SoundBlaster X-fi vs X-fi fatal1ty

[powergi]

I just bought a system but I cant build it since I didnt receive the case yet. While unpacking my things I saw that my sound card, soundblaster x-fi xtreme gamer, is really small, and on the box there is only 2 checks out of 3 for the gameing sound quality. Should I change it for the same thing but fatal1ty pro series version for 60$ more? I never saw a sound card small like this so Im wondering about the sound quality, especially for games. I dont have a sli setup (so i dont care if the card is small or big) and I just have a 2.1 sound system, but i usually use sennheiser headphones anyway.

 

[attack]

I highly doubt you'll notice the difference even if there is one. The Xi-fi is a good sound card as it is (I use onboard and have no complaints...so you should be fine).

If anything I'd return that and get the razer sound card (it's 60 bucks from buy.com I believe).

 

[blazed]

The half size cards are cut down somewhat, you can compare specs with the full featured X-Fis to see whats missing, biggest thing I can think of is that everything is done in software instead of hardware, so uses your CPU like integrated.

 

[powergi]

I see... So I guess it does worth it to get the fatal1ty version after all, since it would free the CPU of all the sound processing?

 

[GameSinewPCs]

The extreme Gamer uses an X-Fi chip, therefore it processes on chip "freeing" cpu from most audio load. All the other versions of the X-Fi line also use this chip with added features and functionality. **With the Exception** of the X-FI Xtreme Audio cards which are Audigy derived and use the cpu for audio processing.

 

[benbaked]

The extreme Gamer uses an X-Fi chip, therefore it processes on chip "freeing" cpu from most audio load. All the other versions of the X-Fi line also use this chip with added features and functionality. **With the Exception** of the X-FI Xtreme Audio cards which are Audigy derived and use the cpu for audio processing.

That's right. IIRC the main difference with the fatal1ty x-fi card is that it has 64 MB of XRAM and more outputs (like the breakout box connector on the back).

I use an xtremegamer and it sounds great for games.