Sound Blaster Live to X-FI

Do you think that moving from a Sound Blaster Live to a new X-FI sound card will increase my Game Play FPS in Battlefield 2. I have tried using hte Hardware settings and setting the Audio to high it sounds totally different and amazing but the sound blaster card just cant handle it. By defualt my the game selects Software mode, with medium settings and EAX.

I know for sure that if I get the X-FI my sound will be crystal clear and blow me away. But I am really interested in the performance gains here?

Please let me know of any positive expereinces with this card.

Thank you....:dave:

 

If you are using the card for eax and other optimizations, you might see a small frame gain, possibly even up to 10fps depending on the game (supposedly)

 

yes

i went from a Sound Blaster Live! 5.1 to a Audigy 2 and i noticed a FPS increase

so X-Fi should be even better

but mine was only 60 bucks, i scored a good deal on one of the higher models.

that X-Fi will suck money outa you though

 

hmmmm ...... is that a vga card ??? ...... i think your post is in the wrong section

 

Staff can this be moved pls?

 

Ok I came from a TRUST 514DX sound card to the X-Fi extreme music and I noticed that BF2 and other games for example quake4 runs smoother at best possible audio settings...with the old card I was playing same games at medium settings and my fps were lower

edit:
Wolverine69r sorry

 

ROFLMAO this was originally posted in the nvidia section, there is still a moved tag next to its original posting in that section if you want to check

 

ok, you will notice a small increase but nothing major, I think if your looking for true gains in terms of FPS try and upgrade something else...if you upgrade your sound you will simply get better sound..but that's about it...heres a test for you turn off eax in the game and see how it plays..won't be much of a increase so if you get a card that handles that..then this is a fair test...see my point? and you SB live! is fairly new..but doesn't contain Hardware acceleration for EAX..BUT I don't think thats the case here...

 

not totally true Rob, the newer sound cards have better SPU's and take even more sound processing from the cpu,.. i wouldn't even touch a Live 24bit with a 10 foot pci slot...

 

what I am saying is that NEW SB Live! doesn't support EAX hardware acceleration..so it uses MORE CPU to render the effects..I was just making a point...He won't get a major jump in FPS's...just won't happen..The general idea is that Yes the sound cards APU is supposed to do ALL audio related tasks including effect rendering(EAX) but as we all know onboards don't..SB LIve 7.1's don't etc... SO actually by using that card he may belosing FPS..instead of gaining them...CPU is busy calculating reflection times for the reverb Code..very cpu intensive..to say the least...

 

XiFI has an onboard EAX processor

 

yes it does the next version of the 10KX DSP'S I think they are 20KX series. I was saying the SB LIve! 24bit Doesn't have one...I always tell guys to stay away from those lives! becuase of that fact...

 

yup,

its why i tell people if they are after a cheap sb chip to get an audigy 2 value, its the cheapest with onboard eax processing

 

Yeah thats the one I just got...I waited until KX supported this card. But I am seriously looking at a X-FI..KX compatible or not..they are about $130 for an extreme music edition...I can sell off what I have now and a few other things..and buy it and write it off to my business....But I seriously am considering buying one...NO dealer in town has one I have to order it myself from out of town..

 

Just get one from newegg.com. Even with shipping it's cheaper than retail.

 

X-FI is a great card. I went from the 16-bit Live! 5.1 to the XtremeMusic. Sounds great. There are some improvements in EAX games. Most of my games use Dolby Digital so performance is about the same.
One thing I can say is don't buy the X-FI unless you have decent speakers.

 

newegg is not an option for me I am not in the USA...so it's not a viable option..the Logitech Z-640's would sound great hooked to a X-Fi XM...

 

I am very pleased with my X-Fi card and it's performance but there a large number of people out there having major issues still. There is supposed to be a new driver set coming in March for the X-Fi that will straighten out alot of issues. It is very sad that a company like Creative rolls out a major product like the X-Fi and it has major issues with the Nforce 4 chipset. Most motherboard companies came out with a Bios update to fix it and now X-Fi cards are shipping with an updated firmware to resolve the problem. I have read numerous threads from people you actually were experiencing major slowdowns in BF2 with their X-Fi. Mine has performed flawlessly and sounds awesome on my Turtle Beach HPA headphones.

 

there isn't really much difference between 16bit sound and 24bit...

thats why i keep my SB 5.1 live over getting a Sblive 24bit

 

You can't hear a difference between 16 and 24 bit?....I would prefer a SB16 over a24 bit anyday as 16bit has a 10KX..but now that I have my Audigy2 I prefer it over the 16 bit sound....You can definatley hear a difference..