[dosquito]

Currently I don't do any serious gaming, but I may get some more modern games in the future.

I have the x-fi elite pro, but I am ordering a USB dac/amplifier.

I am wondering - does the elite pro just increase frame rate? Cause that is not really an issue for me.

Will there be compatibility issues with some games if I am not using my elite pro sound card?

Would there be any compatibility issues if I plugged in the USB sound card and elite pro at the same time, and just switched whenever I needed to play a game?

 

[darkswordsman17]

I don't think it'll increase framerates, in fact, I believe if you enable EAX that you'll actually see a framerate decrease. I personally did not use EAX a whole lot when I had Creative cards. The Elite Pro won't gain you any extra FPS either, and by and large the only worthwhile thing about it is that it has a better DAC than the lower end X-Fi's, and XRAM is by and large worthless.

The X-Fi does have good headphone effects, so they are worth checking out. I believe that because of the way it handles the signal, it has the potential to be better than say Dolby Headphone.

The only issue I run into with my USB DAC/amp, is that some games don't allow you to change what device it uses, and so I have to change it to be the default device in the Windows control panel, which is a pain (specifically the game Audiosurf, hopefully it' something they'll add later).

Windows has gotten quite a bit better about handling things, so you should not run into much if any compatibility issues.

 

[GordonFreeman]

Not a one unless your game uses EAX or you want to run surround sound. For stereo there is no advantage, just disadvantages. EAX is being used less and less too.

Tip: Right click the speaker in the control panel and click add shortcut and the speaker will be on your desktop and you can change default devices from your desktop.

 

[Nocturnal310]

XMOD basically enhances sound rite? so x-fi soundcard should be better than x-fi XMOD

 

[GordonFreeman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dosquito /img/forum/go_quote.gif Currently I don't do any serious gaming, but I may get some more modern games in the future. I have the x-fi elite pro, but I am ordering a USB dac/amplifier. I am wondering - does the elite pro just increase frame rate? Cause that is not really an issue for me. Will there be compatibility issues with some games if I am not using my elite pro sound card? Would there be any compatibility issues if I plugged in the USB sound card and elite pro at the same time, and just switched whenever I needed to play a game?

You wont have any problems, you just need to select X-Fi or USB in your windows sound control panel and you will be able to use either for gaming or music.

 

[Apocalypsee]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GordonFreeman /img/forum/go_quote.gif Not a one unless your game uses EAX or you want to run surround sound. For stereo there is no advantage, just disadvantages. EAX is being used less and less too. Tip: Right click the speaker in the control panel and click add shortcut and the speaker will be on your desktop and you can change default devices from your desktop.

I beg to differ, EAX does enhance even on stereo setup. When I change from SB Live! (EAX2) to XtremeMusic (EAX5) it does makes huge difference in games that supports it (Doom3, Quake4, GTA: San Andreas, Battlefield 2 and 2142)

 

[GordonFreeman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GordonFreeman /img/forum/go_quote.gif Not a one unless your game uses EAX or you want to run surround sound. For stereo there is no advantage, just disadvantages. EAX is being used less and less too. Tip: Right click the speaker in the control panel and click add shortcut and the speaker will be on your desktop and you can change default devices from your desktop.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Apocalypsee /img/forum/go_quote.gif I beg to differ, EAX does enhance even on stereo setup. When I change from SB Live! (EAX2) to XtremeMusic (EAX5) it does makes huge difference in games that supports it (Doom3, Quake4, GTA: San Andreas, Battlefield 2 and 2142)

At the risk of repeating myself, if your games uses EAX it will make an improvement, however, when listening to standard 2 channel programming it will not improve the sound, rather, something like an external Dac will work better.

 

[Nocturnal310]

SB Live! USB v/s XMOD..

which is better for Gaming?

 

[GordonFreeman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nocturnal310 /img/forum/go_quote.gif SB Live! USB v/s XMOD.. which is better for Gaming?

Sounds pretty simple to me, I would go for the NEWER model as long as it has all the features you need. With audio cards newer is almost always better.

Quote:

When I change from SB Live! (EAX2) to XtremeMusic (EAX5) it does makes huge difference in games

^~~this is why and he is right about that.

 

[Nocturnal310]

So since XMOD has X-Fi technology.... will it be better than SB Live for Gaming & Music both?

By Gaming...i mean the Surround sound effect & Sound-Stage.

^^ Yes, XMOD is newer.

 

[s4nder]

X-Fi cards have built in sound processors that take some of the load off the CPU, thus increasing fps. They also enable to play more simultaneous sounds together and support sound enhancing features like EAX that greatly increase immersion.

 

[Apocalypsee]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GordonFreeman /img/forum/go_quote.gif At the risk of repeating myself, if your games uses EAX it will make an improvement, however, when listening to standard 2 channel programming it will not improve the sound, rather, something like an external Dac will work better.

I forgot to say even on games that didn't support it makes it sounds a lot better because the support of 128 hardware voice, like in Crysis (I don't think Crysis uses EAX in the first place) Hearing your footsteps and sounded different in different material really makes my hair stands when I first listen to it

 

[skeptic]

Quote:

Originally Posted by s4nder /img/forum/go_quote.gif X-Fi cards have built in sound processors that take some of the load off the CPU, thus increasing fps. They also enable to play more simultaneous sounds together and support sound enhancing features like EAX that greatly increase immersion.

^ This.

The naysayers are dead wrong here. See also: Creative X-FI Xtreme Fidelity Accelerates PC Games by 17%??? - TechSpot OpenBoards

I can tell you from first hand experience that the X-fi does reduce the load on your CPU, particularly in comparison to USB sound. While all games are not impacted equally - WoW is a perfect example. WoW does not support EAX, but it is more demanding on your CPU and less demanding on your GPU, than the majority of games out there. Plug in a USB sound device/headset, etc, and I promise you will see your frames drop. Forget about the XRAM for a moment - the bottom line is that your CPU is being forced to do work that would otherwise be done by the chip on the card when you use USB audio. This is a matter of pure common sense, and I find the misinformation in this thread slightly alarming.

 

[Nocturnal310]

Doesnt matter much.

Our computers are strong enough to handle that.

Assuming u have a dual core atleast?

I run 5 programs in the background while Gaming..

i am into professional gaming so Framerate so i keep a lookout for all this stuff u mentioned.

 

[dosquito]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nocturnal310 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Doesnt matter much. Our computers are strong enough to handle that. Assuming u have a dual core atleast? I run 5 programs in the background while Gaming.. i am into professional gaming so Framerate so i keep a lookout for all this stuff u mentioned.

ya...i have intel quadcore...and none of the features mentioned are really that important to me, because I am not that serious into gaming. seems like I won't be missing much, if anything at all