Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Gamer 7.1 Sound Card

Ice Tea · 20 Mar 2008 at 07:13

Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Gamer 7.1 Sound Card

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=SC-045-CL

Do you need to run amplified speakers with this card the type that you plug into the mains ?

Thanks

split · 20 Mar 2008 at 14:19

Ice Tea said:
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Gamer 7.1 Sound Card

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=SC-045-CL

Do you need to run amplified speakers with this card the type that you plug into the mains ?

Thanks

Yes or headphones that are NOT plugged into the mains

Renatukasza · 20 Mar 2008 at 15:22

Does this sound card have optical out?

davethe11 · 20 Mar 2008 at 20:11

been looking at this card too, I notice that some cards come in both pci and pci-e flavors: is there any advantage to getting a pci-e card? or do the cards use less than the pci bandwidth anyway?

Monkeynut · 20 Mar 2008 at 20:29

Cards are fine on PCI. PCI-e is for futureproofing.

Ice Tea · 20 Mar 2008 at 23:58

Bah

I have noise coming through my mains amplified speakers from my HomePlug networking so i need a card that will work with standard speakers straight out the back of the card if there is such a thing.

split · 22 Mar 2008 at 14:27

Ice Tea said:
Bah

I have noise coming through my mains amplified speakers from my HomePlug networking so i need a card that will work with standard speakers straight out the back of the card if there is such a thing.

Any speaker needs power to make it work. The output on a soundcard gives just enough for headphones, which is pretty small.
Sounds to me like you need to isolate the speakers, and try and loose the noise.

GregI · 22 Mar 2008 at 19:50

Sorry to hi-jack the thread but i myself am wanting an x-fi card.

Would i be right in saying i just stick the green jack from speakers into the x-fi that were previously on my onboard audio thingy?

Ice Tea · 23 Mar 2008 at 00:14

split said:
Any speaker needs power to make it work. The output on a soundcard gives just enough for headphones, which is pretty small.
Sounds to me like you need to isolate the speakers, and try and loose the noise.

Years ago in the 486 days the sound blaster cards had a volume control like the one you get on cd/dvd players above the output jacks and you could run standard speakers straight off the card , Shame nobody makes self amplified cards these days

Darren555 · 23 Mar 2008 at 21:18

Monkeynut said:
Cards are fine on PCI. PCI-e is for futureproofing.

There are still no real x-fi cards in PCIe.

davethe11 · 24 Mar 2008 at 13:02

Darren555 said:
There are still no real x-fi cards in PCIe.

ive currently got an audgiy 2 zs pci which has given me no end of problems in games over the years (eax seems to be a particular problem in some games with this card), am I safe in assuming that the xtreme gamer 7.1 pci card will not give me the problems that my audigy 2 has (I want to turn eax on in games without the worry of problems/crashing etc)? Also, what do you mena by 'real' x-fi cards darren555?

Darren555 · 24 Mar 2008 at 18:37

davethe11 said:
Also, what do you mena by 'real' x-fi cards darren555?

x-fi by name only as it uses the old audigy chip & offers no hardware acceleration.
Cheapest genuine x-fi cards are the Xtreme Gamer or the superior XtremeMusic which can both be had for around £50.