x-fi "modes"

RedTalon19

RedTalon19

Supreme [H]ardness
Joined
Dec 10, 2000
Messages
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i just picked up an x-fi extremegamer fatal1ty pro and was wondering if the different modes really make any difference. i've set it up from the beginning as entertainment mode and when i go to play games i just always forget to switch to "game" mode and i just really dont care... unless i knew it truly made a difference. so does it?
 
'Entertainment' mode only goes up to EAX3, and that in software. No CMSS-3d for more accurate positional audio (really, REALL important for headphones or 2-speaker setups...less so for 5.1), and, IIRC, fewer channels.

'Game' mode changes that. EAX up to 5, and all hardware-accelerated. etc
 
RedTalon19 said:
i just picked up an x-fi extremegamer fatal1ty pro and was wondering if the different modes really make any difference. i've set it up from the beginning as entertainment mode and when i go to play games i just always forget to switch to "game" mode and i just really dont care... unless i knew it truly made a difference. so does it?
Click to expand...

http://www.techreport.com/reviews/2005q4/soundblaster-x-fi/index.x?pg=4

Yes, it makes a difference as most times Games will not even enable any EAX in Entertainment mode.
 
@RedTalon19, I am still trying to figure out which whiz kid came up with this bright idea. Turn on one feature you have to turn off others? :rolleyes: Strange you wouldn't be able to hear a difference, with the EAX effects or gaming.
 
it doesnt make sense to me why you would have to disable some features on the card to get "better performance" in another area, doesnt make sense to me.

anyways the games i've been playing recently have been HL1 mods and Fallout :p

so should i just set the card to Game mode and leave it be, espically since that gives it full hardware acceleration?

edit - going to read that article linked above now
 
Doesn't make much sense to me either. Anyway the way I understand it is when your gaming if your don't have it set in Game Mode you won't get any artificial effects added like EAX or OpenAL.
 
k thanks, i can probalby learn to remember to switch to game mode when i play, but afterwords its gonna be a pain in the ass to go back to entertainment mode. pain in my ass... there should be a feature to automatically switch to game mode if any application from a user name list is running, but then default back to a mode afterwords. le sigh.
 
RedTalon19 said:
it doesnt make sense to me why you would have to disable some features on the card to get "better performance" in another area, doesnt make sense to me.

anyways the games i've been playing recently have been HL1 mods and Fallout :p

so should i just set the card to Game mode and leave it be, espically since that gives it full hardware acceleration?

edit - going to read that article linked above now
Click to expand...

The truer and uninterrupted the path, the better the end result sound wise. You'd want to add EAX for Games but not for Music. Since game sounds aren't real to start with, you add EAX to make them *little more realistic. These settings tend to screw up real recordings and HD Playback. You might want Bit Matched Playback, you can't do that with sound effects added, it would mess it up as well.

You set the card to Game Mode so the Hardware Can process the sounds=P Even Direct Sound 3D is done with lower latency and EAX adds some realism to the FAKE game sounds. Please get advice from other X-FI users as well. Game Mode also makes the card use OpenAL when a Games support it.
 
RedTalon19 said:
k thanks, i can probalby learn to remember to switch to game mode when i play, but afterwords its gonna be a pain in the ass to go back to entertainment mode. pain in my ass... there should be a feature to automatically switch to game mode if any application from a user name list is running, but then default back to a mode afterwords. le sigh.
Click to expand...

There is a solution that does the switching automagically:

http://www.freewebs.com/spectra9/xfmc.html
 
i guess the way you describe the needs for the different modes makes sense.

i'll try out the XFMC app, sounds like exactly what i was looking for
 
[Could have had a V8 slap on the head] Doh, thanks HSE[/Could have had a V8 slap on the head]
 
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