Which X-Fi makes sense?

[Orbs]

So the only factor for me regarding the Creative X-Fi is the on board ram. I don't care about break-out boxes or front-panel access or remote controls. I do however care about performance.

Is there any indication that devs are going to take this ram into account? If I get the XtremeMusic version (with no ram), will I lose out on audio capabilities later? Will it effect performance on future games?

What are your thoughts?

 

[Pariah]

As with most new features, we're probably not going to know the extent of market support until at least generation 2 hits the market. If you have money to burn or you don't upgrade very often, go for the X-RAM now and hope for support. If not, buy a cheaper version and if in a year when the 2nd generation of X-Fi is hitting the market and support is looking pretty decent you can upgrade to a card with X-RAM.

 

[Orbs]

Hehe well with Creative's pace, 2nd generation could be 3-4 years away! That being said, if I did buy the more beefy version, it probably would be a safe bet, but possibly a waste of money.

Any other thoughts?

 

[EightySix Four]

kinda sounds like the decision everyone will be making when the PPU comes out... Is it a big thing or is it gonna bomb.

Also, I'd say get the X-Ram, it can't hurt, heck maybe it'll become a standard like EAX

 

[Pariah]

Creative has released an updated line of cards in the August-October time frame 8 years in a row. I think it is safe to say they will release an updated X-Fi line roughly a year from now. That wasn't really the point though.

The video card market is a pretty good guide to use. Whatever the new feature for that generation is (T&L, DX8,DX9, etc), the software rarely supports the features until the next revision of cards is released simply because it takes time for developers to implement the features. So the early adopters end up with cards that have features they don't get to use, while those that upgrade later get to use all the features out of the box and know which features are really worthwhile and which are worthless. One positive of going with X-Ram now as opposed to being an early adopter of video cards, is that with video cards, not only are the new features not supported, but by the time they are, the first generation of cards are often underpowered to take advantage of the new software. This should not be an issue with X-Fi, as Creative will not be updating the processor any time soon.

One thing Creative has going for it is that they are the only game in town. There is no competing standard to fragment the market. This is a good thing as far as developers are concerned, they only have to code for one standard and most of the market will be able to take advantage of it.

 

[Stretchman]

I purchased my X-Fi extreme music card when it first came out. The X-ram wasn't really an issue. It's still going to come down to your CPU, RAM and Video Card.

 

[Polish3d]

I decided to wait because the idea of spending 300 on a soundcard was ridiculous. I have the extreme music version becuase I didnt want the external conn.

 

[Rubycon]

Does the X-Ram do anything for uses outside of games?

Sound font cache is system ram so I don't see how it could benefit UNLESS you have a program that could swap samples in and out of the ram fast on demand. Still with 1GB reserved for cache on the main system memories, I doubt this is even a factor. The PCI bus may also be an issue for swapping samples on the fly as latency would become a factor. Not that I have *any* 24 bit sound fonts to play with.

 

[T9D]

It's suppose to have better dacs than the lower models too. So it should sound even better. I just got the lower model x-fi though but it still sounds amazing.

 

[Rubycon]

Originally posted by: tk109
It's suppose to have better dacs than the lower models too. So it should sound even better. I just got the lower model x-fi though but it still sounds amazing.

Yes the Elite Pro is quieter than the Extreme Music one. Have both and side by side is a world of a difference.

The phono in on the EP is a godsend for those who want easy street to get their vinyl into the digital domain. Of course you can get one of those ion turntables with USB interface but I have not used one of those.

 

[Polish3d]

Actually I think you only get better DACs in the Elite Pro, 400 for a sound card is considerable

 

[KillerPotato]

If all I really want is the surround sound headphone feature, and maybe the improved overall sound quality over onboard sound, will the most basic one still offer these?

I have a feeling that the use of the xram wont be supported very heavily considering developers will cater to the majority of gamers who will most likely stick to basic cards or onboard sound.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

I'm skeptical about X-ram.

Also, the performance numbers I'm seeing make it look as though if you're looking for performance in games right now, the X-Fi is barely better than an Audigy 2.

If you have a nice set of speakers (like Klipsch Promedias or higher) or a nice set of headphones then I think a basic X-Fi would be a good idea to get games + sound quality, but if you're hooking it up to mediocre output devices and are thinking about spending multiple hundreds of dollars on a soundcard, I think that's a bad way to spend your money.

Buy an A2zs and save $100 or $200 towards your next videocard purchase.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: KillerPotato
If all I really want is the surround sound headphone feature, and maybe the improved overall sound quality over onboard sound, will the most basic one still offer these?

I have a feeling that the use of the xram wont be supported very heavily considering developers will cater to the majority of gamers who will most likely stick to basic cards or onboard sound.

Yeah, I think the basic one still gets you the headphone surround feature.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[Rubycon]

Yes a full schematic diagram in visio 2003 format of the x-fi circuitry including the function of the x-ram would be nice.

Where is William Ball when you need him?

 

[EightySix Four]

I'm debating buying one for my media carputer... think it'll increase my quality enough to be worth it

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: crazySOB297
I'm debating buying one for my media carputer... think it'll increase my quality enough to be worth it

Again... like I mentioned in my post above, if you have high end computer speakers as a minimum, then maybe it would be worth it.

What are you hooking up to?

 

[EightySix Four]

Two infinity 12's... 4 infinity kappa perfect 6.5inchers and 4 tweeters... about 3000 watts power...

 

[alcoholbob]

Is that a 5-way DIY speaker? : P

 

[EightySix Four]

lol, that's in a hummer H3

hence CARputer

planning on adding some 6x9's in the back too... haven't decided yet.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: crazySOB297
lol, that's in a hummer H3

hence CARputer

planning on adding some 6x9's in the back too... haven't decided yet.

Oh, I didn't catch carputer. Good luck with that.