Soundblaster X-Fi

Falstaff · Aug 18, 2005, 10:25 AM

Alright, read the reviews...someone out there has the card and beta testing it now, just saw the article in Maximum PC and my mouth is watering..., folks if your beta testing this product please share a commnent or two...thanx

Tipstaff · Aug 19, 2005, 06:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Falstaff

Alright, read the reviews...someone out there has the card and beta testing it now, just saw the article in Maximum PC and my mouth is watering..., folks if your beta testing this product please share a commnent or two...thanx

Same here. I read the same Maximum PC article, and am wondering the same thing. Would like to get some "I'm not being paid to give this card an A+ MUST HAVE" opinions.

jiiteepee · Aug 19, 2005, 08:21 AM

For those who have not readed any reviews - Tom's Hardware's X-Fi review
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jiitee

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MNDS · Aug 22, 2005, 03:12 PM

I got mine from Best Buy on Friday afternoon. I love the card so far, I cant say enough about it. As for the question to whether CPU Utilization is lower, I can say its substantially lower depending on exactly how many voices are being used at any given time (in games). After setting up a friends pc that also purchased an X-Fi this weekend, we ran 3dmark 03 simply in order to compare online after the sound tests which we were pretty happy with. We noticed the X-Fi dropped about 6 FPS when doing 32 voices compared with an Audigy 2 system (identical specs other than the soundcard) which dropped 12fps. The 64 Voice test dropped 10 fps on our system while an equivalent Audigy 2 based system dropped 23 fps.

Necrosis · Aug 22, 2005, 03:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MNDS

I got mine from Best Buy on Friday afternoon. I love the card so far, I cant say enough about it. As for the question to whether CPU Utilization is lower, I can say its substantially lower depending on exactly how many voices are being used at any given time (in games). After setting up a friends pc that also purchased an X-Fi this weekend, we ran 3dmark 03 simply in order to compare online after the sound tests which we were pretty happy with. We noticed the X-Fi dropped about 6 FPS when doing 32 voices compared with an Audigy 2 system (identical specs other than the soundcard) which dropped 12fps. The 64 Voice test dropped 10 fps on our system while an equivalent Audigy 2 based system dropped 23 fps.

What ?!?!?

I went to their site, and it wasn't even listed so I figured they didn't have it. I'll be picking one up this Friday.

MNDS · Aug 22, 2005, 03:37 PM

Double check that its listed as in stock in your area, we sold out here apparently. I got the XtremeMusic for 129.99 theyre now up on the site, Friday when I purchased mine they werent. I know one of the guys from hardocp from Ohio (not sure of the area) picked one up this weekend as well.

Necrosis · Aug 22, 2005, 05:28 PM

Hmm I live in a small town. However, am going to Columbus this week, and this weekend so maybe I can luck out.

Update: Yup all the stores around me have them. Friday is payday for me so hopefully they'll still have it in stock. Hmm, I wonder if Newegg has em yet?

classic_leon · Aug 22, 2005, 08:12 PM

Falstaff, your new avator is cute

Guys who tested it told me the card is good but the drivers suck.

No_Style · Aug 22, 2005, 10:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by classic_leon

Falstaff, your new avator is cute

Guys who tested it told me the card is good but the drivers suck.

Isn't it always like that? Or at least most of the time..

BTW, that avatar is of Stewie Griffin if you don't know

I want these sound cards to slide down the price rail a bit or better yet wait for a PCI-E version for S&G's.

Zelig · Aug 23, 2005, 05:27 AM

Bah, Maximum PC has notoriously bad speaker reviews, they don't cater to people worried about sound quality at all.

Falstaff · Aug 23, 2005, 05:53 AM

I have a 200 dollar ear when it comes to room speakers, I am embarrased but I have to put the headphones on to really appreciate the card, but it is worth eh? I cant believe that the new card is already out now..sheesh..got to find it!!

**temeteus82** · Aug 24, 2005, 07:47 PM

BTW. The hardware accelerated mp3 decomp wokrs on only creatives mp3 player???

xzero1 · Aug 24, 2005, 08:02 PM

Digit-life.com has an excellent review on the x-fi cards.

Tipstaff · Aug 25, 2005, 06:43 AM

Question: Has anyone up here in the "Frozen North" got one of these cards? If so, did you get it from a supplier up here, or from the country (nudge nudge) beneath us?

Just wondering, cuz I can't find a supplier that has one up here.

Necrosis · Aug 27, 2005, 04:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by temeteus82

BTW. The hardware accelerated mp3 decomp wokrs on only creatives mp3 player???

Well the crystalizer works on any player; listening to Megadeth right now with 100% /w J. River Media Center.

BTW, sweet card folks!!

I'm very impressed with the sound quality...my Klipsch's love this card.

Warpy · Aug 27, 2005, 04:17 AM

Which XFI do I use for the best game experience like BF2?

Necrosis · Aug 27, 2005, 04:53 AM

I really don't know. I just got the basic version because I don't care for the bay insert nor do I have room for it any way.

**temeteus82** · Aug 27, 2005, 07:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Necrosis

Well the crystalizer works on any player; listening to Megadeth right now with 100% /w J. River Media Center.

BTW, sweet card folks!!

I'm very impressed with the sound quality...my Klipsch's love this card.

Ok, well lets see if X-Fi price is good for me @ x-mas

tastyweat · Aug 27, 2005, 08:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MNDS

Double check that its listed as in stock in your area, we sold out here apparently. I got the XtremeMusic for 129.99 theyre now up on the site, Friday when I purchased mine they werent. I know one of the guys from hardocp from Ohio (not sure of the area) picked one up this weekend as well.

What are the differences between the three different models? is there actually any difference between the actual cards or is it just the breakout boxes?

Sandok · Aug 27, 2005, 08:38 PM

Well the two most expensive have XRAM (64mb) which is supposed to help your PC but since only topend PC guys are buying this who are already loaded with 1gig + ram, it's useless.

tastyweat · Aug 27, 2005, 08:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sandok

Well the two most expensive have XRAM (64mb) which is supposed to help your PC but since only topend PC guys are buying this who are already loaded with 1gig + ram, it's useless.

gotcha... think i'll go for the fatality fps version... although i really can't be bothered with the breakout box which is a bit of a downer... i wish they did a version like the cheapest one that is card only, but with the xram
I suppose you don't have to install the breakout box... but nvm

rico01 · Aug 28, 2005, 11:49 PM

I'm gonna buy the X-Fi Elite Pro as soon as it gets out... which seems to take forever.

Xtrememusic - plain card

Platinum - Plain card with an internal box

FPS - Card with XRAM and an internal box

Elite Pro - Best card (better DACs and ADCs than the rest) with XRAM and an external box

classic_leon · Aug 29, 2005, 08:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by No_Style

Isn't it always like that? Or at least most of the time..

BTW, that avatar is of Stewie Griffin if you don't know

I want these sound cards to slide down the price rail a bit or better yet wait for a PCI-E version for S&G's.

But I like the Chinese gal on your avatar more

. I think she is Chen, a Chinese pop-star.

Aug 18, 2005, 10:25 AM	#1
Falstaff Old Codger Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: USAFA Posts: 19,048 Rep Power: 207	Soundblaster X-Fi Alright, read the reviews...someone out there has the card and beta testing it now, just saw the article in Maximum PC and my mouth is watering..., folks if your beta testing this product please share a commnent or two...thanx __________________ "Inspiration is always a surprising visitor."

Aug 22, 2005, 03:12 PM	#4
MNDS DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: NY Posts: 7 Rep Power: 0	I got mine from Best Buy on Friday afternoon. I love the card so far, I cant say enough about it. As for the question to whether CPU Utilization is lower, I can say its substantially lower depending on exactly how many voices are being used at any given time (in games). After setting up a friends pc that also purchased an X-Fi this weekend, we ran 3dmark 03 simply in order to compare online after the sound tests which we were pretty happy with. We noticed the X-Fi dropped about 6 FPS when doing 32 voices compared with an Audigy 2 system (identical specs other than the soundcard) which dropped 12fps. The 64 Voice test dropped 10 fps on our system while an equivalent Audigy 2 based system dropped 23 fps. __________________ Pentium D 830 2 x 512 Megs PC5400 Corsair XMS2 DDR2 Ram Biostar 945P Mobo eVGA PCI-Express 6800GT w/ NV5Silencer PCI SB X-Fi Xtreme Music

Aug 22, 2005, 03:37 PM	#6
MNDS DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: NY Posts: 7 Rep Power: 0	Double check that its listed as in stock in your area, we sold out here apparently. I got the XtremeMusic for 129.99 theyre now up on the site, Friday when I purchased mine they werent. I know one of the guys from hardocp from Ohio (not sure of the area) picked one up this weekend as well. __________________ Pentium D 830 2 x 512 Megs PC5400 Corsair XMS2 DDR2 Ram Biostar 945P Mobo eVGA PCI-Express 6800GT w/ NV5Silencer PCI SB X-Fi Xtreme Music

Aug 22, 2005, 05:28 PM	#7
Necrosis HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: Ohio Posts: 8,838 Rep Power: 131 System Specs	Hmm I live in a small town. However, am going to Columbus this week, and this weekend so maybe I can luck out. Update: Yup all the stores around me have them. Friday is payday for me so hopefully they'll still have it in stock. Hmm, I wonder if Newegg has em yet? Last edited by Necrosis; Aug 22, 2005 at 05:34 PM.

Aug 22, 2005, 08:12 PM	#8
classic_leon HardwareHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Wu Han, Hu Bei, P.R.China Posts: 1,238 Rep Power: 0	Falstaff, your new avator is cute Guys who tested it told me the card is good but the drivers suck. __________________ Fashion keeps us alive. YouP-PAX Please visit http://www.A-PAX.co.uk to discuss the computer mods. The latest YouP PAX modded drivers are provided on the site.

Aug 19, 2005, 08:21 AM	#3
jiiteepee HardwareHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: FI Posts: 400 Rep Power: 0	For those who have not readed any reviews - Tom's Hardware's X-Fi review [color=#000000] jiitee [/color]

Aug 23, 2005, 05:27 AM	#10
Zelig HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Canada Posts: 3,187 Rep Power: 71 System Specs	Bah, Maximum PC has notoriously bad speaker reviews, they don't cater to people worried about sound quality at all. __________________ --

Aug 23, 2005, 05:53 AM	Thread Starter #11
Falstaff Old Codger Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: USAFA Posts: 19,048 Rep Power: 207	I have a 200 dollar ear when it comes to room speakers, I am embarrased but I have to put the headphones on to really appreciate the card, but it is worth eh? I cant believe that the new card is already out now..sheesh..got to find it!! __________________ "Inspiration is always a surprising visitor."

Aug 24, 2005, 08:02 PM	#13
xzero1 DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 18 Rep Power: 0	Digit-life.com has an excellent review on the x-fi cards.

Aug 25, 2005, 06:43 AM	#14
Tipstaff HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Real capital of Canada: Torauna Posts: 6,773 Rep Power: 190 System Specs	Question: Has anyone up here in the "Frozen North" got one of these cards? If so, did you get it from a supplier up here, or from the country (nudge nudge) beneath us? Just wondering, cuz I can't find a supplier that has one up here. __________________ Portal: The Flash Version _________________________________ Brain: So, you sacked the cocky khaki Kicky Sack sock plucker? Mr. Sackett: The second cocky khaki Kicky Sack sock plucker I've sacked since the sixth sitting sheet slitter got sick.

Aug 27, 2005, 04:17 AM	#16
Warpy DriverHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: USA Posts: 2,761 Rep Power: 0	Which XFI do I use for the best game experience like BF2? __________________ The nine most terrifying words in the English language are, "I'm from the government and I'm here to help."

Aug 27, 2005, 04:53 AM	#17
Necrosis HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: Ohio Posts: 8,838 Rep Power: 131 System Specs	I really don't know. I just got the basic version because I don't care for the bay insert nor do I have room for it any way.

Aug 27, 2005, 08:38 PM	#20
Sandok DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 9,472 Rep Power: 0	Well the two most expensive have XRAM (64mb) which is supposed to help your PC but since only topend PC guys are buying this who are already loaded with 1gig + ram, it's useless.

Aug 28, 2005, 11:49 PM	#22
rico01 Audio Junkie Join Date: May 2004 Posts: 126 Rep Power: 0	I'm gonna buy the X-Fi Elite Pro as soon as it gets out... which seems to take forever. Xtrememusic - plain card Platinum - Plain card with an internal box FPS - Card with XRAM and an internal box Elite Pro - Best card (better DACs and ADCs than the rest) with XRAM and an external box __________________ My middle-name is Audiophile. Last edited by rico01; Aug 28, 2005 at 11:55 PM.