Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Platinum
by Creative
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Category: CE See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Platinum
Customer Review: Great Sound but Buyer Beware
Summary: 3 Stars
I loved the sound I got from this card, but unfortunately it did not play nice with my ASUS ALN8 chipset and AMD processing. I would get a BSOD at least once - sometimes twice a day - caused by the Creative drivers. After 30 days i returned the product. I would suggest visiting Support Forums regarding Creative drivers with AMD processing and/or ASUS ALN8 chipset. Creative Support is aware of this issue but admitted there is no quick fix in sight. If they create a fix I would gladly re-purchase.Customer Review: what a disappointment!!!
Summary: 3 Stars
I installed my x-fi platinum yesterday and i still can't get over the fact how bad the sound in bf2 is. It sounds worse than sb live! i had before. I'm after calling Creative customer support, because i thought that my x-fi is damaged but the guy i talked to told me that they recieved plenty of complaints from other disappointed BF2 fans. DO NOT buy this card if BF2 is your favorite game. I feel like I wasted 185 euro I spent on the x-fi. What a shame!!!Customer Review: Creative is the one of the worst with drivers
Summary: 2 Stars
Now this is an "old" product, I've been using this card for 3 years. I initially had a lot of problems with it in XP. After a while a driver came out that fixed it. I tried going to Vista in mid-2007. I gave up on getting Vista and the X-Fi to work correctly by finally abandoning Vista completely by mid-2008 (not just because of the sound card issue though). I was doing a dual-boot, so it wasn't a big deal. I am now using Windows 7. I used Beta sporadically (again dual-boot), but using RC1 then commercial release full-time the last 3 months. All my other hardware is working great with Windows 7 (64-bit), except the X-Fi card. I have lost functionality of what the card is supposed to do, like using the "What U Hear" function or the use of line-in/aux jacks consistently. Extended shut-down issues (I fixed on my own) and silly things like their auto-detect feature for automatic updates doesn't work. Of course the auto update is not very useful anyway, since they rarely release new drivers. I've been patient since I understand it's a new operating system, but it is just like my experience with Vista. Creative's last driver was 2.18.0013 released June 26. If you go onto their site/forum, there are many, many complaints with the X-Fi series (new cards included). This is Nov 28, over 5 months of complaints and not one new driver update. It's pathetic. Well the real pathetic thing is reading on the forum that the Vista drivers apparently still don't work! I usually do not write reviews that I consider to be this negative, but it's a pattern with Creative. I can remember back to DOS days struggling to get a Sound Blaster 16 card (IIRC) to work. I have now removed the card and went to the on-board audio of my motherboard. The sound is pretty good and everything works! I didn't really lose any functionality, since many of features on the X-Fi card didn't correctly or at all. Save yourself some money, life is better without Creative. I feel a little conflicted, just a little, about giving 2 stars. If you're using XP and do not plan to change, I would give it 4 stars. The sound is good and it has good features. But outside of XP at this time the support and frustration with waiting to get drivers with this company, it is a 1 star product. I figure 2 is the best representation of what someone can expect because XP is coming to the end of it's product cycle.Customer Review: Great sound, bad design
Summary: 2 Stars
As far as audio quality goes, the card sounds great, but the design is terrible. Initially, I really liked the idea of the front breaker box and being able to use the remote control with it. That is pretty much why I bought it. Now I've realized it's basically useless. There is no reason to have audio outputs on the breaker box. You only need a headphone output and that's it. Inputs should be on the front box so you can plug in your digital camera, DVD player, etc, transfer your files, then remove it. The ONLY optical audio output is on the front breaker box. Since I have a case with a panel that closes, this means I cannot close the front panel. I actually had to take a drill, drill a hole in the case door in front of the optical connection, and then thread the optical input through it to use my case with the door closed. Anytime I want to open the case door, I have to remove the audio connection, open the door, then put it back in. I can't even begin to describe what a huge hassle this is.
Also, to use the remote you'll need line of sight instead of RF, so if you have a case with a front door on it t will need to remain open the entire time. The remote is awful anyway. It has a ton of controls on it, but only a few you'll actually need. I don't need 30 buttons on the AUDIO remote control for my computer. If I want to adjust the levels, I am going to do that from my computer, not from my couch where I can't see what I'm doing. The front breaker box also doesn't sit flush with your case, it sticks out a little bit and is bezeled. Not a big deal, but why not make it flush like the rest of 5.25" components? Lastly, the cable connecting the breaker box to the audio card is not a rounded cable, it looks like an old IDE cable. So it's going to take up space in your box and look bad.
If I didn't have speakers with an optical input and want to use that, I would just disconnect the breaker box completely, but at this price point, this card is designed for audio enthusiasts, and anyone spending that kind of money for the card is likely going to want to use the optical input.
Customer Review: Another Nvidia chipset owner with problems
Summary: 2 Stars
If you own an Nvidia chipset beware. I have a 690i and every day when I'm ready to play some games I have to cross my fingers and hope I have sound. I've tried everything under the sun but just can't get reliable compatibility. I think I'm going to finally throw in the towel and get an Asus Xonar (which are better quality cards anyway). For what it's worth, the sound quality is fantastic when you can get the thing to stop being so buggy!