Creative Labs Sound Blaster X-Fi Platinum Sound Card

Great card, Except Mic 2 port

Strengths: Excellent card, much better than Audigy 2 for Games (see note)

Weakness: Mic 2 port is the default for the front I/O Drive, not the default Microphone that BF2 and BF2142 use.

I have two PCs and bought the platinum and the xtreme music edition cards. Both are great for games, though the VOIP issue / problem, because the front I/O (aka live drive) sets it to Mic 2, is driving me crazy!

By Marville - Nov 20, 2006

Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Platinum

Strengths: Remote and front panel

Weakness: Cost

This audio card was very easy to install in my computer and the set up with the software and what not was also quite simple. It produces amazing sound and I just love all of the different controls on the front of the panel. The remote is also great so that I can control all of the special features and volume even when I'm not sitting right next to my computer. It is a little costly, though, but I...
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This audio card was very easy to install in my computer and the set up with the software and what not was also quite simple. It produces amazing sound and I just love all of the different controls on the front of the panel. The remote is also great so that I can control all of the special features and volume even when I'm not sitting right next to my computer. It is a little costly, though, but I still recommend it.

By MADMOMMABEAR2 - Jul 16, 2006

Perfect for Desktop audio Enthusiasts with big wallet.

Strengths: - All kinds of connectivities. - Great audio quality - Very nice GUI interface - Extra tool to repair/restore badly compressed audio file - Wireless Remote

Weakness: Pricey.

Oh my... With $200, you can get all the features in this little guy. Yes, a bit of contradiction in my Pros and Cons. Actually, what I am saying is, if you use all the features in the package, it's well worth the $200. But I know quite a lot of you out there just won't use all of them and in this case, this card is quite pricey. I especially like the tool that can repair bad quality mp3. After...
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Oh my... With $200, you can get all the features in this little guy. Yes, a bit of contradiction in my Pros and Cons.
Actually, what I am saying is, if you use all the features in the package, it's well worth the $200. But I know quite a lot of you out there just won't use all of them and in this case, this card is quite pricey.
I especially like the tool that can repair bad quality mp3. After the restoration, the new file is just pleasant to the ear.
Together with the Wireless Remote, the MCE-like GUI is just simple to use.
So if you are an audio enthusiasts who do everything on a PC, then this is the right fit!

By crazyheha - Jul 14, 2006

A card for enthusiasts

Strengths: Offloading of CPU for gaming sound, better audio for games and movies, DTS decoding, front control panel and remote

Weakness: Some software compatibility issues, flat interface cable

I only use this card for games and movies and it is a definite improvement over the onboard ALC850 soundchip. Games that support the X-Fi's capability have audio settings that the onboard chips cannot support. Also, DTS decoding is a nice feature. Running through a Logitech Z-4 2.1 setup, it did an impressive job with the demo-like audio from War of the Worlds. Only game benchmarking was with the...
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I only use this card for games and movies and it is a definite improvement over the onboard ALC850 soundchip. Games that support the X-Fi's capability have audio settings that the onboard chips cannot support. Also, DTS decoding is a nice feature. Running through a Logitech Z-4 2.1 setup, it did an impressive job with the demo-like audio from War of the Worlds. Only game benchmarking was with the HL2 Ep One stress test, which netted a couple of fps over the previous onboard chip. However, it doesn't appear that HL2 takes advantage of all the X-fi features. GRAW on the other hand went from, Software sound to autodetecting the "Extreme" setting.

On the downside, the front I/O panel is not flush with the case, so I have to force the front door closed on the Super Lanboy case due to a slight interference. The interface between the card and panel is made with a proprietary IDE-like, flat cable. Considering that many people who will buy this setup are enthusiasts that went to the trouble to install round cables to improve airflow and looks, the cable choice could have been better. The software seems to have a conflict with the LCD Media application on the Logitech G15 keyboard. I just disabled LCD Media since I don't use it.

By jimz06 - Jun 12, 2006

Must Have Sound Card

Strengths: Simple intuitive menus with remote control. Drive bay has everything you'll want or need: Opticle cables, extra headset/mic and volume controls. Best headphone sound you can have at LAN parties.

Weakness: Knob placement on drive too close. Creative DIN interface proprietary to Creative. No firewire. Yet another media player XP has to deal with! Ughh.

Initially you wonder how much better will this sound over embedded nForce sound. Much better to be sure. Not so much over Sound Blaster Audigy 2. I have Logitech Z5500's and prefer Sennheiser HD 280 Pro headphones over my Zalman's. Sennheisers block out ~30 DB noise withouy the gimmicky Bose noise cancelling. Fan-stinking-tastic! Battlefield 2 sounds are so distinctive you know where AI is...
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Initially you wonder how much better will this sound over embedded nForce sound. Much better to be sure. Not so much over Sound Blaster Audigy 2. I have Logitech Z5500's and prefer Sennheiser HD 280 Pro headphones over my Zalman's. Sennheisers block out ~30 DB noise withouy the gimmicky Bose noise cancelling. Fan-stinking-tastic! Battlefield 2 sounds are so distinctive you know where AI is lurking behind walls. Splurge on headphones ($100-$400.) Chronicles of Riddick: Butcher Bay is shockingly dynamic: directionality is next generation.

By my4n3rl; - Feb 7, 2006