Anyone here use a creative x-fi card?

Just wondering if anyone here has used the creative x-fi card for notebooks. It doesn't look like it has the same snr or hz range as the normal cards, and since you're giving up the nice speakers we have as well as going down in resolution ( 32bit to 24bit), was wondering if the decreased cpu utilization and clarity seemed worth it, thanks.

 

Short answer: NO!

Long answer: The card sucks!

Check this one out if you need a high quality sound output: NuForce uDAC

 

I have a creative X-Fi expresscard

It's a good quality sound, but has no hardware acceleration (for games and stuff). It's a basic input and output card, with good quality sound.

I don't agree that the Xfi sucks. Neither of these cards are good for gaming. They're are not BAD for gaming either really.

Was it worth it? When I need an extra output or a good quality sound yes. For the most part, not really - there are better cards out there!

The Nuforce and the Xfi (expresscard version) don't have hardware acceleration and if it's only for sound quality I can't be sure. The Xfi will be connected directly to the pci bus as opposed to through a USB port which might help with low-latency applications such as music applications.

You can always search around and find what others are saying My Xfi works fine for me because I don't expect hardware acceleration from it.

 

Well i'm using Creative Soundblaster surround 5.1 USB with my m15x

 

ewww, thanks. I figured it would at least have hardware accell. It doesn't sound a whole lot better than the Intel HD for my purposes then, Thanks.

 

I use the X-Fi extreme notebook for the EAX support when playing older games i dont notice any real sound quality difference for other purposes though.

 

Exactly. That's why it sucks. Sorry for not giving more details on my statement as I was on the go. If you are really into FPS then X-Fi is the way to go since it supports CMSS-3D. In combination w/ a headphone w/ huge soundstage and precise imaging (aka ATH-D700) your kill ratio will very likely to be improved (surround gaming headsets are not recommended)

uDAC, as I mention earlier, is a nice DAC for its price. It provides a better headphone out than X-Fi and is widely known and used by headphiles.

By the way, here is a very informative write-up regarding gaming sound:

http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/483802/quest-for-holy-grail-of-gaming-sound

 

If it had nearly everything their desktop chips had I would have considered it more, but even for $50 @ dell(and basically getting it for free via a gift card) it doesn't seem worth it for me. In a lot of ways it's worse than the Integrated audio we have already.

 

Agreed

Since they put the X-Fi logo and name on it, it's a real gutter that it doesn't have one of those lovely hardware chips in it. I paid around 100 euros for a slightly better sounding dac - which is much better than a typical laptop internal sound card - it has to be said.

Gamewise, your internal card would perform the same or better since it will have some small amount of hardware acceleration.

EAX doesn't work on vista or win7. There's alchemy - a crappy software alternative, and the creative software emulates the rest. Not worth it really. I know there is the potential for better gaming-audio expresscards but haven't seen any out there.

 

Anyone had any experience recording with the Creative Expresscard? I'm cautious on the USB front only because of the latency. This is for advanced amateur recording in which the onboard sound is giving some pop and latency issues and I'm on the hunt for something (stereo only is needed) that does decent recording without resorting to the professionally priced solutions.

 

Is there such a card that provides HW acceleration? Due to the limited CPU in my Rev.1 M11X, my interest would receive a 1d10 roll of "moderately increased" +100.

If all else fails, I suppose I could pick up a Magma or Avid PCI extender, buy an express card to USB adapter and jury rig my Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS into it. j/k

(Heck, why not add my Ageia PhysX card while I'm at it?) ok now I'm just being totally unrealistic

 

In my opinion the Creative X-Fi Notebook ExpressCard provides a far superior audio solution than my M15x natively offers, irrespective of what drivers I happened to be using for the on-board sound. I disabled the on-board sound shortly after purchasing the X-Fi Notebook and haven't looked back. My volume output has easily increased by 40% over the on-board sound and not a hint of audio crackling/popping at any volume level. The sound quality overall is far better as well. It's a night and day difference for me. Found the on-board audio to provide a very weak audio experience at best. I knew going in that the X-Fi Notebook was not a "true" X-Fi card by any stretch of the word. I also knew that the beta Windows 7 drivers are a watered down version of their desktop counterparts. That being said, the beta drivers available installed without a hitch and do what they are designed to do. No issues with the card so far knock on wood. Comes with an awesome carrying case as well. So until a better ExpressCard comes along the X-Fi Notebook fits the bill for me just fine. If you are currently unsatisfied with the on-board audio it certainly can't hurt to give the X-Fi Notebook a test drive. Nothing ventured, nothing gained so they say.

 

you're not thinking hard enough.

5970 in a PCI-E cardslot ?

 

I don't know about M15x headphone out quality but I think they are kinda the same w/ these on M17x. And I really don't see any big improvement in sound quality w/ X-Fi XpressCard. The difference is very subtle unless you turn on those effects which by all mean not generally recommended for music.

Those effects are fun at the beginning but they color the sound too much, not in a good way.

 

The audio codec chip in the M15x should be identical to that in the M17x.