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Which Creative Sound Card you recommend?

P

Pedrovsk

n00b
Joined
Jun 9, 2006
Messages
19
Hey guys,

I've been thinking of buying a new sound card to replace my old SB Audigy 2 that has been giving me problems making BF42 and BF2 crash (When I use onboard sound they don't crash).

Anyway I'm doubtful if I should buy or not the X-Fi Fatal1ty sound card because I've been reading over the Creative forums that it has popping and crackling issues in games like BF2, especially with nForce 4 mobos. :confused:

My system specs:
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+
Gigabyte GA-K8NXP-SLI nForce 4 SLI
4x512Mb Kingston PC3200
2xNvidia GeForce 7800 GT
Windows XP Professional SP2

Thanks!
 
I've had my XtremeMusic X-Fi since last September and I have not a crackling or popping issue, and I have an NF4 Ultra-D. I would say it's one of the best investments I've made to my computer since last I built it in june of 05.
 
Thanks for the tip! Do you play BF2 with X-FI on in options with no problems? Just wanted to know that.

Also it would be great if anyone that tested all or some of the X-FIs could explain me the differences between them in layman's terms. I've read in Creative's website that the Fatal1ty card "in addition to providing outstanding gaming performance, includes all of the standard features, application software, power and performance capabilities of the Sound Blaster X-Fi Platinum and Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic".

This sounds nice and all but to read the pop/crackle reports after reading this is so ridiculous. :eek:

It seems Creative says the problem occurs only in nForce 4 mobos and tells their costumers to contact nVidia, while the latter says it is not the mobos fault but the sound card's fault. It seems the problem is also present in nForce 3, nForce 5, Radeon Xpress 3200, Intel I955 and All VIA chipsets from the KT400 and up, and not only in nForce 4 as Creative says...

None of the companies seems to care about this so it's hard to believe if what they tell about their sound cards is true.
 
Okay, for the gazillionth time, hehe

Music= basic card no X-ram just 2 megs of standard meme
Plat = Same as music but comes with bay which adds connections
Fatality = Same as plat pkg but the card has 64 megs of X-ram
Elite = Slightly better DAC's, 64 meg X-ram and instead of a bay unit you get a breakout box instead
 
I didn't bother to read anything in this post because there was no need to. The answer to every what sound card do you recommend thread is the x-fi.
 
Pedrovsk said:
Thanks for the tip! Do you play BF2 with X-FI on in options with no problems? Just wanted to know that. .
Click to expand...
Sure do. I have crappy headphones, though (plantronics audio .90's), though I have used Audio Technica A500s with it, and it's outstanding.
 
If the Audigy 2 is having problems, then the only other choice is X-Fi :p and it's a good choice anyways.
 
TheWikipediaPwnzJ00 said:
I didn't bother to read anything in this post because there was no need to. The answer to every what sound card do you recommend thread is the x-fi.
Click to expand...

/agree

doubtful you should waste money on anything more than the basic version though unless you want the front panel.
 
I had the x-fi and grado sr80 headphone that I both gave away. When I had em, the x-fi OWNED with the sr80. Like the jeeps' engines would sound insanely clear. Someone shouting "I need a medic!" would sound like someone in my room. I can't wait to get another x-fi to use with my dt770:D It's going to own, cuz my on-board audio is ALREADY doin a great job with bf2 and these headphones:p
 
X-Fi get the cheapest on you can find nothing uses the Xram any way and even the bottem of the line ons have SOME 2MB iirc
 
Khaydarin said:
^^ is that really true? If I'm looking at these cards, I shouldn't want the 64MB?
Click to expand...
no....to date I think there are 2 games that use x-ram, including battlefield 2.

Its basically a gimmick, i think. X-Fi is powerful enough with out x-ram, trust me.
 
So...

If I really have no use for the extra front-port connections that would come with the Fatal1ty version (or platinum for that matter), then I'd be ok with getting the Music version if I'm getting this for games? I'm going to be making a purchase soon, and I dont want to deal out 60 bucks more than I have to. But if it will really make a difference in games, then I might go for it. Some extra advice/imput from experience is all I'm looking for.
 
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