Creative Releases PCIe X-Fi Xtreme Audio

[malware]

Creative Technology today announced the PCI Express (PCIe) Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio card that is designed to make music and movies sound way better. It features the award-winning X-Fi Xtreme Fidelity audio technologies which enhance audio playback and deliver virtual surround sound effects. The Creative PCIe Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio will be available in late November at a suggested retail price of US$69.99.

"We are excited to introduce the first PCI Express Sound Blaster for the desktop PC, continuing our legacy as the de facto audio standard for PC digital entertainment," said Steve Erickson, Vice President of Audio for Creative.

The Creative PCIe Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio features two fundamental audio technologies to help improve the overall audio experience for users. The X-Fi Crystalizer revitalizes downloaded music and movies, restoring the details and vibrance lost during compression. This X-Fi technology intelligently enhances musical dynamics by emphasising sharp percussive sounds and transients, creating a "punchier" and livelier listening experience.

The X-Fi CMSS-3D function allows users to expand their stereo music and movies into surround sound. To the listener, voices would appear to originate from the centre and ambient sound appears all around, similar to the listening experience in a live performance.

The headphone surround effects will sound like multi-channel speakers positioned all around the listener. Listeners will feel as though they are surrounded by multiple virtual speakers, sitting with their favourite band or as if they have the best seats in the movie theatre.

Gamers enjoy full realistic sound effects with the Creative PCIe Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio. Games sound superb with positional audio that is so accurate gamers can locate their enemies by sound. EAX ADVANCED HD 4.0 sound effects allow gamers to elevate their gaming experience to the next level. It also comes with Creative ALchemy software that allows Windows Vista users to enjoy legacy DirectSound 3D games. This software will detect the presence of a number of top PC games, converting the games' DS3D and EAX calls into OpenAL calls, allowing gamers to enjoy these titles in full, multi-channel sound with hardware effects.

Pricing and Availability
The Creative PCIe Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio will be available in late November at the CREATIVE Stores at Marina Square, Plaza Singapura and International Business Park, the online store at sg.store.creative.com, as well as major retail outlets in Singapore, at a suggested retail price of S$119.00 (US$69.99). For more information about the Creative PCIe Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio and X-Fi Xtreme Fidelity, please visit http://www.asia.creative.com

View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[nflesher87]

Still content with my 7.1 onboard

 

[Ripper3]

This has been out for a while over here. I believe I made a thread about it, and people told me it wasn't new, and had already been around for a month or more.
Maybe Creative decided the Europeans should get something first though, heh.

 

[OnBoard]

Hmm, the page says it has EAX, but at least the PCI version doesn't support any hardware EAX acceleration. Don't see any heatsink in this either, so doubt it's true. They tried to fool customers same way when PCI version first came out.

If it supports EAX, this is nice. If it dosn't I'd wait for PCI-E 1x XtremeGamer. But those optical in/outs are great, still tempting, but Audigy 2 will do for now.

EDIT: noticed it says EAX 4.0 and X-Fi cards do 5.0. So it could be true, as my card does 4.0 already. So it's PCI-E version of Audigy 4 with optical in/out really

 

[Specsaver]

So this supports EAX HD but not version 5?
Wonder if it has surround over headphones effect as my PCI version - this is quite cool...
Optical in and out are nice but is PCI Express better for audio quality then PCI at all?

 

[Random Murderer]

this has been on newegg for three months...

 

[AsRock]

Still content with my 7.1 onboard

hehe me too.

i wounder how many game as they go to say "This software will detect the presence of a number of top PC games,"

 

[b1lk1]

Software EAX and probably does it badly too. This card has been out in Canada for months as an OEM so I would guess that it is now officially retail. Onboard sound is a better solution than this POS.

 

[Specsaver]

Onboard sound is a better solution than this POS.

I would not say that. X-Fi Xtreme Audio might be a poorer card then fully fledged X-Fi but still an onboard sound is, potentially, more prone to electromagnetic interference, uses cheapest of the cheapest converters and opamps and more importantly does not process anything in hardware - it is just the driver that sends the job to the CPU, unlike a real sound card

 

[effmaster]

I had really hoped that a PCI-E version of the X-FI soundcards would have been better than the PCI version of the X-FI sound cards oh well just goes to show you that not all advances in technology are for the better way to go Creative many people were screaming for you to bring the X-FI over to PCI-E and then you give us this POS you just lost a valuable customer

 

[Ripper3]

There's no heatsink cos there's no freakin chip on there...
I'm glad I didn't buy one like I wanted to, since I never even took the time to notice this is basically a few audio outputs, with the ability to use X-Fi Crystalizer, and pretty much nothing else.

The X-Fi never needed a heatsink originally, it was just added on later, as the demand for X-Fis grew, Creative had to get sloppy with the manufacturing process, meaning that sometimes, hotter chips were used, with a heatsink stuck on, so they could be used by consumers.
If you notice, the original ones never had heatsinks, but my Xtreme Music, is from about 6 months after launch, and it has a heatsink.

 

[imperialreign]

So this supports EAX HD but not version 5?
Wonder if it has surround over headphones effect as my PCI version - this is quite cool...
Optical in and out are nice but is PCI Express better for audio quality then PCI at all?

EAX HD is EAX5.0

The X-Fi never needed a heatsink originally, it was just added on later, as the demand for X-Fis grew, Creative had to get sloppy with the manufacturing process, meaning that sometimes, hotter chips were used, with a heatsink stuck on, so they could be used by consumers.
If you notice, the original ones never had heatsinks, but my Xtreme Music, is from about 6 months after launch, and it has a heatsink.

the heatsink isn't so much about how hot it (the APU) gets, it's about keeping the temps of the capacitors down. In short, the hotter the APU gets, the harder the capacitors have to work (and the faster they work, too); the capacitors overheat and start leaking - that's why the older models (the ones without APU heatsinks) were known for having exploding caps.

Software EAX and probably does it badly too. This card has been out in Canada for months as an OEM so I would guess that it is now officially retail. Onboard sound is a better solution than this POS.

yes, EAX is a software audio API - similar to how OpenGL is a software video API. Still, onboard solutions can not process various channels and voices as fast as an adapter card X-Fi can.


The only reason, IMO, that Creative is pushing the PCIE is to resolve a lot of the BUS issues the PCI cards have. The X-Fi is a major BUS hog, which is what has lead to many issues with GPUs, especially nVidia hardware. By throwing the X-Fi into a PCIE slot, it ends up with a higher BUS rate than on a standard PCI BUS.

But, in doing so, you end up with weaker and poorer audio compared to the PCI solutions.

Plus, on some motherboards, you can run into BUS negotiation conflicts with VGA adapters, especially if you're running a multi-GPU platform. Have a gander in the XSS thread, there's one complaint right there - since this issue has come to my attention, I've seen a few others reported online, also. It seems like a great idea to snag a X-Fi PCIE x1 to make use of those relatively useless x1 slots, but I don't think Creative has really thought it all the way through.

 

[b1lk1]

It's too bad Creative has so many PCI bus issues. Auzentech sure built the X-FI the proper way and made it actually worthwhile to own. Plus they took all the crap out of the drivers and even made it work very well under Vista 64. Creative sells low/midrange junk with crappy drivers. Best to avoid them at all possible anyways.

 

[plywood99]

Software EAX and probably does it badly too. This card has been out in Canada for months as an OEM so I would guess that it is now officially retail. Onboard sound is a better solution than this POS.

Nope. I have this card and it is not bad at all. All my EAX games work very well. Sounds much better than on board codecs, and I have a Realtek 889 codec chip. Have had a few Creative cards and this one has been the least problem having card to date...


Ply

 

[imperialreign]

It's too bad Creative has so many PCI bus issues. Auzentech sure built the X-FI the proper way and made it actually worthwhile to own. Plus they took all the crap out of the drivers and even made it work very well under Vista 64. Creative sells low/midrange junk with crappy drivers. Best to avoid them at all possible anyways.

Honestly, I've been a Creative user/supporter for years - but the X-Fi's, I think, were rushed to market a couple of years too early. I don't think Creative did enough product testing with them.

Anyhow, the X-Fi's aren't all that bad, but they do have their share of issues. TBH, the only Creative X-Fi card I strongly recommend is the Xtreme Gamer Fatal1ty Pro (I think it's just called the Fatal1ty not). It actually performs on-par or better than the Meridian 7.1, and is priced lower. But, that has a lot to do with the Fatal1ty flagship card is a completely different breed than the lower models. Besides, it seems (and from my experience) that there are fewer issues with the Fatal1ty cards as there are with the other models, too.

Although, I have to agree, too, if you want the absolute best in audio quality - snag an Auzentech. If you're a bit on a budget but are still looking for superior quality, get a Fatal1ty.

The one thing that gets me a little irritated with Creative, though, is that the audio drivers for the Auzens are written by Creative. If they can write such stable and functional drivers for a 3rd party, why not do so for their own products?

 

[OnBoard]

EAX HD is EAX5.0

No quite. There is
EAX® 3.0 ADVANCED HD™ (Audigy)
EAX® 4.0 ADVANCED HD™ (Audigy 2 & 4)
EAX® 5.0 ADVANCED HD™ (X-Fi)

http://www.soundblaster.com/eax/abouteax/

"EAX Advanced HD (EAX 3.0) supports 64 (Audigy), EAX 4.0 again supports 64 (Audigy 2), and EAX 5.0 allows 128 voices (and up to 4 effects applied to each) (X-Fi)." from wiki.

Battlefield 2142 for example supports EAX Advanced HD 4.0 as well as 5.0. As seen on the image below I'm using advanced HD, but there is own setting for X-Fi:s.

<a href="http://img185.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=20721_advancedhd_122_582lo.jpg" target=_blank><img src="http://img185.imagevenue.com/loc582/th_20721_advancedhd_122_582lo.jpg" border="0"></a>

 

[-=SNIPER=-]

so guys think its a good idea to replace my X-FI Xtreme Music PCI card to the Xtreme Music PCI-e?

i mean does it makes any diffrence between them?

 

[FreedomEclipse]

so guys think its a good idea to replace my X-FI Xtreme Music PCI card to the Xtreme Music PCI-e?

i mean does it makes any diffrence between them?

at this current moment in time, I wouldnt bother. there are manufacturers such as Asus (Sonar) & Auzentech (Prelude) that are in the process of trying to improve/tweek the XFi to carry on where Creative left it.

google some reviews

 

[Ketxxx]

Still content with my 7.1 onboard

Ditto, even tho mine is realtek not ADI. Cant we have news updates for lesser known audio companies? Theres plenty of them out there uknow Creative isnt the only one, and by far not the best one.

 

[imperialreign]

so guys think its a good idea to replace my X-FI Xtreme Music PCI card to the Xtreme Music PCI-e?

no. stick with the PCI cards.

 

[effmaster]

so guys think its a good idea to replace my X-FI Xtreme Music PCI card to the Xtreme Music PCI-e?

i mean does it makes any diffrence between them?

No your better off with the card you have right now beleive it or not. I would wait till Spring 08 before I decided what sound card I wanted to buy in this case.

 

[RICESKI]

Having bought an Emachines T5224 from Tiger Direct it came with onboard sound made by Sigma Tel that was bought out by IDT - and has the "stereo select " to where it refuses to show. I have spent weeks working to get this so it will work. Tiger Direct sent me this card - it still doesn't make it so I can record direct from the pc - or Internet. This feature is on 99% of the pc's in the world and can only be made to not work on purpose as no sound card or chip is made without this capacity.
I called Emachines - and the agent there said 'Join the subscription service' and they will give you the fix. I am considering suing - and I am told that it may even be built into Vista to make it not work to keep people from copying when listening to mp3's on the web.
Well I want this feature and wonder if anyone here writes code and will write the code to make this work?

Thanks
Riceski@gmail.com

Creative Technology today announced the PCI Express (PCIe) Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio card that is designed to make music and movies sound way better. It features the award-winning X-Fi Xtreme Fidelity audio technologies which enhance audio playback and deliver virtual surround sound effects. The Creative PCIe Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio will be available in late November at a suggested retail price of US$69.99.

“We are excited to introduce the first PCI Express Sound Blaster for the desktop PC, continuing our legacy as the de facto audio standard for PC digital entertainment,” said Steve Erickson, Vice President of Audio for Creative.

The Creative PCIe Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio features two fundamental audio technologies to help improve the overall audio experience for users. The X-Fi Crystalizer revitalizes downloaded music and movies, restoring the details and vibrance lost during compression. This X-Fi technology intelligently enhances musical dynamics by emphasising sharp percussive sounds and transients, creating a “punchier” and livelier listening experience.

The X-Fi CMSS-3D function allows users to expand their stereo music and movies into surround sound. To the listener, voices would appear to originate from the centre and ambient sound appears all around, similar to the listening experience in a live performance.

The headphone surround effects will sound like multi-channel speakers positioned all around the listener. Listeners will feel as though they are surrounded by multiple virtual speakers, sitting with their favourite band or as if they have the best seats in the movie theatre.

Gamers enjoy full realistic sound effects with the Creative PCIe Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio. Games sound superb with positional audio that is so accurate gamers can locate their enemies by sound. EAX ADVANCED HD 4.0 sound effects allow gamers to elevate their gaming experience to the next level. It also comes with Creative ALchemy software that allows Windows Vista users to enjoy legacy DirectSound 3D games. This software will detect the presence of a number of top PC games, converting the games' DS3D and EAX calls into OpenAL calls, allowing gamers to enjoy these titles in full, multi-channel sound with hardware effects.

Pricing and Availability
The Creative PCIe Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio will be available in late November at the CREATIVE Stores at Marina Square, Plaza Singapura and International Business Park, the online store at sg.store.creative.com, as well as major retail outlets in Singapore, at a suggested retail price of S$119.00 (US$69.99). For more information about the Creative PCIe Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio and X-Fi Xtreme Fidelity, please visit www.asia.creative.com

Source: VR-Zone

 

[lester11]

Onboard

I'm cheap.
I'll stick on onboard audio.

Lester
ccspry@bigpond.com