newegg.com has both of these listed... the Fatal1ty at $125 minus a $30 mail in rebate and the standard XiFi at $89.00... What's the difference between the two? I read up on these cards and knew at one point, but that was almost a year and a half ago and I just can't remember... With the $30 rebate they're essentially the same price, but I find it easier just to go for the cheaper price point and avoid mail in rebates altogether.
Right now I have a standard Audigy2 that may be about 4 years old... I'm starting to think the it may be advantageous to get the XiFi with it's dedicated sound processor, but I'm not sure how much of a overall upgrade in sound quality I'll notice. I'm starting to see the need for dedicated sound processing in a few games, but that may be eliminated once I upgrade the processor in my rig... Any advice on this is greatly appreciated.
The Fatal1ty has X-RAM on it, which is a sort of RAM but for sound, which would give you better performance and avoids the need to uncompress some audio. If you can get it at a price similar of the ExtremeMusic, I would get the Fatal1ty
Good stuff... For some reason I thought both had X-RAM. If Fatal1ty features X-RAM over the standard version, then I'll definitely go for that instead.
nothing uses xram now I believe, its just a waste - go with the standard x-fi - also unless you have a superb set of surround sound headphones or something similar you wont notice the difference.
If you can get the card now for the same price as the Extrememusic, I would benefit from it, but if the cost is much higher, avoid it, since no game takes usage out of it. I hope that clears my previous statement. The fatal1ity for me is more marketing talk then real performance difference...
[QUOTE="Alpha_Omega69"][QUOTE="sublime5343"]the difference is that a hardcore PC gamer would never be caught dead with anything labeled "Fatal1ty" in his rig...
:D
... seriously, though, games don't use "X-Ram" right now so don't worry about it. DirkVDV01
Why is that? are they bad or somthing? :| Overrated, you pay for the name more then for the performance So then what would be the best alternative? Audigy 4?
Yeah what's the deal with Audigy 4? The big selling point on XiFi is it's dedicated audio processor, but I haven't read anything at all on the new Audigys.... I have an Audigy2 that's beginning to slow down. Also, the XiFi is $89 on newegg, while the Fatal1ty is about $95 after a mail in rebate... is it not even worth the extra trouble? Even though they're ultimately about the same price?
[QUOTE="DirkVDV01"][QUOTE="Alpha_Omega69"][QUOTE="sublime5343"]the difference is that a hardcore PC gamer would never be caught dead with anything labeled "Fatal1ty" in his rig...
:D
... seriously, though, games don't use "X-Ram" right now so don't worry about it. Alpha_Omega69
Why is that? are they bad or somthing? :| Overrated, you pay for the name more then for the performance So then what would be the best alternative? Audigy 4?
no no no no no... don't get an Audigy!
I got the X-Fi Platinum shortly after X-Fi came out, and it was the best option for me because I wanted a console with the card because at the time I used the aux jacks for xbox 360 sound...
right now, the X-Fi XtremeGamer is a really popular choice if you want X-Fi sound at low cost... it's only around $90 and is geared more towards gaming and less towards all the multimedia music/dvd extras... although it will still give you great 24-bit 7.1 sound for all your needs
hardware geeks just always make fun of the Fatal1ty brand because it's usually just a mark up because of the name... but noobs seem to gravitate towards it... Fatal1ty is just a noob who would rather play Painkiller or Quake 3 than BF2 or CS:S
[QUOTE="Alpha_Omega69"][QUOTE="DirkVDV01"][QUOTE="Alpha_Omega69"][QUOTE="sublime5343"]the difference is that a hardcore PC gamer would never be caught dead with anything labeled "Fatal1ty" in his rig...
:D
... seriously, though, games don't use "X-Ram" right now so don't worry about it. sublime5343
Why is that? are they bad or somthing? :| Overrated, you pay for the name more then for the performance So then what would be the best alternative? Audigy 4?
no no no no no... don't get an Audigy!
I got the X-Fi Platinum shortly after X-Fi came out, and it was the best option for me because I wanted a console with the card because at the time I used the aux jacks for xbox 360 sound...
right now, the X-Fi XtremeGamer is a really popular choice if you want X-Fi sound at low cost... it's only around $90 and is geared more towards gaming and less towards all the multimedia music/dvd extras... although it will still give you great 24-bit 7.1 sound for all your needs
hardware geeks just always make fun of the Fatal1ty brand because it's usually just a mark up because of the name... but noobs seem to gravitate towards it... Fatal1ty is just a noob who would rather play Painkiller or Quake 3 than BF2 or CS:S Well I got the Fatal1ty....damnit lol, so its not good at all with 7.1 setups? and not god with bf2?
[QUOTE="Alpha_Omega69"][QUOTE="sportwarrior"]Yeah what's the deal with Audigy 4? The big selling point on XiFi is it's dedicated audio processor, but I haven't read anything at all on the new Audigys.... I have an Audigy2 that's beginning to slow down. Also, the XiFi is $89 on newegg, while the Fatal1ty is about $95 after a mail in rebate... is it not even worth the extra trouble? Even though they're ultimately about the same price? My old comp had an audigy 4 and it worked very well, now I am waiting to try out the fatal1ty with the new comp in my sig, but yeah if your in doubt about the Fatal1ty series I would go for an old audigy 4, they are really good for 7.1 and 5.1 setups.
Alpha, am i allowed too say, that you have the most kickass rig Ive ever seen ?:P
anyways, get the X-0fi Extreme muisc OEM versien, you odnt have too pay for the box etz then, its 71 euro here, that um 60 dollars ?
[QUOTE="whoody12"][QUOTE="Alpha_Omega69"][QUOTE="sportwarrior"]Yeah what's the deal with Audigy 4? The big selling point on XiFi is it's dedicated audio processor, but I haven't read anything at all on the new Audigys.... I have an Audigy2 that's beginning to slow down. Also, the XiFi is $89 on newegg, while the Fatal1ty is about $95 after a mail in rebate... is it not even worth the extra trouble? Even though they're ultimately about the same price? My old comp had an audigy 4 and it worked very well, now I am waiting to try out the fatal1ty with the new comp in my sig, but yeah if your in doubt about the Fatal1ty series I would go for an old audigy 4, they are really good for 7.1 and 5.1 setups.
Alpha, am i allowed too say, that you have the most kickass rig Ive ever seen ?:P
anyways, get the X-0fi Extreme muisc OEM versien, you odnt have too pay for the box etz then, its 71 euro here, that um 60 dollars ? Lol thanks bro :D
[QUOTE="sublime5343"][QUOTE="Alpha_Omega69"][QUOTE="DirkVDV01"][QUOTE="Alpha_Omega69"][QUOTE="sublime5343"]the difference is that a hardcore PC gamer would never be caught dead with anything labeled "Fatal1ty" in his rig...
:D
... seriously, though, games don't use "X-Ram" right now so don't worry about it. Alpha_Omega69
Why is that? are they bad or somthing? :| Overrated, you pay for the name more then for the performance So then what would be the best alternative? Audigy 4?
no no no no no... don't get an Audigy!
I got the X-Fi Platinum shortly after X-Fi came out, and it was the best option for me because I wanted a console with the card because at the time I used the aux jacks for xbox 360 sound...
right now, the X-Fi XtremeGamer is a really popular choice if you want X-Fi sound at low cost... it's only around $90 and is geared more towards gaming and less towards all the multimedia music/dvd extras... although it will still give you great 24-bit 7.1 sound for all your needs
hardware geeks just always make fun of the Fatal1ty brand because it's usually just a mark up because of the name... but noobs seem to gravitate towards it... Fatal1ty is just a noob who would rather play Painkiller or Quake 3 than BF2 or CS:S Well I got the Fatal1ty....damnit lol, so its not good at all with 7.1 setups? and not god with bf2?
nah, man, it's still a good card. It's the X-Fi Platinum with "X-Ram" lol
it's just something that's not needed in gaming, but if you got it for only a few bucks more than the Platinum, then it's no big deal. People just made fun of it because when the X-Fi series was first released it was like an extra $50 or $100 more than the Platinum! But now since the X-Fi's have been out for a while and not many people bought the Fatal1ty version, the price has dropped closer to the Platinum...
still a good card, dude, and you'll be able to run BF2 at ultra high X-Fi hardware audio settings w/ EAX and everything... the sound is amazing when compared to crap onboard audio.
How about this... what's the difference between the XtremeMusic and the XtremeGamer? Other than the MIDI/Joystick input? The Fatal1ty is the same price after rebate... I may just end up getting it after all...
There's also the Xtreme Audio for $65.99... why all the different price levels? What's the difference once you get past the Fatal1ty? I could also get the retail version with a $50 rebate to bring it down to $130 with front panel and remote, but I don't really need that...
[QUOTE="sportwarrior"]There's also the Xtreme Audio for $65.99... why all the different price levels? What's the difference once you get past the Fatal1ty? I could also get the retail version with a $50 rebate to bring it down to $130 with front panel and remote, but I don't really need that...
it depends on which "Fatal1ty" you are talking about... there's 2 versions, one with a console and one without.... that's the difference between those two. The Fatal1ty version with the console is identical to the Platinum except the Platinum doesn't have the X-Ram. I'm not sure, but I think the XtremeGamer is a bit more stripped down but essentially the same as the XtremeMusic, but the Music has more inputs and the ability to connect to a console, plus I think it had some special feature... the X-Fi XtremeAudio is just the stripped down entry-level card
I'd probably be getting the one without the console. The console version is available for $180 with a $50 rebate, but I'm not sure I wanna mess with all that. I may just get the Fatal1ty.
The platnium is the extreme music with a console. The X-Fi Fatality is the extreme gamer that has X-RAM with the console. Extreme audio is X-Fi on a budget. It has no X-RAM, console, or software. But a good choice over an audigy 2.
I would get the Xtreme Gamer and 2 games do use the RAM and EAX 5.0
I got the Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer Fatal1ty Professional And would never get rid of it I love it it works great on everything and since i upgraded ive noticed a huge change its alsome :P
... seriously, though, games don't use "X-Ram" right now so don't worry about it.sublime5343
People said the same thing about Video RAM back when the biggest computer game anyone could play on an IBM "PC" was Doom. The principle behind X-RAM is sound, but you're right in that there aren't many games really publicizing that they can address it. The only game that comes to memory that can use X-RAM is Battlefield 2, but I wouldn't buy an X-Fi with the X-RAM just for that. Newegg has a model that's called the XtremeGamer Fatal1ty Professional Series, which gives you an X-RAM enabled X-Fi without having to pay extra for the drive bay using I/O panel. For the price, it is certainly favorable to go with that over either the XtremeMusic (non-X-RAM) or the Fatal1ty FPS which contains the extra drive.
So then what would be the best alternative? Audigy 4?Alpha_Omega69
The Audigy 4 is not bad, but it was Creative's attempt at making a "professional"-worthy Audigy product. Compared to their own "professional grade" product line and others though, it was a failure there, and it wasn't enough of an improvement over the Audigy 2ZS to make it worthwhile.
I just like to add that Quake 4, Prey, Doom 3, and Battle Field 2 & 2142 use X-Ram. X-Ram takes pressure off the CPU which raise frame rates during these games.
I just like to add that Quake, Prey, Doom, and Battle Field 2 & 2142 use X-Ram. X-Ram takes pressure off the CPU and raises frame rates during these games. gamer100g
[QUOTE="Alpha_Omega69"][QUOTE="DirkVDV01"][QUOTE="Alpha_Omega69"][QUOTE="sublime5343"]the difference is that a hardcore PC gamer would never be caught dead with anything labeled "Fatal1ty" in his rig...
:D
... seriously, though, games don't use "X-Ram" right now so don't worry about it. sublime5343
Why is that? are they bad or somthing? :| Overrated, you pay for the name more then for the performance So then what would be the best alternative? Audigy 4?
no no no no no... don't get an Audigy!
I got the X-Fi Platinum shortly after X-Fi came out, and it was the best option for me because I wanted a console with the card because at the time I used the aux jacks for xbox 360 sound...
right now, the X-Fi XtremeGamer is a really popular choice if you want X-Fi sound at low cost... it's only around $90 and is geared more towards gaming and less towards all the multimedia music/dvd extras... although it will still give you great 24-bit 7.1 sound for all your needs
hardware geeks just always make fun of the Fatal1ty brand because it's usually just a mark up because of the name... but noobs seem to gravitate towards it... Fatal1ty is just a noob who would rather play Painkiller or Quake 3 than BF2 or CS:S
Fatal1ty is a noob................LOL, let me guess....................you are better:lol:
[QUOTE="gamer100g"]I just like to add that Quake, Prey, Doom, and Battle Field 2 & 2142 use X-Ram. X-Ram takes pressure off the CPU and raises frame rates during these games. Generalkill8888
Wow this is a really old thread..
yah I know, but I am getting that card today and was doing a little research and found this old forum.
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