Staples = Creative Labs Audigy 2 ZS $45 AR

[Ricemarine]

Uhh, apparently they have a creative labs audigy 2 zs for $45 after mail in rebate, might want to check that out guys!

 

[sumdumbum]

is this listed on their site? I did a search there for "creative" and it only came up with a sound blaster 16.

 

[pyro451]

Deal confirmed at Sturbridge, MA Staples. I already got in on the 2ZS Platinum for $83 at Buy.com a few weeks ago. Still, nice price for a 2ZS.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Also at ZZF

$43.99 AR free shipping (no tax?)

 

[sgntsids]

So it this actually hot?

And how about this one?

 

[pyro451]

Originally posted by: sgntsids
So it this actually hot?

And how about this one?

I called Creative before I bought my Platinum (non-pro) and their tech support told me the only difference between the platinum and platinum pro was the external breakout box versus the 5.25" internal panel.

I opted for the internal panel for a cleaner looking case. Admittedly, there may be slightly less chance for RF interference with an external panel though.

 

[fornax]

Staples has a $25 rebate on Creative Labs Audigy 2 Value (SKU 583761). The price is $69.98 before the rebate. There is a limit of 10 rebates. If you have a $30 off $150 coupon, this could become a good deal (~ $40 per card after taxes and before filler). But it's not available for order, either on the website or over the phone (at least for my ZIP code).

If I needed one, I would go with ZZF's deal of $44 after rebate and free 2nd day shipping.

 

[InspectorFox]

Works well with Windows XP but does NOT work with Windows 2003.
Very poor support from Creative for an awesome product.

 

[aceO07]

Originally posted by: InspectorFox
Works well with Windows XP but does NOT work with Windows 2003.
Very poor support from Creative for an awesome product.

You mean Windows 2003 SERVER, right?

 

[Devistater]

Originally posted by: aceO07

Originally posted by: InspectorFox
Works well with Windows XP but does NOT work with Windows 2003.
Very poor support from Creative for an awesome product.

You mean Windows 2003 SERVER, right?

all windows 2003 is server. Just like I think 2000 is supposed to be

Anyway, yes creative has teh sux for driver support. Like when XP came out they took months to get a good chunk of xp drivers out for many products. As if they didn't bother doing much while it was in beta.

I had a Live! that wasn't updated drivers for about 3 years. And that was during the whole VIA mobo problem that was because creative didn't have properly bus mastering compliant PCI cards.

In additiion a good chunk of the "upgrades" they put on each succeeding generation are actually purely software mods. You can d/l 3rd party drivers that add a large chunk of features of later generations to early cards like live! series cards. Of course you can't add those 108db inputs or DAC chips, but other than that... so thats one reason why they dont put out very many driver updates for older products.

And of course another reason I dislike creative was how they lied about audigy 1 features. They had to settle a class action lawsuit for that one that gave you a $30 coupon off of future orders from creatives web shop! lol, as usual the lawyers make all the money from that stuff.

Can you tell I dislike creative?

Now there's a new type of chip out from a company that finally adds realtime dolby digital encoding (ala Soundstorm that can output ANYTHING as dolby digital) that I'm really interested in. I think there's like 2 retail cards that have that feature now. If I buy another soundcard to replace my new mobo's onboard sound, thats probably what I'll grab.