Most of my life, I have been primarily a notebook computer user. Being a laptop user, I had grown extremely accustomed to the sound quality of an integrated sound processor. So when I finally decided to take the plunge and build a gaming desktop computer, I decided that the integrated sound on the motherboard would more than suit my needs. I started my build with a high end 2.1 system (Altec Lansing FX-6021) since I was confined to the small shared living area of my on-campus dormitory, but was able to go ahead and upgrade to the Logitech Z-5500 5.1 system (reviewed
here) once I finally got an apartment with my own room. Since the onboard sound supported up to 7.1 channels, I started out using that for my new Logitech speakers.
My experience BEFORE the upgrade to X-Fi
Upon initially configuring and powering up my new system, I was somewhat disappointed. Spending almost $300 on the speakers, I felt as though all the reviews I had read about them belied me. Playing games did have somewhat of a surround effect, but sounds coming from the rear speakers was
weak and wasn't immersive at all. I felt as though I was no better off with this monstrous system than I was with my previous 2.1 system.
Music was no less disappointing. The music coming from the speakers was just plain
muddy. Maxing out the high end of the EQ in my media player seemed to remedy the problem with the weak highs. As far as the lows go, nothing I did with the EQ seemed to be able to do anything. I can say that the bass was there, but very undefined. On top of that, the subwoofer was attempting to produce high notes that shouldn't have even been sent to it!
To say the least, I was feeling ripped off. I did more looking around on the web and came to hear from many people in forums/reviews that integrated sound processors are very cheesy, and one doesn't realize how bad they are they install a decent PCI sound card. This gave me MUCH hope, so I set out to find the best possible high end card.
I narrowed my search down to the Creative SoundBlaster X-Fi series. This left me with 4-5 choices. I told myself "Go big, or go home" and decided to go with the X-Fi Fatal1ty FPS because: 1...I am a gamer and need a sound card with full hardware decoding/acceleration to try to increase gaming performance, 2...I wanted to have the option of digital optical/coaxial output since my Logitechs support these outputs, and 3...(sadly) because I knew the front I/O drive would look cool on the front of my computer and would impress anyone who was technologically inclined enough to care.
Installing the X-Fi Fatal1ty FPS
Installation was piece of cake. I Slipped the PCI card into its home on my motherboard. I then slid the I/O drive into its home in an empty 5.25-inch drive bay and secured it with the four provided screws, connected power to it through an unused floppy power connector, and connected the ribbon data cable from it to the PCI card.
I must say I do not like the way this ribbon cable looks at all. I have a case with a huge side window and the ribbon cable just looks out of place, since I used round IDE cables for my DVD drives. Not only is this cable ugly, but it also blocks air flow big time from the two intake fans on the front of my case. The cable is very similar in size and fashion to a standard IDE cable, but not a dead match, so th ere is no replacing it with a third party cable like I'd much like to do. I did what I could to twist it so it was sideways enough to not block incoming air too much.
Software
The included software might be a bit much for some users. Checking in Windows' Control Panel reveals that the software package is taking up 891 megabytes of hard disk space, and thats WITHOUT the extra stuff like the optional media player and DVD player. I'm not sure if it's me, but close to a gig of hard drive space for sound card drivers seems a tad excessive. Even though I only checked the one required box during installation, lots of extras were added; stuff like "3DMIDI Player", "Karaoke Player", "Vienna SoundFont Studio". Lots of cool extras to say that you have, but probably none that most common users will really use.
The one piece of the software that most users WILL use is the Creative Volume Panel. This is basically where you adjust settings like what "mode" you want to be in (Entertainment, Game, Audio Creation) as well as adjusting effects and EQ's that are applied to the sound coming from the device.
Which mode you use really does make a difference. I only use the Entertainment and Game modes. If you accidentally leave the sound card in Game mode and start listening to music, you can definitely tell something is not right. The sound is very flat...actually somewhat worse than my onboard audio!
Entertainment Mode
Entertainment mode is definitely you choice for...well...entertainment! Stuff like listening to music and watching movies is what you want to do here. It is also probably going to be your default mode to start and navigate Windows in. It offers a few neat little tweaks to apply to the sound.
EAX effects can be applied to give an ambiance to your music/movies. All of the available options (from "Amphitheater" to "Stone Hall") pretty much all sound the same to me, giving the impression of the ambiance and echo from a live performance in a theater. I usually leave it off because it distorts the music in my opinion.
CMSS-3D is a cool effect that creates a surround effect for your music and movies. I like this feature because it basically envelopes you in whatever you are listening to, sort of making it seem like you are actually there listening to the artist perform. This effect does not distort or change the sound, but merely emphasizes it (as much or as little as you may like) in your rear surround speakers.
The 24-bit Crystalizer I heard oh-so-many great things about didn't seem to be all it was cracked up to be from reviews that I read. It
does add an extra punch in the high and low ends of the music, but not any dramatic increase in sound quality like I was expecting. I guess its name well suits it because it does seem to "crystalize" your music, making it clearer and more responsive, but it does this on a very subtle scale.
Game Mode
Not much can be said about game mode except for the fact that is necessary to enable it if you plan on turning on advanced EAX and hardware sound acceleration in your games. I had forgotten to switch it from Entertainment Mode to Game Mode before I started a game and found that the advanced sound options were not available.
Switching between modes might be a bit painful if you do a lot of changing between playing games and listening to music/watching movies in one sitting. One thing that would be nice is if the software would detect when a game is launched and automatically switch to Game Mode, and then switch back once the game is exited.
And don't worry, when switching between modes, your settings for each particular mode are saved. The only thing you need to adjust is which mode you are in. Once you get back to that mode, everything is the way you left it.
How does it sound?
Amazing. Compared to the integrated sound on my motherboard, this card really kicks you-know-what. Music is a joy to listen to now. The highs are rich and the lows are deeper and harder hitting than I've experienced from PC audio. Like I mentioned earlier, I was forced to max out the high end of the EQ to be able to hear the highs. With this card, no such adjusting is necessary. Leaving all EQ's flat resulted in extremely clean and well-defined music. Adding whichever of the effects mentioned above that you prefer only further increases your listening pleasure.
How about games? Amazing. In my opinion, first person shooters (wow, coincidence...FPS) will see the greatest benefit from this sound card, especially if you have a surround system. Hearing footsteps coming from behind you, objects falling next to you, and shell casings bouncing all around you in F.E.A.R.; the sound of gunfire in the far off distance behind you and over your left shoulder in Battlefield 2142. So does it improve game performance? Yes! The most noticeable increase in performance was experienced in F.E.A.R. Before with my integrated sound, I was able to set the graphics settings pretty high, but could not max them out with features like full anti-aliasing, soft shadows, antistropic filtering, etc. Now, I have
everything set to "Maximum" and the game is completely silky smooth. I was skeptical when I heard people saying that they experienced an increase in frames per second, but they weren't lying, and now I'm a believer. These little things that you might have never before considered, are now necessities that you won't be able to game without in the future. As long as you switch to Game Mode.
Movies? They aren't left out either. Watching a DVD of Star Wars: Episode I was fantastic. Pod racers zooming towards you from the right, the crowd cheering behind you, you really are at the theaters with this sound card and a good set of speakers.
Headphones
After about a month of owning this sound card, I made my way around to giving the front headphone jack a try. I was immensely impressed by the sound quality coming from my middle-of-the-run Koss headphones. The card comes with an adapter so if you have headphones that only have the mini-plug, you can still use them with the front I/O drive. Music sounds just as good through these phones as it does through my Logitechs. One thing I noticed was that bass coming from the I/O drive overpowered and distorted my Koss's at the default bass settings in the X-Fi control panel. I was forced to turn the bass knob down from 50% to close to 0% (depending on the song) in order to get them to sound normal. Once I got the bass under control, they sounded great! Chances are that I just have cheap headphones anyway, so those with higher quality headphones might not even experience this issue.
The thing I was most pleased with was the amazing surround effects that this card is able to reproduce in headphones. The first time I plugged in my headphones was late at night when I was playing a game of F.E.A.R. and my roommates were going to bed. I was blown away at how accurately I was able to pick out enemy locations. I could literally hear the footsteps coming from behind me, and the bullet casings from the guns all around me...just like with my 5.1 surround system! I was later messing around with the settings in the X-Fi control panel and found the surround settings and test panel. When it cycled through all the locations (from front left, side left, rear left, etc.) it really sounded like the sound was coming from that direction! I can confidently guarantee anyone that their experience with headphones, whether it be gaming or watching movies, will be virtually equally as immersive as it is with a surround speaker system.
Quick note on the included remote control
The included remote control might be something cool to have, or to say you have...but it doesn't really seem to serve much of a purpose for me. It includes lots of buttons like play, pause, etc., etc., but is not in any means universal, and can't be used for other applications like Windows Media Player, Winamp, etc. It is only compatible with the players included with the software package that comes with this card. Besides that, it is able to adjust and turn on and off the different effects that are available, but usually once you have the settings the way you like then, you will leave them that way.
Conclusion
Should you buy get it? Well that depends on a few things. First, you have to be willing to shell out the premium price for this top of the line card. Second, you have to be willing to shell out the premium price for a set of top end 5.1/7.1 speakers. Do NOT short yourself with a set of low quality or middle of the run speakers; go for the THX stamp of approval! Third, you are going to need to be a fan of PC gaming and entertainment. Don't spend the money on this sound card if you are not going to be squeezing all of your hard-earned money back out of it. Fourth, you need to make sure that you will be making use of the front I/O drive. If you wont have use for any of the inputs/outputs on the I/O drive, then the cheaper Fatal1ty card will better suit you. It is identical to this minus the I/O drive and the remote control. Fifth? Ok, well there is no fifth. But if you meet the above four requirements, then I say BUY IT!
I heard from many sources that you'll never realize how crappy your onboard sound is, until you have listened to a good PCI sound card. Boy, they sure weren't BSing me.
