Xtreme Fidelity Fatal1ty

2005-11-10 07:16:49

#1

pvtepyle: Member; +0|6763

Pr0ps to Fatal1ty for getting a sound card and Motherboard named after him.

My question though is... Is anyone using the new Creative X-Fi sound board either with the 64MB x-ram or not.. if so.. is it worth the upgrade? I am considering this to be my next purchase and would like some input from some of the audio experts out there... I assume any sound card upgrade would be better then my on-board i have now.

Thanks in advance!

2005-11-10 07:44:02

#2

Chazflyz: Member; +1|6839

I plan on getting the music Xtreme. I have done my research on the new X-Fi and they seem to be outstanding cards. But note: no games out there can take advantage of the new X-ram. It's just a way of storing sound files in the soundcard's memory, rather than your motherboard memory.

But other features include 128 voice support. That's 128 different sounds you can hear at the same time. The X-Fi power is said to be proportional to a 3.0Ghz processor. SB guarantees up to a 40% increase in FPS- tests done with BF2.

So until any current games are patched to utilize the X-ram, and there are no plans for any near future games to use this feature, the vanilla model (Music Xtreme) is the best way to go. Of course the other models have all kinds of sound editing/movie features if you're into that.

2005-11-10 08:17:46

#3

schuff: Exploding Fodder; +0|6775

Hmm, I may have to get one myself. My very old original SBLive Value 1.0 is starting to display issues. Not to mention it has been in about 8 different boxes from the original purchase.

X-Fi > Audigy 4 eh?

2005-11-10 08:45:01

#4

MattCicioni: Member; +1|6826|Arizona

I was thinking about getting a sound card, but I wasn't sure it would improve performace of my game. I think I only have on-board audio right now. Thanks for posting the info, this will help me in my decision.
-Matt

2005-11-10 08:46:08

#5

MattCicioni: Member; +1|6826|Arizona

schuff wrote:
Hmm, I may have to get one myself. My very old original SBLive Value 1.0 is starting to display issues. Not to mention it has been in about 8 different boxes from the original purchase.

X-Fi > Audigy 4 eh?

Lol, look how similar our sigs look, almost all the same awards, creepy.
-Matt

2005-11-10 08:59:06

#6

pvtepyle: Member; +0|6763

I read a review on the X-Fi chipsets and they noted that Battlefield 2 actually has explicit support for the X-Fi's X-RAM. The not is also that the change over from On-board sound to a seperate Audio chipset will improve some gameplay as the on-board audio can take up to 20-25% of CPU time.

I think i am going to go with the X-Fi Extreme music (budget). I'm cant find any benchmarks on BF2 with and without the 64 MB of X-RAM on the Ultra X-Fi's

2005-11-10 09:00:11

#7

pvtepyle: Member; +0|6763

Link to the X-Fi's review I found

http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1 … 381,00.asp

2005-11-10 10:21:19

#8

Major_Rosha: Member; +0|6740

I have an X-Fi. There are some additional sound effects now that I can select Ultra on sound and Creative X-Fi. For example, I hear glass breaking when something hits the cockpit of my helo, some maps, I hear flies buzzing around, and lots more of these type of sounds. Pretty cool overall. I don't know that it had any effect on my actual gameplay or how the game performs overall.

2005-11-10 19:31:37

#9

Chazflyz: Member; +1|6839

pvtepyle wrote:
I read a review on the X-Fi chipsets and they noted that Battlefield 2 actually has explicit support for the X-Fi's X-RAM. The not is also that the change over from On-board sound to a seperate Audio chipset will improve some gameplay as the on-board audio can take up to 20-25% of CPU time.

I think i am going to go with the X-Fi Extreme music (budget). I'm cant find any benchmarks on BF2 with and without the 64 MB of X-RAM on the Ultra X-Fi's

The last review I read about the X-Fi is in the latest PC Gamer. PCG stated (At least the time of printing) that there are no current games that can utilize the X-ram unless this was before Patch 1.03. I dunno.

Anyhow, I just bought the X-Fi Music Xtreme....... it's awesome!! I upgraded from an Audigy 2. Performance wise, they are not BSing when they say you'll get up to a 40% increase in frames per second. I saw an average of 20 more Frames per second sometimes 30 frames. Plus with sound quality going from High to Ultra High, like MAjor_Rosha stated, there are even more subtle sounds you hear. I hear foot steps and voices much clearer and earlier than before, and the High setting has a nice quality to it. Having a standard 5.1 setup really helps, too. I'm really glad I bought this card- definitely worth it!!

Last edited by Chazflyz (2005-11-10 19:32:25)

2005-11-11 03:57:40

#10

Sweetmate: Member; +1|6748

Quake 4 supports X-ram.

http://www.bit-tech.net/news/2005/11/03/quake_4_x_fi/

2005-11-11 04:28:36

#11

Instant Cereal: Member; +0|6741

When Fatal1ty grows old, his grand kids will one day ask him what he accomplished in life. To which he'll respond, "I had a motherboard and sound card that became totally obsolete and forgotten within a year or two named after me".

/cynic

But anyway, I think the Fatal1ty products are sort of a waste of money... I mean, for one, you're paying more for a name, and two, it's not like having them is going to make your own everyone.

2005-11-11 08:48:53

#12

LSD_Wash: Member; +64|6810

I just got an X-Fi Platinum yesterday. I didn't shell out the extra cash for the Fatalilty model (I refuse to spell his name with the 1 in it) so I can't speak about the benefits of the 64MB of XRam. But, I must say it is quite an impressive change from my motherboard's built in audio. (SB 24 or something) The simulated front-to-rear position with headphones is impressive. It's subtle but sounds really do sound like they are in front and behind you. It helps know where the enemy is. Being able to enable the 'Ultra High' quality makes a nice difference in the clarity of the sounds.... the highs are really super crisp and the lows super clean. I only had a map or so to play with it so I haven't gotten to really tweak it much but so far I'm VERY pleased. Yes, it is $200 but it is really really nice. If you have the jack, I highly recommend getting one.

2005-12-05 01:56:57

#13

ResDog1: Member; +51|6762|Netherlands

Well instead of a performance boost I had a drop in performance with the X-fi card.
I have an Asus Montherbord (Nforce2, not the plagued Nforce4) and the newest drivers for the X-fi.

Allthough sound is great I cannot speak for the great performance boost.
I am using a 5.1 medusa headset, which sounds great, I'll try the virtual surround with my old headset soon, to see if it is any good.

EDIT-Update: By removing all the driver files of the old Creative SB Live with a tool and reinstalling the drivers from CD and running the driver update from internet the problem was solved. It seems the old Creative cards leave a lot of crap on you harddrive that screws up your X-fi drivers. The deinstall tool (see google) removes all this crap. A total Windows reinstall also does the trick but I do not have the time for that right now.

Last edited by ResDog1 (2005-12-06 08:05:40)

2005-12-05 06:00:41

#14

Coolbeano: Level 13.5 BF2S Ninja Penguin Sensei; +378|6760

Who here has heard of the guy before this stuff came out? lol I didnt...

My friend's getting the sound card though, but I hear the mobo is kinda funky and not too decent.

2005-12-06 08:09:12

#15

ResDog1: Member; +51|6762|Netherlands

Don't go for the fatality...
the 100$ pricegap is not worth the small to nonexistant performance increase.
Go for the Xtreme Music and get some decent headphones like the Siberia Icemat or the Speedlink Medusa 5.1 (Classic=non-usb)

2005-12-11 19:58:13

#16

schuff: Exploding Fodder; +0|6775

Coolbeano wrote:
Who here has heard of the guy before this stuff came out? lol I didnt...

My friend's getting the sound card though, but I hear the mobo is kinda funky and not too decent.

Most of the FPS community and tourney goers....

He's been intereviewed many times by many different sources even appeared on mtv.

But you are right, it was the sound card that made his name famous...sigh

...

2005-12-11 20:01:37

#17

sparklet: Banned; +34|6745|stop corecting my grammer!!!!!

is the Xi-fi good?i
read that it can channel more sound on BF2

2005-12-12 00:31:52

#18

Deedubya: Member; +-2|6799|The Seventh Circle of Hell

I have the X-Fi Xtrememusic. Very nice card compared to my First-gen Audigy I had. I do indeed hear more sound effects than I used to, that's for sure.

BF2S Forums Xtreme Fidelity Fatal1ty

schuff wrote:

pvtepyle wrote:

Coolbeano wrote:

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