Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic

[clarky]

Re: Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic

yeah i have read in custom pc (think it was) that when thay tested the card with the ram aginst the card without the ram there was no difarance, but i will definantly get the music version

[Jofaba]

Re: Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic

I wanted the xtreme music card but Best Buy and Circuit City were both out of it. Only Circuit City had this card. I really don't need any of the stuff that comes in the front bay unit... but it sure looks purdy heh. Knobs all goin thisaway and thaddaway, boobily buttons and such. I like closing my eyes and turning the knobs ever so slowly...

Eh, whatever, it's just a trial period. I'm pretty happy so far, but there are definately some weird quirks. Here's one I seem to be able to reproduce for others to see:

Play level (Karkand for example). End game. Open new level (Dalian Plant for example). FPS around 25. Pause, exit to desktop, don't change anything, go back into level, fps quickly glides into the 60+ range. *shrug*

[Jofaba]

Re: Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic

Been reading old forums about XFI cards and problems, but like I said, they're all pretty old. I assume the new drivers addressed everything. I just realized that XFI has it's own setting lol. Anyone know if this setting (with Ultra high) is for the xram version only? Thanks =)

[Jofaba]

Re: Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic

Well been two days now and I've decided to return the card because there hasn't been any peformance increase. In fact, I think there's a slight hit when you're in X-FI mode at Ultra High. However, I'm not returning it because it's a bad card. I'm going to use the money to upgrade my processor for now, and later on down the road I'll get the card again (or possibly upgrade to the Fatal1ty or Pro version if by that point the xram starts to bloom in future games), as well as get a full surround speaker setup. Unfortunately, at this moment, a peformance boost is more important to me than a boost in audio quality. Especially since I live with a family and playing loud isn't always an option.

Luckily my roomate/landlord has a 3700 San Diego and is going to let me test it in my computer. If the results are what I'm hoping them to be, then I'm going to get the 4000+ version, which costs about $340 on Newegg. I'm going to keep the soundcard until I get the new processor though so, for at least one day, possibly even a week, I can have both =P

[Jofaba]

Re: Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic

*Sigh* now I'm having audio problems and can't play BF2. Crackling sound is horrible. I'll play with it tomorrow when I have the patience. Grrrrrrrr

[N2K]

Re: Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic

Did you mute Line-In? and lower sound to less than halfway and raise it on your speakers or headphones?

[YodaWizeJedi]

Re: Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic

I love mine....mp3's sound so much better, even with mid-level speakers / headphones.
Oh and I definately hear things in BF that I never heard before.

Can you give some examples? I'm just curious since I'm thinking of upgrading from my Audigy 2 ZS.

[N2K]

Re: Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic

Have you tried the headphone settings yet?

[Papi4baby]

Re: Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic

I just bought a X-FI Music one, and is ok, there seems to be a perfomance hit. But everytime i turn the FPS thing on, i pay more attention to it than the game, so with it on i notice somehting, with it off, i do notice it, but is not too bad, i lower is to high but still on X-Fi an it seems to be fine.

[Jofaba]

Re: Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic

I bought an Audigy 4 today to compare. The X-Fi definately sounds better, of course, but considering that I'm possibly replacing my processor this weekend, I'm not really sure what to do. Since this isn't my "beast" computer, I think putting a $200 or $300 sound card in it is kind of dumb. The Audigy 4 was $90 and I read nothing but bad things about the x-fi online.

I was really hoping that Best Buy had this one in stock since they sell it, but they didn't:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16829102188

Since it's only $15 more than the Audigy 4, which is plainly a very basic card, maybe I'll opt for that. The only thing that worries me about it is that it's based on X-FI and I keep reading bad stuff about X-FI and BF2. Then again, if this Audigy 4 breaks down like the X-FI Platinum did, then it's just a settings issue.

Any suggestions?

[imported_Wreck]

Re: Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic

I have no issues with X-fi and BF2. I'd pick the X-Fi every time.

[Jofaba]

Re: Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic

Do you think the Xtreme Music is basically the same as the X-FI Platinum (minus the bay unit which I don't need or use)? I spoze if that ends up being my decision I'll have to spend the time this weekend to figure out why the Platinum went haywire. The Xtreme music certinally seems better than the Audigy 4, and only a $15 difference ($35 at Best Buy).

[imported_Wreck]

Re: Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic

Do you think the Xtreme Music is basically the same as the X-FI Platinum (minus the bay unit which I don't need or use)? I spoze if that ends up being my decision I'll have to spend the time this weekend to figure out why the Platinum went haywire. The Xtreme music certinally seems better than the Audigy 4, and only a $15 difference ($35 at Best Buy).

It's the same basic card. Im not sure if the Platinum has the extra Xram, but it doesn't help much anyway. I'm very happy with the extreme music.

[Jofaba]

Re: Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic

No it doesn't have the xram. That's the only difference between it and the Fatal1ty (which is an extra $100). However I was wrong, this Audigy was actually $83. I guess if music sounds good and games sound good, it's basically a waste to spend a dollar more.

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edit: in this computer. I am planning on building a beast in about 6 months. This is also leading me to think about getting the 3700+ instead of the 4000+ if I end up upgrading my processor.

[Papi4baby]

Re: Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic

Well if you have your 3200 running at 2.4 i the 4000 will be an improvement, but i doub you will be able to notice it by just looking at it.