X-Fi model confusion

[manic_man]

Hi all

I currently have a HDA Digital X-Mystique which i bought for its DDL capabilities. Auzentech quite simply havent released good enough drivers for me where gaming is concerned and as my new speaker set (Logitech Z-5400) allow easy surround channel analogue and digital connections im thinking i might swap it for an X-Fi!

Now im totally confused :\ I want to connect the X-Fi to my decoder via both the analogue surround channels AND via a digital connection to either its co-axial or optical input (dont mind which) for already encoded content such as DVD's...

Now the X-Fi Music (OEM) LOOKS like a proper audigy and seems to sport the typcial annoying creative electrical digital out socket, so i could connect this to my Co-axial via a 3.5mm jack to co-ax convertor and oc the analogues are easy!

BUT for the same cost (currently) i could get one of the new X-Fi Gamer cards. Now i cant work it out exactly.. what is the difference?? From what i can tell they have scrimped on the PCB by halving the size of it, made the card look far more generic with no gold PCI blanker etc BUT have added a optical (albeit the stupid little 3.5mm one that needa a convertor on a standard TOSlink connector) port rather than the traditional electrical one...

Are there any other differences?? Why does the new one have a heatsink on it? :s Why is it still £80 new (without a TWO deal) and yet it looks to be the same bar the optical port and the fact its prolly much cheaper to produce! Are there any other technical differences? And if you were buying which would you have (I game and i play music) given they are currently around the same cost (for an OEM music oc)

Thanks guys

[EDIT] also I have found ANOTHER new model. It is based around the new PCB layout (i.e. the half size OEM looking layout...) is called the "X-Fi Xtreme Audio" and seems to be selling for around £30!! Does anyone know anything about it?? It seems to me to be the EXACT same spec as the "old" X-Fi Music, i.e. the electrical "multi use" digital socket.... god i am SO confused about the line-up! [/EDIT]

 

[Phil99]

Just wondering why you'd want to connect analogue AND digital as the X-Fi has hardware decode for DDL/DTS etc. already?

The Xtreme Music does have the 3.5mm digital out port, but it doubles up as the input as well (mic/line-in), so while you're using co-ax you can't use either of these two, and vice-versa.

The Xtreme Music cards also have the heatsink, only the first batch or two of cards at release don't.

Only differences I can see between them really is the optical connector on the gamer card and you can't seem to use Creative front panel/break out box with the gamer, but it does have Intel HD Audio compatible front panel connectors.

The Xtreme Audio doesn't seem to have all the fancy EAX Advanced HD or ASIO2.0 stuff so I wouldn't really recommend it for gaming (due to lack of EAX5)

 

[manic_man]

The Xtreme Audio doesn't seem to have all the fancy EAX Advanced HD or ASIO2.0 stuff so I wouldn't really recommend it for gaming (due to lack of EAX5)

AHA! See how did you get to know about this? Nowehre I can find mentions this fact but it would make perfect sense given the name of the product and the £20 difference in price.

being honest, although I know the X-Fi has a decoder in it I think i trust my logitech decoder more to do a better job, and regardless i paid for the damn thing (/stubborn)

Im thinking that perhaps an OEM "old" style music might be the best option then along with a Co-Axial connection.

I just wish Auzentech (or more specifically c-media) would pull their finger out and improve the drivers for this card as its EAX just isnt up to scratch, I just hope that general audio sounds as good as with this card as it really is top notch... the Audigy 2 it replaced just sounded "muddy" in comparison...

Thanks phil thats cleared things up for me

 

[Phil99]

I got the info from the Creative site, specifically these pages. It's virtually impossible to work out the differences between the Xtreme Music and Gamer on there as the specification is virtually identical word by word.

 

[BoomAM]

The Gamer has the 64Mb memory on it, the Music doesnt. Afaik.
+ IIRC, the X-Fi cant do DDL/DTS encoding?

 

[Phil99]

Doesn't mention X-RAM on the Gamer on the Creative site at all, and yeah, none of the X-Fi cards do DDL, but that doesn't matter as his speakers have multi-channel analogue inputs.

 

[BoomAM]

Its hard to make out if they have the X-Ram or not.
The photos of the new low-profile cards do show something on them that looks like a memory chip, but they dont advertise it?

 

[Phil99]

All the X-Fi cards have some RAM on, I think it's ~2MB on the Xtreme Music.

Reason I think it doesn't have the 64MB 'X-RAM' is because they don't mention it at all on the spec sheet but they do on the Fatal1ty.

 

[manic_man]

I got the "old" style xtreme music in the end. From what i can tell the "new" style gamer card doesnt have the 64mb ram, its major difference between the old xtreme music is that it has a proper optical port rather than an electrical co-axial socket.

Gotta say, for basic music im still not convinced its better than the X-Mystique Its most definately very good and the software is FAR better than it used to be back when i had an audigy 2. In surround sound games though it blows the mystique away (as you would expect really.) Not that the mystique was particularly bad, this is just so much better at renderign EAX!

The card deffo has a 2mb Hynix ram module on it btw, directly above the DSP.