Creative Live Question

[ZL1]

Hi

guys Im looking to buy a creative live,I know its an old card, but its a good one and its cheap
Im very confused since there are a couple different models and I was wondering how can you tell which one is which ? by the part number, but where to check the part numbers ?


please advise


Thank you
Dan

 

[Auric]

Live is around $30 and Audigy around $40. I think the extra cost is well worth it in quality and performance.

 

[ZL1]

Originally posted by: Auric
Live is around $30 and Audigy around $40. I think the extra cost is well worth it in quality and performance.

well Im getting a live at $15 and the guy has a couple different models but I cant tell which is which


D

 

[bendixG15]

Make sure you get the model that Creative supports with drivers

Their are some OEM cards out there (Dell and Compaq for example) and the drivers
are just about nonexistent. Creative does not support OEM cards.
I got sone of those "cheap" OEM cards with no drivers

 

[ZL1]

how do I tell ? he has CT4830, CT4670 and CT4620


Thanks
Dan

 

[Brian48]

Well, when he means support, he means direct RMA, warrantee, or technical support. These are reserved for Creative's retail line. The generic drivers for the SBLive should still work fine. I've gone through several OEMs from ComPaq, Dell, Chico's Budget PCs', etc.. and have yet to encounter a problem with the Unified drivers off Creative's site.

Regarding what you're looking for in terms of features, all the variants use the EMUK101 DSP, but they come in all shapes and sizes. The current "SB" line offers the digital DIN (well, some still don't), but not the SPDIF pins. There's enough different models out there that there is even a full fledge, published book dedicated to the SBLive family.

My personal favorite is the CT4830 variant, which they don't make any more. It's the last model they made that still has the proper pin layout for connection with my Hoontech SB DB III daughter card (works great with the SBLive, by the way). I personally wouldn't recommend the SBLive any more, but not because I think it's a bad card. It's just that it's a bit on the old side and for a few dollars more, you can usually get a newer generation sound card, whether it be from Creative or some other brand.

 

[ZL1]

Originally posted by: Brian48
Well, when he means support, he means direct RMA, warrantee, or technical support. These are reserved for Creative's retail line. The generic drivers for the SBLive should still work fine. I've gone through several OEMs from ComPaq, Dell, Chico's Budget PCs', etc.. and have yet to encounter a problem with the Unified drivers off Creative's site.

Regarding what you're looking for in terms of features, all the variants use the EMUK101 DSP, but they come in all shapes and sizes. The current "SB" line offers the digital DIN (well, some still don't), but not the SPDIF pins. There's enough different models out there that there is even a full fledge, published book dedicated to the SBLive family.

My personal favorite is the CT4830 variant, which they don't make any more. It's the last model they made that still has the proper pin layout for connection with my Hoontech SB DB III daughter card (works great with the SBLive, by the way). I personally wouldn't recommend the SBLive any more, but not because I think it's a bad card. It's just that it's a bit on the old side and for a few dollars more, you can usually get a newer generation sound card, whether it be from Creative or some other brand.

I think he actually means drivers, I myself read somewhere that some of the OEM versions had problems with the creative drivers, but anyway I found a full chart and now I know what I'll get

if someone is interested they are:

PCI256 (CT4890, CT4891 and CT4893) and PCI512 (CT4820 and SB0150) including OEM model (CT4790)
The original Live! (CT4620) and Live! Value cards (CT4670)
The Live! X-Gamer, Live! MP3+, Live! Player 1024, Live! Platinum cards (CT4760) and value cards (CT4780)
The Live! X-Gamer 5.1, Live! MP3+ 5.1, Live! Player 5.1, Live! Platinum 5.1, Live! Digital Entertainment 5.1 cards (SB0060, SB0100, SB0102, SB0220, SB0222, SB0103 and SB0105) and Value 5.1 (SB0101)
The generic and custom OEM Live cards (CT4830, CT4831, CT4832, CT4850, CT4870, CT4871 and CT4872)
The Audigy series, including the Audigy MP3+, X-Gamer, Platinum and OEM cards (CT0070, CT0072, SB0090 and SB0092).


D