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Creative Labs: X-Fi Xtreme Audio OEM vs. X-Fi XtremeGamer Retail

G

gramboh

Platinum Member
Hi there,

I have the option of purchasing the X-Fi Xtreme Audio OEM for $59.95CDN or the new XtremeGamer retail for $109.95CDN.

From looking at the specs/pics of the cards, they appear to be the same. Is this the case? I don't care about the software included with the retail, I just want to ensure I'm not going to miss any performance/fidelity/connectors with the OEM.

Thanks
 
The Xtreme Audio does not have the hardware EAX features that the Xtreme Gamer has. If you're using the card for gamin, the Audio would not be a good choice.
 
The Audio has a host based controller rather than a DSP so avoid it if performance is a concern. XtremeGamer is much better howerver that price is high. It or the discontinued XtremeMusic can be had for $50 USD give or take $10 buckaroos. The latter is an okay alternative if half-height, standard case connector and integrated optical output are not desired. OEM prolly ain't any different than retail. The software disc is usually included but available anyway but then again not worth installing for most users as the driver/console download package manages essential functionality.
 
Ah damnit I thought the Xtreme Audio was the Xtreme Music I got them confused. I might try to snag an OEM from eBay as the XtremeGamer is $109 locally and my shop doesn't seem to stock the Xtreme Music anymore.

Thanks for the heads up, I would have been pissed off with a card without hardware EAX (I am buying it solely for gaming).
 
Did a bit more research and it appears that the new Xtreme Gamer ($109CDN locally for me) is a half height card (as Auric says above) without as many connectors. I'm assuming the OEM doesn't come with the cable to connect to front panel inputs either.

Ugh Creative never cease to amaze me. It looks like the best bet is trying to score a used/refurb XtremeMusic (discontinued) off eBay. I'll probably use my Audigy 2 for the time being until I can get one cheap.

Thanks again
 
Quick question, is the XtremeGamer any better/worse than the Xtreme Music?

I can only find Xtreme Music on eBay (I'm in Canada) and I can get the Xtreme Gamer for $90CDN (after rebate). They both seem to have the same outputs (except the Xtreme Music has an old gameport or whatever).

The XtremeGamer is a half height card which seems weird.

Thanks
 
xtreme music and extreme gamer are almost the same card. Compare with this chart

The differences I can think of are:

(1)xtreme music has platinum drive connector (proprietary creative interface) while extreme gamer has Intel HD Audio compatible front panel connector

(2) xtreme music has hardware dolby decoder, while gamer requires a version of power dvd or similar software that can decode dolby
 
Why? EAX can run both as extension of Direct X or OpenAL. Even if direct X is not backwards compatible under Vista you can have EAX effects with Open AL games. For direct X only games there is a thing called ALchemy that translates direct X into openAL signal. Hardware audio acceleration is still possible then and so is EAX (I think)
 
Ghouler thanks for the chart and the heads up. I don't think I'll need hardware Dolby decoding, the system I'm building should be powerful enough to handle it in software with DVD software.

I'd rather have the front panel connectors than the Creative panel thing as well.

I'll probably go for the Xtreme Gamer with MIR.
 
DD/DTS decoding is done in software regardless of the model. So PDVD is yet another advantage of the XG vs the XM as it is obviously sports many more features on the audio side alone. Whether the license is included with the OEM version is a question though.

If you want DD real-time encoding/output then check out redocneXk.
 
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