Creative Labs Soundblaster Z $59.99 FSSS

So I take it this is probably better than my Hifiman Express HM-101? Because I would love to bring that to work for my Mac Mini and get something to put in my desktop at home.
 
WTF! I just bought it last week for $65.

I want my $5 back.

For those considering, I went from on-board Asus audio to this card and the difference was mind-blowing. I was a big skeptic too.
 
Can you use that mic for gaming?

My headset has an integrated mic so I have not tested.

My best guess: Yes, you can use the included mic for gaming.

From what I've read you place it in front of you and some kind of beam-forming magic means that only the audio directly in front of the mic is picked up. I would say give it a shot as the card itself is well worth $60.

Check out the amazon/newegg reviews as some commented on the mic.

From Amazon: "...At 10 feet away from the mic I can speak normal and it never misses a word. ..."
 
A software switch that allows you to change between headphones and speakers without having to climb behind the computer and unplug the headphones each time sounds pretty awesome.
 
Excellent price!

I didn't think this would go much lower than the price last week. This is near the historic low for the OEM version!
 
still on the fence because i have an x-fi titanium, does this have the onboard ram? and also unsure with the step back from 7.1 down to 5.1

any input from x-fi upgraders?
 
I have an X-Fi Titanium right now (have had it for years, it got stuck in the closet in favor of on-board because the drivers and control panel are so poor), and I had the Z before. The X-Fi sucks to be honest. I can never get it to work right, right now I have to switch the sound mode every time I boot up otherwise I get no sound. That alone made the Z worth it, I'm about to grab one of these.
 
Thanks OP; I might have dismissed the DOTD without clicking through and missed this entirely!

I'm excited; my onboard Realtek's lack of DTS encoding has really been bugging me as I have not been able to experience games in 5.1 on my home theater!
 
still on the fence because i have an x-fi titanium, does this have the onboard ram? and also unsure with the step back from 7.1 down to 5.1

any input from x-fi upgraders?

Just another data point for you, but Titanium here as well I'm holding off. Everyone says to buy the Z to escape driver issues, but here we are weeks after the Windows 8.1 update and Creative is dragging its feet to fix the new problems. After waiting months for a working Windows 8 driver just for the Titanium, I'm not ready to start that process over again.

Right now they're targeting January 2014 for a proper 8.1 driver, which is just laughable. Hopefully a SB Z deal or two will be floating around by then.
 
still on the fence because i have an x-fi titanium, does this have the onboard ram? and also unsure with the step back from 7.1 down to 5.1

any input from x-fi upgraders?

I have a Titanium and was researching the Z "upgrade?" as well, have Win 8.1, and after a bit of a initial pain in the ass, (no sound after reboot and settings not saving - fixed per the sleep/wake/reboot method) its working and sounding great using the newest PAX drivers - http://www.hardwareheaven.com/pax-drivers/

One thing I find odd is the processor difference, not that it matters I guess? - "The processor is Creative’s Core 3D chip (Recon3D and Z series), which the company says is a quad-core DSP with 1,200 MIPs. That sounds like a lot, but the 20K1 chip in the Creative X-Fi boasted 10,000 MIPs." - http://www.maximumpc.com/creative_sound_blaster_zxr_review

I have a 5.1 or .4 if you count all the subs... and the Titanium is working fine and sounds great to me, so I'm saving the 60 bucks.
 
Looks like its back up to $99

You can still order it from Amazon for $59.99, but they are out of stock if you are willing to play the waiting game. Look to the right at More buying choices or the 62 new option.

I also got in on the deal while it was in stock, but my onboard sound has been pretty solid, so I'm a bit leary if it was worth it.
 
The Z has the amp read the specs for the card on Creative or Newegg for that matter.
Card is now $79.99. Was going to bitch at Newegg and get a $5 coupon code but it's now more then I ordered it for. POO.

BTW I just got home to find my Z delivered by wonderful UPS with the side dented on the shipping box. Haven't opened it up yet.
 
Just double checking.

It wasn't meant mean or anything like get off your lazy a$$ and google it or something. I just know that Amazon specs for items really really sucks and they mix a ton of useless sh$% in there pages right in the middle of product details. One of these days they might get it and change how they do things. :rolleyes:

BTW Creative also has it listed at $79.99 so that is another option if Amazon claims to sell out. Even though it shows the item is being sold by Creative and fulfilled by Amazon.
 
It wasn't meant mean or anything like get off your lazy a$$ and google it or something. I just know that Amazon specs for items really really sucks and they mix a ton of useless sh$% in there pages right in the middle of product details. One of these days they might get it and change how they do things. :rolleyes:

BTW Creative also has it listed at $79.99 so that is another option if Amazon claims to sell out. Even though it shows the item is being sold by Creative and fulfilled by Amazon.

Cool thanks. And yeah fuck UPS man, they delivered a package to me couple of months back that was beat up so bad the product had literally fell out and was just an empty box. UPS guy was like. "I promise we didn't do that!" They wouldn't do shit for me. No insurance on the item, so I was fucked. It was only a $9.00 stainless steel spoon, so not too bad but still.
 
Does this card require any tinkering once it's installed (besides selecting input/output sources) or is it basically plug and play?

I'm thinking of picking one up although I may have to squeeze it between my GPUs.
 
I'm actually considering buying it used for $55.23....probably just an open package and nothing wrong with it...and not to derail a thread but is the prime membership worth it?
 
Does this card require any tinkering once it's installed (besides selecting input/output sources) or is it basically plug and play?

I'm thinking of picking one up although I may have to squeeze it between my GPUs.

That's all I did, install card, install software, play game. Nothing more.

There is a lot of configurability if you want it though. I plan on making some adjustments myself.
I'm actually considering buying it used for $55.23....probably just an open package and nothing wrong with it...and not to derail a thread but is the prime membership worth it?

Without a doubt. I shop online a lot and it has saved me a lot of time and money.

The down-side is you pay tax depending on your state for anything prime eligible.

Buying from 3rd party sellers avoids tax but they are not Prime eligible.
 
My goal is to become rich enough that I can buy my table settings one utensil at a time. You, my friend, are living the dream! :p

Haha, this made me laugh. It was for home brewing beer actually. I don't give a fuck about table settings haha.
 
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Ok so my tentative review of the card after going from X-Fi Fatal1ty Titanium (The one with the black casing). Audio through 5.1 surround sounds clearer and crisper. Software isn't as configurable as it was with the x-fi. Now headphones. I'm torn on this. The program has to actually be opened. You can't just hover over the icon or right click on it and select headphone/speaker mode. The program has to actually be pulled open to switch and if your not on that screen you have to go to that screen also. Come on are these programers 12?

Audio through the amp using the headphone selection sucks bass wise. It's pretty flat and sounds like the shitty as hell Beats headphones I listened at BB today. The Sony MDR-XB400 was a much better sounding headset and had much much deeper bass then Beats. So that is what I ordered on Amazon for my Daughter that wants Beats for x-mas. LOL She will thank me I'm sure.

Anyway back to the bass through headphones wtf is the deal I haven't tried in a game yet as the game I've been playing lately has a 1.2gig patch today so It's patching I guess I'll get a seat in it after 10pm central to see how it sounds from what it did most of this morning on the xfi through front audio connection.

I wouldn't think having the front I/O Cable hooked up to the back of the card would cut out anything from the headphone jack as it should act the same I would think or does it actually have to be just hooked to the board and no front audio header connected to the card? The vague instructions didn't mention anything otherwise so I would thing the headphone jack in the back on the card or the one on the front of my case would act the same. (I tested my Gamecom headset out off the card in back. Haven't even tried the front audio connection since I have them already hooked up in rear.

If the bass isn't better then before then I might as well send this thing back to Newegg as I rarely get to listen to my surround sound (fiancee nags) and have my headphones on all the time when I game. Maybe I should have ordered the G35 instead of this damn card for my purposes.

:-( Impulse buys suck donkey.........
 
Ok so my tentative review of the card after going from X-Fi Fatal1ty Titanium (The one with the black casing). Audio through 5.1 surround sounds clearer and crisper. Software isn't as configurable as it was with the x-fi. Now headphones. I'm torn on this. The program has to actually be opened. You can't just hover over the icon or right click on it and select headphone/speaker mode. The program has to actually be pulled open to switch and if your not on that screen you have to go to that screen also. Come on are these programers 12?

Audio through the amp using the headphone selection sucks bass wise. It's pretty flat and sounds like the shitty as hell Beats headphones I listened at BB today. The Sony MDR-XB400 was a much better sounding headset and had much much deeper bass then Beats. So that is what I ordered on Amazon for my Daughter that wants Beats for x-mas. LOL She will thank me I'm sure.

Anyway back to the bass through headphones wtf is the deal I haven't tried in a game yet as the game I've been playing lately has a 1.2gig patch today so It's patching I guess I'll get a seat in it after 10pm central to see how it sounds from what it did most of this morning on the xfi through front audio connection.

I wouldn't think having the front I/O Cable hooked up to the back of the card would cut out anything from the headphone jack as it should act the same I would think or does it actually have to be just hooked to the board and no front audio header connected to the card? The vague instructions didn't mention anything otherwise so I would thing the headphone jack in the back on the card or the one on the front of my case would act the same. (I tested my Gamecom headset out off the card in back. Haven't even tried the front audio connection since I have them already hooked up in rear.

If the bass isn't better then before then I might as well send this thing back to Newegg as I rarely get to listen to my surround sound (fiancee nags) and have my headphones on all the time when I game. Maybe I should have ordered the G35 instead of this damn card for my purposes.

:-( Impulse buys suck donkey.........

Well that sucks hearing the bass isn't worth a dam...would you says its worse than your xfi? I may end up ordering a used one just so i can give my video card some breathing room as my xfi is the older pci version and sits right below my xfx7970 due to the motherboard slot layouts.
 
I can't imagine the bass sucking that bad compared to an older card...are you sure it's set up properly?
 
I can't imagine the bass sucking that bad compared to an older card...are you sure it's set up properly?

He might find out his headphone sound stage is now accurate. There are some sets that have very limited base to provide more clarity, and if the sound is more accurate it might sound like there is much less. It's also possible his sliders got reset when he installed new sound drivers.
 
Thanks OP. Been looking to replace my on board soundcard for a while on my eyefinity gaming rig.
 
I think I might pull the trigger on this. If I drop this in my 3rd PCI-E slot, will it affect the speeds of the other lanes?
 
I think I might pull the trigger on this. If I drop this in my 3rd PCI-E slot, will it affect the speeds of the other lanes?

You may want to check your manual, but it appears that it will work ok:

http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/P8Z68VGEN3/#specifications

"*2: The PCIe x16_3 slot shares bandwidth with PCIe x1_1 slot, PCIe x1_2 slot, USB3_34 and eSATA. The PCIe x16_3 default setting is in x1 mode."

EDIT/Note to the guy above talking about the G35's instead: Don't do it! I own the G35's and G930's and they have, in my esteemed opinion, horrible bass. I do like the convenience of the attached microphone, but they in no way compare to a good set of headphones and a sound card.
 
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