From Sound Blaster X-fi Xtreme music to...?

Vekiq

Vekiq

Vekiq

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Joined
29 Jan 2007
Posts
273
Location
Scotland
Hi All,

Had Above card for ages, i am not having any stability issues with it, it does work, cant really comment on quality compared to different cards as this is the one i have been using , huhh, since release of ati X1900 xtx graphichs cards, good few years.

I was convinced that xonar cards are the way to go, but reading through this forums confused me a little, seems that X-FI cards are still better for gaming, and that is what i do mostly, i can live with normal music playback, i dont need xtreme clear and amazingly awesome music playback.

I use Speedlink Medusa NX 5.1 gaming headset and play range of games from older to brand new ones (Microsoft Flight x, IL-sturmovik 1946, Black Shark, rFactor, GTL, GTR EVO, battlefield bad company 2, Avp and few more.

Since other posts here put me of from Xonar i picked this as possible replacement

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=SC-045-CL&groupid=701&catid=11&subcat=

Cheers
 
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The x-fi gamer is not even as good as the x-fi extreme music it's a downgrade.They are pretty much the same but xtreme music has all the gold plated stuff and that onboard xram mcthingy.

When they came out the xtreme music was more expensive all creative have done is discontinued the music and bumped the price of the gamer up to rip off levels.

The gamer and xtreme music were around at the same time the music was considered the better card.

If you have no issues with the x-fi music there's really no justifiable worthy upgrade at the moment.
 
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C64 said:
The x-fi gamer is not even as good as the x-fi extreme music it's a downgrade.They are pretty much the same but xtreme music has all the gold plated stuff and that onboard xram mcthingy.

When they cam out the xtreme music was more expensive all creative have done is discontinued the music and bumped the price of the gamer up to rip off levels.

The gamer and xtreme music were around at the same time the music was considered the better card.

If you have no issues with the x-fi music there's really no justifiable worthy upgrade at the moment.
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Great, Thanks for the info.
 
The only worthy upgrade from that would be to an Asus Xonar Essence.

I have a xonar dx and think it's better than my old xtreme music in every way but I changed because I hated the snap crackle pop I got with the x-fi on my setup.

Any upgrade apart from Asus Xonar Essence is going to leave you disappointed.

Just keep what you got if you have no issues.
 
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I'd say keep what you have if you're primarily a gamer.

No X-Fi available is acutally a significant step up for features. Some have onboard RAM but that's more of a marketing feature than anything else. Some have better sound quality but you could get a SPDIF adapter for your xtreme music and output to a DAC or receiver. That way you can have better sound quality, additional features and still keep all the X-Fi's gaming features.

I used to have a Xonar D2 and actually preferred it's Dolby Headphone to CMSS-3D on the X-Fi. I missed a few gaming features on the X-Fi and went back though, getting an external Dolby Headphone receiver and the Dolby Digital Live pack for the X-Fi. The Xtreme Music (I'm assuming you have the version with the gameport and not the two optical ports) is a bit of a pain to connect digitally but it's possible (although unfortunately Creative have now discontinued the digital adaptor).
 
xtreme music has all the gold plated stuff and that onboard xram mcthingy
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Neither of these 2 "features" make a single bit of valuable difference in anything real world :p
 
Khaaan! said:
Neither of these 2 "features" make a single bit of valuable difference in anything real world :p
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C64 said:
They are pretty much the same but xtreme music has all the gold plated stuff and that onboard xram mcthingy..
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No but it looks nicer than the gamer never claimed it made it sound better it's just a better constructed card using better materials.

And maybe the gold connectors do make a subtle difference unless proven otherwise.

If you were offered a gamer for £10 and music for £10 my guess is you'd rather have the music no ?
 
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Having had those cards I would take neither of them. When talking about sound equipment looks is never a deciding factor - especially inside a PC case.

Anyway neither card is being offered for the same price and the Music is EOL too so it would only be a used purchase and thus unsupported by Creative.

The Xonar cards are perfectly fine for gaming. A D2 is only a bit more expensive than a Gamer Xfi and provides a much more respectable sound output.
 
I suppose lots goes to user preference.
If you have nice display case that you like to show off good looking components are a factor. I only care about acoustic and visual effect coming outa my speakers/monitor, could not care less what car looked like, if it came with picture of good looking naked chick then i would make sure it is being displayed :)

But thanks all for your comments.
 
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