An interesting note about Creative X-Fi:
http://www.ngohq.com/home.php?page=Articles&go=read&arc_id=76
http://www.ngohq.com/home.php?page=Articles&go=read&arc_id=76
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Creative X-Fi a Warning
- Thread starter Blacklash
- Start date
- Status
ToastMaster
Limp Gawd
- Joined
- Nov 2, 2005
- Messages
- 483
There's nothing really there that hasn't already been commented on.
It's mostly an opinion piece. While they bring up some good points, like I said, it's mostly out-dated information. :/
It's mostly an opinion piece. While they bring up some good points, like I said, it's mostly out-dated information. :/
Not to mention that either he is a moron doing something very wrong..or just a liar:
http://www.ngohq.com/showpost.php?p=25664&postcount=55
Terra - This guy is a waste of time
http://www.ngohq.com/showpost.php?p=25664&postcount=55
Terra - This guy is a waste of time
I guess he didn't like what I wrote here on [H]ard
Tried to register as "Terra" on the forum, and awaited my confirmation email so I could post...instead I got this:
Guess the thruth wasn't allowed over there...
He is not even a via-proxy-IP post worth
Terra - What a troll
Tried to register as "Terra" on the forum, and awaited my confirmation email so I could post...instead I got this:
Guess the thruth wasn't allowed over there...
He is not even a via-proxy-IP post worth
Terra - What a troll
Terra said:I guess he didn't like what I wrote here on [H]ard
Tried to register as "Terra" on the forum, and awaited my confirmation email so I could post...instead I got this:
Guess the thruth wasn't allowed over there...
He is not even a via-proxy-IP post worth
Terra - What a troll
How lame... Anyway, can't you just release/renew your IP?
J-Mag said:
I got a static IP, for server purposes
I could slap him via running this PC via a proxy, but his is not woth it
*L*I take an IP ban as proof that I am right and he is a lair..cause I never got to post overthere
Terra - That site is worse than Tom's
*L*Terra said:I got a static IP, for server purposes
Seems as if I have had a quasi-static IP for years now... I don't think I have ever seen my dynamic IP change unless I start dorkin around with it.
Terra said:Terra - That site is worse than Tom's
HAH! Now that is an accomplishment.
jester1176
[H]ard|Gawd
- Joined
- Sep 26, 2002
- Messages
- 1,553
do a search for x-fi issues in google? i get 430k hits.
lol compare that to "7800 issues" brings up over 3.3 million. 5.7 million for "nvidia issues" "ati issues?" 5.2 million.
everyone has their problems.
lol compare that to "7800 issues" brings up over 3.3 million. 5.7 million for "nvidia issues" "ati issues?" 5.2 million.
everyone has their problems.
I have an X-Fi Platinum and it fails to work for me, minority or not, I am not alone in having issues with the X-Fi on a Nforce 4 board. I don't really care if I am in the majority or the minority, this is the second card I have had issues with and I am not at all pleased.
The support is not so great either, they don't read the trouble tickets and have managed to send me the same message more than once in multiple days, and told me to try a troubleshooting step that I had already told them I had tried.
The support is not so great either, they don't read the trouble tickets and have managed to send me the same message more than once in multiple days, and told me to try a troubleshooting step that I had already told them I had tried.
Look, folks, like it or not Creative and the X-Fi suck.
Creative refuses to adequately support it. They still will not disclose what chipsets are known incompatible, and when told what doesn't work, take no action. They have failed to provide any updates for known software issues either.
The crackling issues aren't from the chipset; they're from poor quality control in manufacturing, inadequate grounding, and a total lack of consideration for shielding. Inside of a computer is a high EMI/RFI environment, and the cable connecting the front panel is completely unshielded and just soaking it up. The inadequate grounding just magnifies this problem, and the inconsistencies there come from - you guessed it - bad quality control in manufacturing.
And this is the reseller side of things. Creative's relationship with their resellers is becoming acrimonious at best, because surprise surprise, word is that they're not getting any support on these issues either.
Frankly, I'm not about to sell a product where my reseller agreement is the equivalent of toilet paper as far as support is concerned. What am I supposed to tell my customers? "Sorry, the card you ordered might be incompatible, but Creative won't confirm it, so you're just going to have to eat $290 on your Visa"? Yeah, that's going to make me friends real quick. Instead I'm stuck eating hundreds testing things that Creative couldn't be bothered to test, and maintaining my own list of systems that do not work with the X-Fi because Creative refuses to admit to a problem.
Creative refuses to adequately support it. They still will not disclose what chipsets are known incompatible, and when told what doesn't work, take no action. They have failed to provide any updates for known software issues either.
The crackling issues aren't from the chipset; they're from poor quality control in manufacturing, inadequate grounding, and a total lack of consideration for shielding. Inside of a computer is a high EMI/RFI environment, and the cable connecting the front panel is completely unshielded and just soaking it up. The inadequate grounding just magnifies this problem, and the inconsistencies there come from - you guessed it - bad quality control in manufacturing.
And this is the reseller side of things. Creative's relationship with their resellers is becoming acrimonious at best, because surprise surprise, word is that they're not getting any support on these issues either.
Frankly, I'm not about to sell a product where my reseller agreement is the equivalent of toilet paper as far as support is concerned. What am I supposed to tell my customers? "Sorry, the card you ordered might be incompatible, but Creative won't confirm it, so you're just going to have to eat $290 on your Visa"? Yeah, that's going to make me friends real quick. Instead I'm stuck eating hundreds testing things that Creative couldn't be bothered to test, and maintaining my own list of systems that do not work with the X-Fi because Creative refuses to admit to a problem.
D
Deleted member 133315
Guest
Terra said:Not to mention that either he is a moron doing something very wrong..or just a liar:
http://www.ngohq.com/showpost.php?p=25664&postcount=55
Terra - This guy is a waste of time
you missed out the largest creative files, which are roughly 8mb in size each, DLLML.exe, at least one should be in the running processes, i have 2 both at 8mb, and the rest of the creative drivers, which adds up to an almighty 45mb or so, depending on what options you install, creative drivers can suck up a huge amount of ram and the nub in that picture is full of shit if he thinks his drivers only take up a few mb...
Saying that, my xfi runs like a dream, no problems what so ever, compare that to my audigy 2zs, well the audigy had a mind of its own, bluescreens, cracks squeels hisses, you name it, some were cured with the beta drivers, but creative could pull the finger out of there ass and release more drivers, as they are one of the worst companys for the size of them to only release drivers once every year or so.....
Terra said:
Way to miss the point, Terra.
It's irrelevant, and always has been. Creative could easily maintain a list of incompatible hardware just based on reseller and end-user notification. Instead they opt to put their fingers in their ears and sing loudly till the next product release.
Sorry, but that's absolutely unacceptable. Incompatibility happens, and I can accept that. I cannot and will not accept Creative's stance on the matter, which is "we have no problems whatsoever, you're all smoking crack, go away."
I have for a non working X-Fi system a with an
CPU:AMD Athlon64 3200+ Venice revision DH-E3
MoboFI Lanparty UT Nforce 4 SLI-DR
BIOShoenix Bios 6.00PG, and the DFI bios revision is 2006/04/06
GPU:XFX GeForce 7800GTX (490MHz core/1300MHz memory stock)
memory: 4x 512mb Kingston Value Ram DDR 400 ECC (pass countless hours of memtest)
PCI card:ATI HDTV wonder that functions in either PCI slot regardless of what other PCI card I put in
PSU: Thermaltake Purepower TWV 500 Watt PSU w/Active PFC
Case: Thermaltake Lanfire VM2000
Drivers: 84.25 graphics driver, 6.70 nforce driver, HDTV drivers as 1/18/06, original X-Fi drivers from CD don't work along with November web update and March beta drivers.
OS: Windows XP Pro with SP2 with patches
If you can see some glaring reason as to why the X-Fi is the only item that doesnt work regardless of system settings, driver revisions, bios version, overclocking or underclocking, and system settings, enlighten me. I purchased an X-Fi when they first came out and it ate my Windows installation and caused constant rebooting. I found from the Creative forums that their support staff admitted a problem and was taking cards back for reflashing. I contacted tech support, both linked and quoted the posting when contacting them, and it took days before they even admitted such a thing might exist.
This is now the second time that Creative has gotten a chance from me with their X-Fi, and this is twice that I have been dealing with a non-working product, less destructive than the last time at least. Regardless of any misgivings towards NGOHQ, the card is not flawless, its not an extremely rare problem, and there have been no real solutions for months.
For those counting actual memory usage, that is just over 35.5mb
CPU:AMD Athlon64 3200+ Venice revision DH-E3
Mobo
FI Lanparty UT Nforce 4 SLI-DRBIOS
hoenix Bios 6.00PG, and the DFI bios revision is 2006/04/06GPU:XFX GeForce 7800GTX (490MHz core/1300MHz memory stock)
memory: 4x 512mb Kingston Value Ram DDR 400 ECC (pass countless hours of memtest)
PCI card:ATI HDTV wonder that functions in either PCI slot regardless of what other PCI card I put in
PSU: Thermaltake Purepower TWV 500 Watt PSU w/Active PFC
Case: Thermaltake Lanfire VM2000
Drivers: 84.25 graphics driver, 6.70 nforce driver, HDTV drivers as 1/18/06, original X-Fi drivers from CD don't work along with November web update and March beta drivers.
OS: Windows XP Pro with SP2 with patches
If you can see some glaring reason as to why the X-Fi is the only item that doesnt work regardless of system settings, driver revisions, bios version, overclocking or underclocking, and system settings, enlighten me. I purchased an X-Fi when they first came out and it ate my Windows installation and caused constant rebooting. I found from the Creative forums that their support staff admitted a problem and was taking cards back for reflashing. I contacted tech support, both linked and quoted the posting when contacting them, and it took days before they even admitted such a thing might exist.
This is now the second time that Creative has gotten a chance from me with their X-Fi, and this is twice that I have been dealing with a non-working product, less destructive than the last time at least. Regardless of any misgivings towards NGOHQ, the card is not flawless, its not an extremely rare problem, and there have been no real solutions for months.
For those counting actual memory usage, that is just over 35.5mb
Weazmeister
Limp Gawd
- Joined
- Nov 15, 2005
- Messages
- 492
Same mobo, but no problems with my X-fi. Running Corsair 2GB XMS, Athlon FX55@2.95, and SLI XFX 7900GTX.
Rawr said:I have for a non working X-Fi system a with an
CPU:AMD Athlon64 3200+ Venice revision DH-E3
Mobo
BIOS
GPU:XFX GeForce 7800GTX (490MHz core/1300MHz memory stock)
memory: 4x 512mb Kingston Value Ram DDR 400 ECC (pass countless hours of memtest)
PCI card:ATI HDTV wonder that functions in either PCI slot regardless of what other PCI card I put in
PSU: Thermaltake Purepower TWV 500 Watt PSU w/Active PFC
Case: Thermaltake Lanfire VM2000
Drivers: 84.25 graphics driver, 6.70 nforce driver, HDTV drivers as 1/18/06, original X-Fi drivers from CD don't work along with November web update and March beta drivers.
OS: Windows XP Pro with SP2 with patches
If you can see some glaring reason as to why the X-Fi is the only item that doesnt work regardless of system settings, driver revisions, bios version, overclocking or underclocking, and system settings, enlighten me. I purchased an X-Fi when they first came out and it ate my Windows installation and caused constant rebooting. I found from the Creative forums that their support staff admitted a problem and was taking cards back for reflashing. I contacted tech support, both linked and quoted the posting when contacting them, and it took days before they even admitted such a thing might exist.
This is now the second time that Creative has gotten a chance from me with their X-Fi, and this is twice that I have been dealing with a non-working product, less destructive than the last time at least. Regardless of any misgivings towards NGOHQ, the card is not flawless, its not an extremely rare problem, and there have been no real solutions for months.
Why did i KNOW you where on a nforce4 mobo?
I infact have a nforce4 Mobo(Neo4 SLI) with and AMD-64 +3000.
It sits as my guest PC, becasue I don't like the nForce chipset, and the "quirks" it have.
That's why I keep using my old Intel P4 AGP rig (i850 chipset), never pulled any of the stunt that nforce did onme...and why I wait for Conroe as I have written that PC of as an error...and keep as a reminder of why I alwys used to(and in the future will buy Intel Chipsets) but thats OT.
I found something for you:
http://www.nforcershq.com/article4248.html
BTW, I have always put my soundcard in the PCI slot furthest from the CPU, where is yours located?
Terra - But that is where you are saying that you are stranded...or what?
I havent seen any problems with X-Fi's that weren't related to either a bad card or high case temperatures. The models with heatsinks have cured most all heat related problems and driver updates have fixed most audible issues.
As far as how much memory the cl apps use, if your going to spend $200-300 on a sound card, maybe you should have enough memory to use it to it's fullest.
As far as how much memory the cl apps use, if your going to spend $200-300 on a sound card, maybe you should have enough memory to use it to it's fullest.
Terra said:
*hands Terra an Ingram Micro catalog*
Go nuts. Like I can be assed to waste dozens upon dozens of hours recording every system which had issues with the X-Fi. Hint; I can't. That's Creative's responsibility.
Do I run an X-Fi now? Absolutely not. I bluntly told Creative to go to hell in as many words.
BBA said:
So, BBA, then you would recommend we all get the CD from Dell and install every little program to use an XPS400 to the fullest as well?
Translation; most of the crap Creative has installed alongside since the days of the Audigy original is just annoying bloatware. The same crap you'd nuke from an OEM system upon arrival.
I have 2GB of ram, but don't tell me that if I had any less that I am somehow doing an injustice to a soundcard. And as for spending $200-300, what about buying an X-Fi Xtreme Music, which is only $100?
And you say that its only the Nforce 4 motherboards that have the issue, go read the Creative Labs forums Terra, lots of people with Via chipsets, Intel chipsets, some Nforce 2 and 3 chipsets, and there may even be one or two with ATi chipsets are having issues. So how does this explain it being an issue with supposedly quirky Nforce 4 chipsets? Doesn't the fact that people are having issues with different chipsets mean that it just might not be a Nforce 4 only problem?
I had that original issue, I contacted Creative Labs support and it took them multiple days to even admit that there may be an issue. And how does that compare against the X-Fi not functioning in any system that contained common Adaptec SCSI cards regardless of the chipset at the time of release also?
And you say that its only the Nforce 4 motherboards that have the issue, go read the Creative Labs forums Terra, lots of people with Via chipsets, Intel chipsets, some Nforce 2 and 3 chipsets, and there may even be one or two with ATi chipsets are having issues. So how does this explain it being an issue with supposedly quirky Nforce 4 chipsets? Doesn't the fact that people are having issues with different chipsets mean that it just might not be a Nforce 4 only problem?
I had that original issue, I contacted Creative Labs support and it took them multiple days to even admit that there may be an issue. And how does that compare against the X-Fi not functioning in any system that contained common Adaptec SCSI cards regardless of the chipset at the time of release also?
You guys know you can kill all that crap with msconfig and it will still work fine, right?
CTDetect [Auto-detect and play a DVD - not essential, remove it]
CTSVCCDA.exe [Auto-detect Audio CD's - not essential, remove it]
CTXFISPI.exe [don't know - but I don't have this, so I guess you can remove it]
DLLML.exe [Creative DLL Module Loader - not essential]
CTXFIHLP.exe [Creative Help - not essential]
NotiMan.exe [don't know - but I don't have this, so I guess you can remove it]
CTHELPER.exe [creative service for third party plugins - this is reported to cause 100% CPU utilization on some systems - remove it, when it causes problems for you]
CTASIO [needed for asio - leave it, if you use this feature]
UpdReg [creative registration service - remove it]
Stolen from this post over at Creative's forums...
http://forums.creative.com/creative...=soundblaster&message.id=39758&query.id=87714
I came across this while trying to figure out what the hell DLLML.exe was and why it was pegging out one of my cores and making my system hang. Removed all this crap and it works perfectly now.
CTDetect [Auto-detect and play a DVD - not essential, remove it]
CTSVCCDA.exe [Auto-detect Audio CD's - not essential, remove it]
CTXFISPI.exe [don't know - but I don't have this, so I guess you can remove it]
DLLML.exe [Creative DLL Module Loader - not essential]
CTXFIHLP.exe [Creative Help - not essential]
NotiMan.exe [don't know - but I don't have this, so I guess you can remove it]
CTHELPER.exe [creative service for third party plugins - this is reported to cause 100% CPU utilization on some systems - remove it, when it causes problems for you]
CTASIO [needed for asio - leave it, if you use this feature]
UpdReg [creative registration service - remove it]
Stolen from this post over at Creative's forums...
http://forums.creative.com/creative...=soundblaster&message.id=39758&query.id=87714
I came across this while trying to figure out what the hell DLLML.exe was and why it was pegging out one of my cores and making my system hang. Removed all this crap and it works perfectly now.
Met-AL said:
Thx for the tip
Not that I have any problems over ever had with a soundblaster product.
I have owned:
Soundblaster 16
Soundblaster AWE32
Soundblaster AWE64
Soundblaster LIVE
Soundblaster Audigy
Soundblaster Audigy 2
Sounblaster X-Fi Elite Pro.
Terra - I guees I got lucky
No, Terra. You're what us in the OEM world call a "model customer."
You will buy anything we shove at you with a sticker on it, and say it's godlike even if it breaks after 2 days, because it's from Brand ABC.
Here, I've got the new X-Fi 2. Which is identical to the current X-Fi except it has a gold backplate and a silver faceplate. It's only $400. I'm sure you'll want two.
You will buy anything we shove at you with a sticker on it, and say it's godlike even if it breaks after 2 days, because it's from Brand ABC.
Here, I've got the new X-Fi 2. Which is identical to the current X-Fi except it has a gold backplate and a silver faceplate. It's only $400. I'm sure you'll want two.
Met-AL said:
I have to agree with you. I have an X-Fi and have none of those processes running.
This is my computer normally:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
With the mode switcher running(as soon as I close it all the processes it added go away):
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
I have never had or seen the DLLML.exe process before this thread. (that I can remember) Creative cards have a lot of bloatware, but it takes >1 minute to get rid of it all. The card still fully functions and I have access to all the features, I just have to open them from the start menu instead of the tray. You can kill every single process that Creative installs and there are no negative side effects!!
Like Terra I have run creative cards since SB16 days. The installation is the same for everyone. Install card, install software, remove all creative processes, enjoy nice soundcard and a clean/fast system. Also note that I have a Nforce4 motherboard and have no problems. Infact I build systems as a side job and have built no less than 8 systems with Nforce4/X-Fi combos, none with any problems.
A couple of questions for Terra, why in the hell do you have 50 processes running!! That's insane and what are you trying to hide by blurring out the rest of the processes??
AreEss said:
Or perhaps I just got used to that other audio solutions sucked?
I onwed one "SB 16 compatible" soundcard before I got my first Soundblaster.
Need I tell how that sucked?
Everywhere I go, and people tell about their "great onboard sound"...I pinch my eyes..and think mine.
Just took this up with 2 of my pals...both have X-Fi, neither have nForce4...but have had no problems.
My brother has no problems with his Audigy 2 ZS...
I guess I am surrounded by "model customers"
And was the "OEM" par meant to be "Argumentum ad hominem "?
I never got anything OEM, I have buildt every PC(before that I had Amiga) that I have owned myself.
I build rigs for friends, and people they point in my direction.
Don't mistake me for an "alienware"-buyer...
Hell, even the shop I ordered X-Fi from asked me if I had planned to use it in a nForce4 mobo...as they knew of the problem with some nForce4 boards...
Terra....
brom42 said:
Every open program is minimum 1 process
I like my privacy, and even if it is unlikely, knowing what processes that are running is a tell-tell sign of certain things.
Anything from exploits to stuff that is not meant for other peoples eyes.
And it not like I am putting any strees on my old P4 2.4Ghz:
This is with my music playing and other stuff open.
When I game though I cut around 15-10 processes away, stuff I don't need when gaming.
Terra - I guees I shouldn't show the the number of processes running on my server then
*L*I disabled every single X-fi process with no bad results. I only use it to listen to music/movies/games, non of the audio production features, and I usually leave it in entertainment mode unless gaming. Currently around 25 processes. 18 at times when I boot up.
Well, my X-Fi platinum just got returned for refund today after less than a week. I was already annoyed about paying an extra $80 over the cost of the Extrememusic just to have a way to use my headphone/mic from the front of the computer. The mic port refused to work, and I got tired of messing with it. I hated having that POS uglying up the front of my new case anyhow, Every single new case I have seen has connectors for front audio, how damn hard is it to put a connector for it on the card?
Creative just doesn't get it, their customer support must train the same place Asus does. ..or maybe its the same 2 guys
Every single new case I have seen has connectors for front audio, how damn hard is it to put a connector for it on the card? Creative just doesn't get it, their customer support must train the same place Asus does. ..or maybe its the same 2 guys
You cannot claim that all the problems related to the Nforce 4 motherboard simply because that is what the majority of users with issues are trying the X-Fi in. The people having the exact same issues with different chipsets kind of hurts your proclimation that its an issue with the Nforce 4. And I have the latest revision of X-Fi that includes the firmware fix, and it even comes with a heatsink. So really Terra, there are people with both the Nforce 4, a bios update, and a Creative Labs firmware update, and their cards still fail to operate nominally, and people with other chipsets with the X-Fi and it has the exact same issues.
Explain how these are all related to Nforce 4 issues when completely different chipsets have been having the exact same issues, and it isn't consistent for motherboards having problems.
Explain how these are all related to Nforce 4 issues when completely different chipsets have been having the exact same issues, and it isn't consistent for motherboards having problems.
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