So today I went to Best Buy, and bought my X-Fi Fatal1ty. I will review it below, in different phases. For a review summary: Wow.
1. Installation
If you are used to messing inside your computer, installation isn't hard at all. If you aren't though, it could be a little tricky.
First, I removed an empty front panel. Then I connected the cables to the front I/O box, and placed it in. Next, I connected the soundcard itself to an empty PCI slot. The last step was to connect the power splitter to the motherboard, this was the tricky one for me because I had to really reach and fiddle to get it in. Besides that, installation wasn't too bad.
The software takes a little while to install though, even though I have high-end specs.
My specs:
P4 3.6ghz
2 Gigs of DDR533 Mushkin Ram
2x 74gig raptors RAID 0
6800GT
I previously had an Audigy 2 ZS. Not a bad card at all..but no comparison anymore.
2. Speaker sound quality
First I tested with my Logitech Z-680 5.1 speakers. I loaded up some music, and wow. The sound was very clear, the bass was very powerful. Definitely a noticable difference right away!
Then I loaded up BF2- lol! Amazing sound. The gun shots are crystal clear. You can hear in 3-D where people are, all around you. Explosions are earth shattering, you really feel it.
Oh, did I mention I can finally select the X-fi Ultra sound settings and actually have the hardware to use it? Awesome.
3. Headphone sound quality
I tested with 3 different headphones: For gaming, Steel Sound 5H, which is pretty much the best out there in terms of gaming.
The sound was amazing, it felt like 5.1 speakers in my head. Very clear sound, and much better then the Audigy 2 ZS.
Next, were the Sennheiser HD650 and HD280 for music. I could definitely tell a difference, music (classical only) was very clear, and the sound has much more of a polish to it, even with high end headphones.
4. Game performance
I tested Painkiller, CSS, Wc3, Doom 3, and BF2. All games felt a bit faster then normal, I would attribute that to the X-ram. They just felt like they ran a bit smoother, harder to judge. I need more time to be able to tell.
4. Conclusion
I have a glass side panel, so the soundcard is visible. It looks like a standard card, but there is a red glowing F for Fatal1ty on the side. Very nice! The front I/O is also very handy, and looks great to boot.
For everyone who thought x-Fi was hype, it isn't. It really is a big difference in sound. If you care about your music and gaming performance, get it.
1. Installation
If you are used to messing inside your computer, installation isn't hard at all. If you aren't though, it could be a little tricky.
First, I removed an empty front panel. Then I connected the cables to the front I/O box, and placed it in. Next, I connected the soundcard itself to an empty PCI slot. The last step was to connect the power splitter to the motherboard, this was the tricky one for me because I had to really reach and fiddle to get it in. Besides that, installation wasn't too bad.
The software takes a little while to install though, even though I have high-end specs.
My specs:
P4 3.6ghz
2 Gigs of DDR533 Mushkin Ram
2x 74gig raptors RAID 0
6800GT
I previously had an Audigy 2 ZS. Not a bad card at all..but no comparison anymore.
2. Speaker sound quality
First I tested with my Logitech Z-680 5.1 speakers. I loaded up some music, and wow. The sound was very clear, the bass was very powerful. Definitely a noticable difference right away!
Then I loaded up BF2- lol! Amazing sound. The gun shots are crystal clear. You can hear in 3-D where people are, all around you. Explosions are earth shattering, you really feel it.
Oh, did I mention I can finally select the X-fi Ultra sound settings and actually have the hardware to use it? Awesome.
3. Headphone sound quality
I tested with 3 different headphones: For gaming, Steel Sound 5H, which is pretty much the best out there in terms of gaming.
The sound was amazing, it felt like 5.1 speakers in my head. Very clear sound, and much better then the Audigy 2 ZS.
Next, were the Sennheiser HD650 and HD280 for music. I could definitely tell a difference, music (classical only) was very clear, and the sound has much more of a polish to it, even with high end headphones.
4. Game performance
I tested Painkiller, CSS, Wc3, Doom 3, and BF2. All games felt a bit faster then normal, I would attribute that to the X-ram. They just felt like they ran a bit smoother, harder to judge. I need more time to be able to tell.
4. Conclusion
I have a glass side panel, so the soundcard is visible. It looks like a standard card, but there is a red glowing F for Fatal1ty on the side. Very nice! The front I/O is also very handy, and looks great to boot.
For everyone who thought x-Fi was hype, it isn't. It really is a big difference in sound. If you care about your music and gaming performance, get it.
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