Product Reviews (18)
Excellent Sound Q!
Strengths: Superb sound quality, low-profile form, lean drivers, Crystalizer
Weakness: None
Just purchased the XtremeGamer to replace an aging SBLive! 5.1. There is a night and day difference in sound quality - Crystalizer and CMSS-3D sound great when applied together to music and sound positioning in games is just so much better. I no longer have to perform software resampling to 48KHz to avoid the lousy resampling of the EMU DSP (which is also inherited by the SB Audigy and Audigy 2 series). The drivers are also much leaner this time, with everything being quite accesible and uncluttered. Full OpenAL support is definitely appreciated (though not with the shipping drivers) and EAX-HD is just surreal with a pair of cans.
By ChaosDivine - May 17, 2007
Creative X-Fi XtremeGamer
Strengths: Lower CPU usage and higher fidelity sound quality
Weakness: limited spdif and bit-perfect support
This is a great solution for desktop usage, especially if you are a gamer. I paired this with Sennheiser HD280 and it sounds excellent with details I've never heard before using onboard Realtek ALC882 HD sound. This card is low profile which helps with airflow, but Creative doesn't include a low profile back plate to go with it. For you HTPC and hardcore music perfectionist: this card is not for you. No bit-perfect 44.1khz playback, and the s/pdif implementation is not very good. Otherwise, this is a great sound card for Gamers.
By openwheelracing - Mar 9, 2007
Great Sound card
Strengths: I poped this bad boy in my m/b and From get go the windows start up sounded more rich. I got it for use of gaming and I think that it sounds phenomenal in BF2142
Weakness: None besides the flex jack is always on with a red LED that I can see in my case but besides that best money spent for bosting fps in games with phenomenal. shiping was slow but on time.
start up sounded more rich. I got it for use of gaming and I think that it sounds phenomenal in BF2142 and the settings for the headphones are great the x-fi cmss-3d with the macroFX and elevation filter turned on makes any pair of headphones sound like 7.1 speakers and the X-fi crystalizer brings out the highs and lows so well that when I die in bf2142 the heart beat sounds like its coming from me, Buy this card!
By Justinity; - Dec 22, 2006
Good card for a decent price
Strengths: Easy installation. Great sound. Good price.
Weakness: No extras.
I haven't used a sound card since sound blaster 16. Since then I've found the integrated sound was just as good. I picked this up, because the price was good ($50) and I wanted to see if it really would improve on my sound quality.
Upon opening the box I was a bit dissapointed at what was inside. I guess I was expecting more stuff, but there wasn't much beyond the card itself. I guess that's why the elite pro and stuff cost more besides the x-ram. The card also only had 3 ports and an optical. It's more than my motherboard, but honestly for a card called XtremeGamer you really do have certain expectations and I was kinda hoping for a remote. Oh well you get what you pay for, and a package with the IO panel and remote costs like 3 times as much. For 64 megs x-ram 2 times.
Installation was a breeze, and I didn't even bother with the cd. I went online and downloaded the latest drivers from Creative. They have good support and even have beta drivers for Vista.
When I started up battlefield 2142, and the sound blew me away. It really is better than integrated. I could sort of feel where enemies were just by listening. The frame rates also improved a little though nothing really noticable. I'm not really much of an audiophile with regards to music, but I think most of my mp3s sound better with the card.
Overall a good card for 50 bucks and you're getting almost everything on the card except for the 64 megs of x-ram. I personally don't think the x-RAM would make a worthwhile difference since for the money I could get more real RAM or better cooling to OC my cpu.
By dblanketyblank - Dec 16, 2006
X-Fi XtremeGamer - Sweet Music To My Ears!
Strengths: Fantastic sound in both music and games. Low profile for improved case airflow. Easy, easy install and setup with guided speaker config and check.
Weakness: Included drivers not the latest but the auto update software grabbed them during install and all was good. AOL is part of the driver bloatware...just uncheck it before preceeding.
Wasn't sure if I needed a audio card. Was always happy with my on-board sound that my MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum Motherboard gave me. I tried a Audigy 2ZS sound card that someone gave me but had problems with the drivers and only 2 of my 4 satellite speakers would work. So I removed the Audigy and settled for the on-board sound. Then for some reason I decided to try the X-Fi XtremeGamer. WOW!!! I am so glad that I picked this card up. The sound difference is like night & day compared to on-board sound and even compared to the Audigy. My music sounds so much better, games sound fantastic and I love the switchable modes between music/games/entertainment. Awesome sound card!!!!
4 out of 5 stars due to AOL bloatware
By WitNit - Jul 13, 2007
X-Fi Gamer
Strengths: • Supports Optical Inputs • Great Sound Quality
Weakness: • Shotty Driver support for Vista
This card is like night and day when I upgraded from onboard sound from Asus P5B - Deluxe. Sounds great with my Sennheiser headphones. My HDsound front port works perfectly with the card.
However, my biggest qualm is with Creative driver support. I'm not able to use all the features and software the card has to offer for Winxp. Hopefully, Creative will find a solution to a solution with driver support for Winxp.
By Phamine - May 21, 2007
Nice Soundcard
Strengths: Lower price (compared to the XtremeMusic), half-height PCB, Azalia HD front panel audio connectors
Weakness: Reduced component quality (no gold plated jacks, inferior op amps compared to the XtremeMusic)
Purchased this card to upgrade a modified Audigy 2 ZS. The stock XtremeGamer sounds better than an unmodified Audigy 2 ZS and I quite like the Crystalizer and CMSS-3D effects on music. Drivers are A LOT cleaner for the X-Fi compared to the massive bloatware of the Audigy 2 and seem to be less convoluted. Creative even added full OpenAL support in the latest driver update on their site, which is going to be critical for gaming in Vista since DirectSound is basically broken/missing there.
One happy camper here.
By WhoBeDaPlaya - May 17, 2007
Great card
Strengths: Much richer sound quality. A few more frames per second on some high end games. Easy install.
Weakness: None.
Was an easy install. Played Vanguard with it and heard music that never played before. Playing music/mp3s definitely gives me much deeper and richer sound than I had with on board sound. A worthwhile investment for any real gaming system.
By fggtr - May 9, 2007
SB X-Fi XtremeGamer
Strengths: Performance,boost your PC gaming Performance
Weakness: Have not found any yet/None
"Boost your desktop's audio performance with a sound card from one of the premier names in computer audio—Creative Labs."
This is a great Audio card,so far it works as advertised. I had problems with installation because my Dell computer is not so "Upgrade friendly". Other than that Im pleased with my purchse. I paid around $66.00 for this card using Price Grabber best price search. Thanks Price Grabber.
Im gonna give this card a 4 stars rating because it REALLY BOOST your PC performance.
NOTE-I upgraded to this SB X-Fi XtremeGamer from an INTEGRATED/ON BOARD Audio. BIG Diffrence In performance.
My RATING for this Audio card a VeryGood and Solid 4 STARS
By andydepr - Mar 28, 2007
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer 7.1 (Best for the buck)
Strengths: Incredible 3D surround sound in the latest games, full Vista support, capable of outputting multiple sources and interference patterns, and even makes Windows sounds and music sound better.
Weakness: Games with less advanced audio engines (such as older games and World of Warcraft) won't sound much better because the game is the limiting factor. You also need a decent set of speakers (2.1 at the very least) to take advantage of the superior sound qua
The XtremeGamer version is guaranteed to have the heatsink and is a killer deal right now. The X-Fi sound processor is far beyond the Audigy series and is an excellent upgrade over onboard audio for any gamer looking forward to Vista + DX10 gaming. I will also emphasize the fact that you need to download the latest drivers from Creative's site. My friend bought this when it first came out, and the first 3 driver updates fixed major problems.
By mitch5791 - Jun 15, 2007
SB Xtreme Gamer sound card
Strengths: Great performance, sound, price, and size
Weakness: Needs support for Vista environment
Overall I'm thrilled with this card, but since having to upgrade from XP to Vista, drivers are still in need of work for the Vista system. I've gotten everything to work except for the microphone input, so no voice chat while you're gaming on a Vista system. I've had to revert back to the on board sound and disable my SB card in order to handle voice. If you've got Vista, might want to hold off on this card purchase until you know the drivers are working for it.
By mmorph player; - Aug 10, 2008
great upgrade
Strengths: low cpu usage excellent audio
Weakness: limited inputs
I replaced the onboard audio with an Audigy2 ZS card, but that started making pops and crackles under Vista. Replaced that card with this xtremegamer and I couldn't be happier. Works great, sounds great, no real CPU usage. Buy this one!
By sarinole - Jan 1, 2008
Feel like your right there!
Strengths: Decent price, a boat-load of features, optical and coax outputs. easy to use software
Weakness: None
This device, coupled with my Z-5500 Logitech speaker system can really make my windows rattle! The only problem is that my wife won’t let me use it to its full potential while she’s home =( I use my system mostly for gaming and the surround sound, crisp audio, booming base, and directionality is awesome! Now that I’m playing games with the new sound card/speakers, I feel like I’m hearing whole new games.
By tupera; - Aug 3, 2007
Great Value
Strengths: Low price, no frills, huge improvement over onboard sound.
Weakness: This is the entry level card in the X-Fi series, and it being the basic one, it has no onboard x-ram like the higher priced X-Fi cards do.
Once I put it in and started up the computer I went straight to Creative's site and downloaded the latest drivers, I didn't even touch the CD that came with it. I can notice a HUGE improvement in sound quality in games and in music playback. However, the card is incompatible with my front panel audio inputs, and I have not gotten the mic to work with it yet, but for the price I'm not complaining.
By Jonathan D - Jul 25, 2007
Creative SB X-Fi XtremeGamer
Strengths: Excellent sound, reduced size comparing to other SB sound cards, front panel connector.
Weakness: Line-in and microphone share the same jack.
I brought this soundcard to replace my SB Live. Like what many of the other reviewers said, the difference is really quite amazing. MP3, movies sounds a lot better and clearer than my old card.
For Vista users, make sure you download the latest driver from Creative. The driver online is actually smaller (still 50mb) than the one that came with the disc, which I actually like better, it has all the functionalities I need and uses less system resource.
By kentshi - Jul 20, 2007
Best Sound Card
Bestcovery experts have rated the Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer Sound Card as a best pick for the Best Sound Card. Bestcovery's experts recommend the best products and services for a particular need based on extensive research and evaluations. Click below to see Bestcovery's full review of this product.
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By bestcovery.com - Jan 7, 2010
Creative SoundBlaster X-Fi Xtreme Gamer PCI
Testseek.com has collected 7 expert reviews for Creative SoundBlaster X-Fi Xtreme Gamer PCI and the average expert rating is 89 of 100. The average score reflects the expert community’s view on this product. Click below and use Testseek.com to see all ratings, product awards and conclusions.
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By testseek.com - Nov 4, 2008
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer
The Sound Blaster X-Fi series of sound cards is Creatives most recent generation audio cards that provide hardware accelerated audio processing. The XtremeGamer edition is targeted towards gamers that dont need all extensible input and output ports of the higher end models. Using the extra processing power afforded by the new chip Creative includes a variety of modes and features that they claim...
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By productwiki.com - Jul 30, 2008