Replacing an X-Fi

SeeKified · 9 Jun 2011 at 08:42

I currently have an X-Fi XtremeMusic (first generation X-Fi). I'll be buying a 990FX board soon though and its only PCI-slot will be blocked by graphics cards.

So, I'm looking at getting a replacement X-Fi of similar spec but with PCI-E, so far I'm looking at the standard Titanium model.

Would this be a step up/down? I'm guessing since the XtremeMusic was the cheapest model at the time, it can't get worse.

Marsman · 9 Jun 2011 at 10:20

Titanium is basically the same card. Either that or a Xonar DX.

SeeKified · 9 Jun 2011 at 12:12

Marsman said:
Titanium is basically the same card. Either that or a Xonar DX.

I'll probably go for the DX to be honest, never really considered them before but Creative's drivers are beyond all criticism...

zoomee · 9 Jun 2011 at 13:25

The new Crosshair V has a Asus Xonar card built-in to the Add-on boards

SeeKified · 9 Jun 2011 at 13:54

zoomee said:
The new Crosshair V has a Asus Xonar card built-in to the Add-on boards

Never knew that - it has an X-Fi built in and a Xonar card bundled? That's amazing. xD

That is an exceedingly good point though - instead of buying the M5A99X and a Xonar DX for a total of £186.97 I can spent £3 more and get a Crosshair V which is a much better board as well.

Might just do that.

EDIT: Probably just stick with the integrated SupremeFX card to be honest. Does anyone know if these integrated X-Fis have the same control panel as the add-in ones?

zoomee · 9 Jun 2011 at 15:37

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-461-AS&groupid=701&catid=1903&subcat=2046

"To really make it the ultimate gaming motherboard, why not choose the Crosshair V Formula/ThunderBolt edition which also comes with the ThunderBolt audio/LAN combo expansion card. The class-leading XONAR™ audio technology provides dramatically better sound quality than any standard audio card, while its built-in headphone amplifier with adjustable impedance settings make it perfect for getting the drop on the gaming competition. The Crosshair V Formula/Thunderbolt also incorporates the award-winning Bigfoot Networks™ Killer™ E2100 networking platform with exclusive Advanced Stream Detect™ technology that automatically classifies and prioritizes traffic for online games, HD video and audio streams for optimum performance, even when performing these tasks simultaneously."

Be careful with the marketing blurb mate. The onboard X-Fi is just a realtek with X-fi codecs - so its not a REAL X-Fi. Also I note that the current version of the CHV isn''t the Thunderbolt version - The Thunderbolt version will probably be more, or I suppose we could get the CHV Formula then buy the add-in board later....

I'm in the same boat as you - I'm currently running crossfire and my X-Fi Fatal1ty is too close to one of the cards - so when I use the drive bay thingy I get interference coming through the speakers from the lower graphics card.

Think I'm just going to sell them both and get the CHV to make up for it with the Thunderbolt thingy. hth.