X-Fi XtremeGamer Fatal1ty Pro Questions

Stevev

Stevev

Stevev

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I'd just like to ask a few questions to help me decide if to buy this -> http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=SC-054-CL&groupid=701&catid=11&subcat=

*Would i notice a "huge" quality boost from going from Realtek HD to X-fi gamer Pro ?
*Whats the difference between X-fi gamer & X-fi gamer Fatal1ty Pro ?
*Is the difference between X-fi Gamer & X-fi Gamer Pro worth the money difference ?
*Is the headset that comes with X-fi gamer pro any good ? (i've read review on the net but all seem to say widely different things.)
*Do the Creative drivers now work with Vista ?

Appreciate any answers
 
I don't actually own this card yet but I have been doing a lot of research into it because I'm about to move to Vista x64.

Stevev said:
*Would i notice a "huge" quality boost from going from Realtek HD to X-fi gamer Pro ?

Yes, I notice a huge improvement going from Realtek HD to an Audigy 1.

*Whats the difference between X-fi gamer & X-fi gamer Fatal1ty Pro ?

One of the main differences is that the Pro has 64-MB of X-RAM where as the other has 2MB, there are other differences but nothing major.

*Is the difference between X-fi Gamer & X-fi Gamer Pro worth the money difference ?

Well there isn't a huge amount of games that utilise X-RAM so unless your a serious gamer and have supported games then probably not, I think the XtremeGamer is probably sufficient.

*Is the headset that comes with X-fi gamer pro any good ? (i've read review on the net but all seem to say widely different things.)

I actually bought this headset last year and it is quite good, it comes with a detachable mic and has inline volume controls. I think it is one of the better quality headsets you can get without spending upwards of £50 on one.

*Do the Creative drivers now work with Vista ?

From what everyone has been saying they work fine with both 32 and 64 bit versions of Vista. There are random issues with X-Fi cards and Vista in general but it is a bit of pot luck weather you will have any. I think people have resolved issues by doing driver and OS reinstalls. (I have had a similar experience with my Audigy 1 under XP, completely random problems but when it works it works perfectly).
Click to expand...
 
The normal X-FI Gamer aint even a full Blown X-FI, simply look at PCB, the older Xtreme Music is.

The Fatality Gamer is though, its simply the top card minus the Front I/O Panel and Remote.
 
helmutcheese said:
The normal X-FI Gamer aint even a full Blown X-FI, simply look at PCB, the older Xtreme Music is.
Click to expand...

The XtremeGamer uses a low profile PCB but other than that is very similar to the XtremeMusic version. The XtremeMusic is a cut-down version of the top cards despite having a full PCB, it also lacks the 2MB of X-RAM the XtremeGamer has. The XtremeGamer is the newer card of the two but both still use the X-Fi chipset.

The budget version in the X-Fi series is the XtremeAudio. In my opinion the top cards are not worth it for a lot of people, the XtremeGamer and XtremeMusic are sufficient, the premium of the XtremeGamer Fatal1ty doesn't offer a lot of extras.
 
Its a joke, we have been through this before 100x, the X-FI Chip is not even the same size.

It is nowhere near the same as the Extreme Music/Fatal1ty Gamer or Fatal1ty Pro Champion.

The Extreme and Extreme Audio are both Cheapo's that I have no idea why Creative even made them nor does the modders like Classic_Leon or YouP-Pax

You have your facts all wrong, the Extreme Music is 1 of the 3 original cards launched (Creative normally do 3) it has 2MB of Memory same as all Creative cards from Live 5.1 days till now.

The cards with X-RAM have 64MB of it, thats now 3 cards.


http://uk.europe.creative.com/products/product.asp?category=1&subcategory=208&product=15854

X-Fi Xtreme Gamer - Fatal1ty Professional (same as mines with no front or remote) has 64MB XRAM.



http://uk.europe.creative.com/products/product.asp?category=1&subcategory=208&product=16559

X-Fi Platinum - Fatal1ty Champion (PRO some countries) Fully loaded with Front/Remote and 64MB XRAM.



http://uk.europe.creative.com/produ...1&subcategory=208&product=14064&nav=0&listby=

X-Fi Elite Pro, Again 64MB XRAM.



This card :


prod15853_hdr_1_6_1.jpg



Is nowhere near the quality of this card:


37.jpg



P.S the 3rd big Chip on the Middle left is 2MB of Hynix Memory.
 
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@ Stevev

1) I assume thats onboard you got, so it should deff sound better and will give you 2MB of X-RAM use until (if ever) more games support the 64MB X-RAM and then it will benefit even more, its far better quality.

2) Read my above blowout lol, and even look at the PCB, its nowhere near the same card nevermind no 64MB X-Ram.

3) Thats something only you can answer, your gettinga headset thrown in also and by my above post you can see what I think of the other card.

4) I have no idea, I dont use/want to use a headset.

5) There is no issues outstanding in Vista (inc 64bit and inc 4GB of Memory), infact it only affected some Mobo's so thats down to the Vendor to make a Bios like Asus did.

I had no issues before the drivers to fix the Vista 4GB issue.

Some peeps get install issues and sound issues etc etc, but I cant comment as I dont.
 
I have clearly been misinformed by some of the things I've been reading then, all these models and variants are confusing. How does the XtremeGamer compare to the XtremeGamer Pro Fatal1ty (full card) version in terms of actual performance then, is it worth the extra money?
 
I agree, dont know what Creative were doing this series but Im told it was to try make up shortfall on sales/cash.

They are doing that bad they sold their HQ building last week and now rent it back in a 5 year lease lol.
 
RobH said:
I have clearly been misinformed by some of the things I've been reading then, all these models and variants are confusing. How does the XtremeGamer compare to the XtremeGamer Pro Fatal1ty (full card) version in terms of actual performance then, is it worth the extra money?
Click to expand...

The Gamer Fatal1ty is a nicer card than the Extreme Gamer but again only a few games to date use 64MB X-RAM but if your into Music Creation Midi files will use it, but if you were doing that you would buy the model with Front Panel etc.

The 2 cards that are the closeset and not the exact same are the Extreme Music and the Fata1ty models.

The 2MB Memory I showed above (Middle Left, 3rd Big Chip) is replaced by 1 or 2 (varies) X-RAM chips totalling 64MB and the little blank Solder Pads on Top Right Corner have a little Black Plastic Housing sporting a Red LED with Fatal1ty's Logo on it.



led.jpg
 
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Well I have got problems running my X-Fi Fata1ty Pro Champion with Vista-32. I have this annoying process called audiodg.exe consuming up to 25% of my QX9650 after playing sound for sometime, then no sound, all audio stuff crashes.
Also having problems listening to music as i hear this crackling every now and again.
And playing crysis, where the sound just goes plain crazy! lots of 'sound effects' that you shouldn't hear!

I am waiting for an updated driver version from Creative, as just google audiodg.exe and there are lots of people in the same boat as me.

just thought that I'd let you know....
 
I've got one of the Fatal1ty models, I think it's the X-fi gamer Fatal1ty Pro. I did find a noticable difference between my (non-HD) onboard sound. In particular I think the Crystalizer is very good. I believe the X-Fi series is currently (one of) the only range of sound cards to support surround sound in Vista - I can't say I'm up to date though and I'm running XP so have no experience with this.

As for the headset, I also think that's good quality as well but all I have to compare to are very cheapy headsets/headphones, so I don't know how it compares to other high-end models.
 
Thanks for all the information, its really helped me decide. As for the driver issuses as said above it seems to be "pot luck", so hopefully i don't get any problems.
 
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