Sound Blaster Live! X-Gamer for $54.98 at staples
- Thread starter gittyup
- Start date
unfortunately, this isn't the 5.1 version. i believe the extra $45 is worth it for the better and newer games and the native 5.1 support.
At OD you can get Sound Blaster Live X-Gamer for 34.00 {$49.00-(15.00 coupon)} (it includes full versions of Thief, Need for Speed 4 and Descent 3) This one has just 4 channel,
They do have a newer version for those of you that have digital speakers (X-Gamer 5.1)
They do have a newer version for those of you that have digital speakers (X-Gamer 5.1)
NCTiger,
Looking at officedepot.com and not seeing any sound blaster x-gamer cards. Is that at
OD B&M?
Looking at officedepot.com and not seeing any sound blaster x-gamer cards. Is that at
OD B&M?
How would this card compare to my Diamond MX300 ?
Also with the 5.1 version how many outputs does it have ? my mx300 has 2 outputs for the speakers
Also with the 5.1 version how many outputs does it have ? my mx300 has 2 outputs for the speakers
SSGTi,
This one has 2 stereo outputs as well as a SPDIF (digital) output. The 5.1 would have 5.1 output or 3 "stereo" outputs: one for fronts, one for rears, and one for center and sub I believe. The 5.1 also has a SPDIF. I don't know that it would be worth the upgrade from an mx300 to a plain x-gamer. If you want the most features, get a Live 5.1 platinum with the live drive 2. That will give you almost every input/output you can imagine on the front in a drive bay (except for speaker outputs which are on the card itself). I bought one from buy.com with a $30 off $150 coupon for under $140. Unless you are a input/output freak, or really want bragging rights, I would stay where you are until you can get a smoking deal on the 5.1 variety.
This one has 2 stereo outputs as well as a SPDIF (digital) output. The 5.1 would have 5.1 output or 3 "stereo" outputs: one for fronts, one for rears, and one for center and sub I believe. The 5.1 also has a SPDIF. I don't know that it would be worth the upgrade from an mx300 to a plain x-gamer. If you want the most features, get a Live 5.1 platinum with the live drive 2. That will give you almost every input/output you can imagine on the front in a drive bay (except for speaker outputs which are on the card itself). I bought one from buy.com with a $30 off $150 coupon for under $140. Unless you are a input/output freak, or really want bragging rights, I would stay where you are until you can get a smoking deal on the 5.1 variety.
nacwolf, the fps2000 only requires a 4 channel output, so yes, the x-gamer will work with it. the fact that they are both made by creative labs is irrelevant.
The Guiellemot Fortissiomo has optical 5.1 and DTS output for under 50.00. It is a nice card. I'm using 2 of them.
The old Creative Labs SB 16 PCI (~25.00) also will output SPDIF 5.1 digital via the left analog channel output jack if you use the correct drivers from Gateway.com (I've done it myself) . I'm told that the Creative drivers deliberately crippled this function to promote sales of their higher priced cards. That really sucks, IMO.
The old Creative Labs SB 16 PCI (~25.00) also will output SPDIF 5.1 digital via the left analog channel output jack if you use the correct drivers from Gateway.com (I've done it myself) . I'm told that the Creative drivers deliberately crippled this function to promote sales of their higher priced cards. That really sucks, IMO.
I have the 5.1 X Gamer and it rocks.It comes with four full verion games,MDK2,DES EX,Theif 2,and Unreal Tournament.I think the games alone are worth 20 each so I dont think you can go wrong wth the X Gamer 5.1 card.JMHO 
Does the Live! X-Gamer (non 5.1) have a game/joystick port?
Does it have two channel audio input jacks? (I noted that the video capture card I just got for an el cheapo price courtesy of these parts, the Pinnacle DC10+, doesn't have any audio inputs.)
Re 4.1 channel vs. 5.1 channel, it seems to me that the latter is only useful if you plan to do a lot of watching of DVD's on your computer. If you watch them on your big screen tv with a separate DVD player (mine's the Apex), then I'm not sure of the point. The center channel isn't used much in games, if at all, and would tend to hurt the impression of sound direction. It's best for person to person closeup dialog in movies, tv shows, etc.
Does it have two channel audio input jacks? (I noted that the video capture card I just got for an el cheapo price courtesy of these parts, the Pinnacle DC10+, doesn't have any audio inputs.)
Re 4.1 channel vs. 5.1 channel, it seems to me that the latter is only useful if you plan to do a lot of watching of DVD's on your computer. If you watch them on your big screen tv with a separate DVD player (mine's the Apex), then I'm not sure of the point. The center channel isn't used much in games, if at all, and would tend to hurt the impression of sound direction. It's best for person to person closeup dialog in movies, tv shows, etc.
dang... $34 for a x-gamer is a pretty nice deal, that's cheaper than the Values that you find out there
SSGTi: I used to own a MX300 and changed because aureal is unfortunately dead, and bought off by creative. It would be extremely unlikly if they would ever update their drivers again. Sound quality-wise, i'm sure any Aureal card owner will tell you that A3D is 10 times better than EAX, and Aureal is a very good card.
SSGTi: I used to own a MX300 and changed because aureal is unfortunately dead, and bought off by creative. It would be extremely unlikly if they would ever update their drivers again. Sound quality-wise, i'm sure any Aureal card owner will tell you that A3D is 10 times better than EAX, and Aureal is a very good card.
nacwolf --
<<Will the X-gamer(not 5.1) work with the fps2000 creative lab speakers?>>
I think you could say that the FPS2000 speaker/amp system was DESIGNED around the 4.1 X-Gamer. Yeep, definitely.
That's the combo I'm contemplating. From what I can tell, the FPS2000 actually sounds quite a bit better than the 5.1 DTT2200 and even DTT2500. Though the pricey DTT3500 may be the best of the Cambridge lot -- (if you don't get the humm in yours which the first box shipped to AnandTech for review had.)
<<Will the X-gamer(not 5.1) work with the fps2000 creative lab speakers?>>
I think you could say that the FPS2000 speaker/amp system was DESIGNED around the 4.1 X-Gamer. Yeep, definitely.
That's the combo I'm contemplating. From what I can tell, the FPS2000 actually sounds quite a bit better than the 5.1 DTT2200 and even DTT2500. Though the pricey DTT3500 may be the best of the Cambridge lot -- (if you don't get the humm in yours which the first box shipped to AnandTech for review had.)
I keep hearing about this OD coupon. Can anyone tell me where to find it? I am looking for a sound card and this sounds like a good deal. Thanks
The 5.1 would have 5.1 output or 3 "stereo" outputs: one for fronts, one for rears, and one for center and sub I believe.
Nope. It just has the 2 regular 'front' and 'rear' line-outs. To get 5.1, you have to connect the S/PDIF to a digital speaker system.
Check out the Specs.
I bought one of these from buy.com for around $75. I'm not a gamer, so I fleabayed the 4 games for around $50. Final cost of $25 for this card is pretty good.
Nope. It just has the 2 regular 'front' and 'rear' line-outs. To get 5.1, you have to connect the S/PDIF to a digital speaker system.
Check out the Specs.
I bought one of these from buy.com for around $75. I'm not a gamer, so I fleabayed the 4 games for around $50. Final cost of $25 for this card is pretty good.
<< Nope. It just has the 2 regular 'front' and 'rear' line-outs. To get 5.1, you have to connect the S/PDIF to a digital speaker system. >>
Nope, I've checked the box (but have not decided if I want to buy it), it has Center/Subwoofer line-outs. Your link to the spec also says it has "Analog Center & Subwoofer"
i am not a gamer, so whats the cheapest sound card i can get works with win2K, my isa sound card from io magic dont have the win2k driver and i have been waiting for the rebate for 2 years
Noobody, try the Creative Labs Ensoniq AudioPCI card, it's $30 at most places (Staples & Office Depot). It's got Win2K drivers on the included CD, and it does the basic sound card stuff (like mp3's) just nicely. I bought one for a secondary computer at home, and had no problems with it.
or get sb live value version2 it's around 30buck us too
and i also have A3D from Asus K7V onboard sound.
it's not as good as EAX from my sb live value.
and i also have A3D from Asus K7V onboard sound.
it's not as good as EAX from my sb live value.
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