My previous sound card was a Sound Blaster Audigy II (Gamer ZS). I saw the Fatal1ty and wondered "Is this thing worth the price?" So I started reading user reviews on tech topic forums, with most people saying "50 million transistors vs 5, what would you do? ;) " Not helpful, and knowing the only way to learn something is to do it yourself, I bought one.
Needless to say, I am floored with its performance.
Of course, as a cynical Gen-X'er, I felt the need to point out the quirk first! I use Windows Vista - when removing the Audigy II and putting in the Fatal1ty (different PCI slot), Vista blue-screened when loading the CL control panel. I rebooted into safe mode and removed the previous drivers. Rebooting afterward, I then installed the Fatal1ty software. I still received a prompt of some old CL Control Panel software, but it was overwritten without any problems. Maybe it's not a quirk; I could have removed the old software first.
As with the Audigy II software, my antivirus software thought the Fatal1ty software contained a virus (no, it didn't). Okay, we'll call that the quirk. Now, how does the card compare?
It blows everything else away. The few games I play (UT2004, Doom3, FS X) sound crisper and with far more background detail than with the previous card. The computer seems to run a tad faster too. The foreground detail really packs an extra depth.
Windows Media Player and MP3s do sound a lot better as well; it is an incredible experience.
But to make the long ramble short, if you have even the Audigy II, this upgrade is not a frivolous purchase.
Awesome sound in gaming such as BF2 , BF 2142 also any racing game , good for , music entertainments.
this my 2nd X-FI sound card , also make sure that your board is supported because i have Nforce 4 32x motherboard asus a8n32sli with latest beta bios and its working fine , but i faced lagging while playing Bf2 , i have fixed that by increasing the NB and SB voltage and everything working fine and flawless.
great for gamers.
"Great product.. or will be eventually when Creative writes Vista drivers"
This card is amazing! ... if you use it in XP and not Vista... at least not right now. Creative has been sitting on their butts doing NOTHING to develop Vista drivers for the sound cards. For example, VERY simple code changes in almost all their software will enable them to work in Vista... but no they don't have 1 day to put aside and do it. It is up to normal people to try to do it themselves (and people have... look on the internet for PAX drivers/applications for X-Fi). Their driver for Vista is VERY basic and does not do anything other than SOME basic sound stuff. The last driver update was 2 months ago and even then it was just a very MINOR update to an already basic and crappy driver the released 3 months ago. I think they have spent maybe a few days on driver development since Vista came out. For now, you are much better off with the sound card built into you motherboard than this card for Vista.
"Great Sound Card"
2007-04-02
- Reviewed By User: A1029GPW27CYWW
Great Sound paired with 5.1 speakers. Easy Setup and Fabulous I/O panel for the front of the computer. Great deal for the $
The Fatal1ty is almost exclusively designed for headphone use. Its sound processing is amazing for headphones. But if you have speakers, you have a good chance of not being able to use the card. If you have digital speakers (i.e. a digital connection) then you cannot connect a microphone or any "line-in" as they both use the same plug (why? I have no idea). If you have analog connections, you better have the one connection method supported, there are 3 plugs: 4.1, 5.1, 6.1, 7.1 all use the same 3 plugs. If you have something other than 3 plugs for your speaker system, you are out of luck. If you have digital and want to use a microphone or any line-in device, your out of luck.
If you rely on your audio card for a firewire port, you are out of luck as this card no longer has firewire.
Like I said, the board is really designed for headphone users. If you have a good pair of headphones and use them for gaming or music then this card probably will work great for you.
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"A VERY worthy upgrade!! (Despite one quirky quirk)"
"Great product.. or will be eventually when Creative writes Vista drivers"