one, but enough for the basic card.

Greeny

6th June 2006, 15:29

Some of the 3d audio modes do funky things in games, e.g. in the half-life 1 engine a3d has (or at least did have) roughly twice the hearing range of eax. Hax!

Marquee

6th June 2006, 17:44

I think I found a way to hear the static and popping. You need to turn you speaker volume way up. Like you need amp filed speakers. I turned them up one day and had my headset mic on. I heard that sounds.

But as soon as the music started even at low volume I didn't hear it. The X-fi has one that I like about it. Its the virtual speakers. When using a headphone in gaming mode it makes 10 virtual speakers and gives you such a surround sound feeling. I am using a Sony MRD-V500

Fibbles

6th June 2006, 19:38

When using a headphone in gaming mode it makes 10 virtual speakers and gives you such a surround sound feeling. I am using a Sony MRD-V500

That's the CMSS 3D sound. 10 virtual speakers isn't an improvement over the 9 on the Audigy 2.

Well, I was able to tell where stuff was relative to my position in games with y Audigy 2. It's just that there's not any huge improvement over that like I was expecting from reading about the card :huh: