I wouldn't waste money on creative these days. They've pissed off pretty much everyone in the industry and with the move from audio going from hardware driven to software driven, you have other options than creative.
Like cleffy said, the Xonar series from Asus is an excellent choice right now, and even onboard variants aren't too bad these days.
I wouldn't waste money on creative these days. They've pissed off pretty much everyone in the industry
Including consumers. They had a consumer revolt, and anyone who didn't know about it, go over to their forum and read up.
Seems Creative got real sly, and a handy dandy modder found out. It then all hit the fan.
Company operates like that, is a company to avoid. It's your money, and your time.
My cheap 24bit Creative soundcard (that broke, every last one I had did, including the $100 models), is the last one I have from them. Poor construction; terrible drivers (and resource hogs); and only to learn they capped cards for sheer greed.
I got one of the xi-fi fatality cards a while back because I thought Creative was still the only decent option for sound and I've regretted it. I finally got the drivers to install without crashing my computer on every bootup, but it was a real pain in the ass. If I were to get one now I'd probably go with Auzentech, HT Omega, or Asus.
I wouldn't waste money on creative these days. They've pissed off pretty much everyone in the industry
Including consumers. They had a consumer revolt, and anyone who didn't know about it, go over to their forum and read up.
Seems Creative got real sly, and a handy dandy modder found out. It then all hit the fan.
Company operates like that, is a company to avoid. It's your money, and your time.
My cheap 24bit Creative soundcard (that broke, every last one I had did, including the $100 models), is the last one I have from them. Poor construction; terrible drivers (and resource hogs); and only to learn they capped cards for sheer greed.
I agree the software is terrible, but once you actually do get it setup, I never tend to have issues with it. I have 2 old sounblasters still pumping sound in older computers, and I still personally use a Audigy 2 ZS. Take care of your hardware and it will take care of you.
I'm running an old Audigy 2 ZS right now just because it's managed to survive through 3 computers. It works, hasn't broke, until it does, it will keep moving case to case. Unless I manage to get a house with a computer room, then I'll get a nice 5.1 number .
I have the X-Fi Gamer, and I'm happy. Works with Vista, and with the ALchemy wrapper, provides hardware acceleration too. No issues with any games. The new Fatality PCI Express cards look pretty sweet.
Comments
The Asus Xonar cards imo are probably the best cards on the market, without going into the $600 pro-audio equipment.
For gaming, I actually like my Creative X-Fi. They have a new one called "Titanium" that came out recently that has been getting good reviews.
I wouldn't waste money on creative these days. They've pissed off pretty much everyone in the industry and with the move from audio going from hardware driven to software driven, you have other options than creative.
Like cleffy said, the Xonar series from Asus is an excellent choice right now, and even onboard variants aren't too bad these days.
Including consumers. They had a consumer revolt, and anyone who didn't know about it, go over to their forum and read up.
Seems Creative got real sly, and a handy dandy modder found out. It then all hit the fan.
Company operates like that, is a company to avoid. It's your money, and your time.
My cheap 24bit Creative soundcard (that broke, every last one I had did, including the $100 models), is the last one I have from them. Poor construction; terrible drivers (and resource hogs); and only to learn they capped cards for sheer greed.
.:| Kevyne@Shandris - Armory |:. - When WoW was #1 - .:| I AM A HOLY PALADIN - Guild Theme |:.
I got one of the xi-fi fatality cards a while back because I thought Creative was still the only decent option for sound and I've regretted it. I finally got the drivers to install without crashing my computer on every bootup, but it was a real pain in the ass. If I were to get one now I'd probably go with Auzentech, HT Omega, or Asus.
Including consumers. They had a consumer revolt, and anyone who didn't know about it, go over to their forum and read up.
Seems Creative got real sly, and a handy dandy modder found out. It then all hit the fan.
Company operates like that, is a company to avoid. It's your money, and your time.
My cheap 24bit Creative soundcard (that broke, every last one I had did, including the $100 models), is the last one I have from them. Poor construction; terrible drivers (and resource hogs); and only to learn they capped cards for sheer greed.
I agree the software is terrible, but once you actually do get it setup, I never tend to have issues with it. I have 2 old sounblasters still pumping sound in older computers, and I still personally use a Audigy 2 ZS. Take care of your hardware and it will take care of you.
I'm running an old Audigy 2 ZS right now just because it's managed to survive through 3 computers. It works, hasn't broke, until it does, it will keep moving case to case. Unless I manage to get a house with a computer room, then I'll get a nice 5.1 number
.
I have the X-Fi Gamer, and I'm happy. Works with Vista, and with the ALchemy wrapper, provides hardware acceleration too. No issues with any games. The new Fatality PCI Express cards look pretty sweet.