Creative Sound Blaster X-FI Platinum FATAL1TY Champion Series (eng/fr)
The powerful audio processing engine of the Creative Labs Sound Blaster X-Fi Platinum Fatality Champion Series PCI Sound Card boosts real game performance by more than 15% over ordinary motherboard audio. The additional X-RAM frees up system memory and improves audio quality and performance. Use headphones or multichannel speakers to accurate locate your enemies by sound. Take your games to the next level with EAX Advanced HD sound effects.Restore the detail and vibrance to your music and movies with X-Fi Crystalizer technology. Voices are centered and ambient sounds are moved all around you. On-board connectivity - Shared line in, microphone, digital out via 1/8-inch mini jack, line level out (Front/Rear/Center/Subwoofer/Rear Center) via 3x 1/8-inch mini jacks, internal line-level analog input via 4-pin Molex connector, X-Fi I/O Console upgrade connection System Requirements - Microsoft Windows Vista or Windows XP Service Pack 2, x64 or Media Center Edition, 1 GHz Intel Pentium III, AMD or equivalent processor, 256MB RAM, 600MB of free hard disk space, Available PCI 2.1 Slot
Creative Sound Blaster X-FI Platinum FATAL1TY Champion Series (eng/fr) Accessories
 Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Quad-Core Processor, 2.40 GHz, 8M L2 Cache, LGA 775
Logitech Z-5500 THX-Certified 505-Watt 5.1 Digital Surround Sound Speaker System
Logitech G9 Laser Mouse
Lite-On SATA 20x Super All Write LightScribe Internal DVD/Dual Layer RW Drive (LH20A1L06)
Logitech NEW G5 Laser Mouse
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 X 1GB) PC2-6400 800Mhz 240-pin CL4 DDR2 Dual Channel Destop Memory Kit - TWIN2X2048-6400C4
The Orange Box
Logitech G15 Gaming Keyboard
Western Digital WD5000KSRTL Caviar 500 GB SATA Hard Drive
Creative Sound Blaster X-FI Platinum FATAL1TY Champion Series (eng/fr) Reviews
I'm absolutely loving the sound that I'm getting out of my PC now. I'm running windows XP, so that might have something to do with the ease of installation and use. It didn't take very much work to get it up and running at all. Amazon was great about getting the sound card to me pretty soon after I ordered it.
This product is garbage. I wouldn't recommend creative products to my worst enemy after buying this card. This leads me to believe they have faulty hardware. Bought it because the specs looked awesome, but there is a HUGE catch: there is a well known issue that some of these cards (if not all) will introduce a popping noise into your audio. They blamed certain motherboard manufacturers, but other people with other motherboards have experienced the exact same issues. Creative acknowledges the snap-crackle-pop issue, but does nothing to remedy the problem. No patch, no replacements, nothing.
This sound card connected to my Logitech Z-5500 speakers brings my listening experience to new heights of clarity. Now, I'm not a gamer, so you may ask "why did you purchase a 'gamer' sound card." Well, the quality afforded this card is not lost on me. If you need those, other external devices can provide that. Amazon beat that by 25.00.
My choices were few in the price range I wanted. This is the best sound card I've ever purchased, and as long as motherboards provide a PCI slot, any upgrades I make, I'll be swapping this sound card over. All the connections for audio are there, digital and analog, except the XLR type. The sound that comes from the "built in" sound devices on most mother boards today may provide the latest in 7.1 technology, but if you listen to music critcally as I do, there's just too much inherent noise.
The answer is an add-on sound card. The front access drive bay was the deciding factor. The built-in "Crystalizer" adds impact and clarity and has a wide range of adjustment. My local stores wanted 199.99 for the card. My studio is capable of producing 5.1 surround mixes of the music I record. To mix them down I need an exacting device with stellar specs.
Of course it can be shut off too, but once you hear the difference, you'll probably choose to have at least some level of enhancement. The quality of sound coming thru my computer speakers is critical to me. I prefer the ease of connection from the front bay interface that the Creative card provides. Amazon.com's price with the free shipping was my deciding factor where to purchase.
that's why i still give it 5 stars. then i realized that i still have my on-board sound "working". right away i tare into my computer and do some re-arranging of my custom built "Green Machine". i place the 5.25" slot face panel in my lowest of 5 slots, then my all in 1 card reader, then my DVD drive(soon to be re-placed by Blu-Ray), and lastly at the top, my DVD reader/burner. once i got it up and running, it works great.
anyway. i go to creative's website and download both new versions of drivers, nothing different. and being a recording guy for some local musicians i can't wait to hook up my sound desk to the RCA input on the front panel. (i had already uninstalled the drivers for it), still the same problem. i open my side panel and slide in the PCI slot card attach the cable to connect the Front Panel unit and the card, boot my computer up install the drivers and.music for 1 second and then silence, then music for another second then silence.
so in BIOS i disabled it. and it works beautifully. i can't wait to try out the digital features on it. after about 5 mins of this, i get upset and turn off my computer to deal with it in the morning after some much needed rest. so i try and contact customer service, and what a joke that is. the only useful information they gave me was "try updating your BIOS". so after e-mailing them and hearing back with only "go to this site and try what it says, then tell me exactly you tried to do and i'll tell you what you're doing wrong." is it so hard to give out a tech support phone number. then the next day (three days with out sound on my computer so far) i start it up, play with it some more, and finally it works.
to even try and get to the e-mail form you have to go through about 6 screens of "did you try this." yes, i did, i'm not an idiot. after coming home late one night after a long day of work my roommate informs me that i have a package from amazon. i uninstall, and re-install, nothing different. so i did, and nothing. at first this might sound like a lot of negative, but there is positive in the end, trust me. i do my happy dance and open the package, and in it is my new mouse and sound card.
I can program the computer alarm sounds at a certain level INDEPENDENT from the volume level of music. I can be listening to a cd at a good volume through my speakers. Having the ability to choose from 3 different "listening modes" and by using its OWN power connection to the computer power source the board fully utilizes its independent processing power (and ram memory). This board, even at nearly $200 was "a bargain at twice the price." Now, at less than $140, I can only RECOMMEND IT HIGHLY. In addition to the outstanding x-fi clarity and sound-enhancing capabilities (all of which are phenomenal), the board has "side-benefits.". Sitting at the computer, listening through headphones, and adjusting their volume is a breeze.
Right, you say, so what. NO NEED to walk back over to the computer to adjust the sound. FOR sound production, without slowing down or impeding the computer's other tasks. The music can be loud, the alarms and the sound soft; amazing.
Or more simply, if you use your computer sound system as an entertainment center for your room/house, then the remote can control almost EVERYTHING, as it would for a TV, DVD player, VHS, normally would: from your chair and not from the computer. You'll get to hear all that you never knew you were missing. WOW. If you're not an aural afficianado but just enjoy good sound then THIS is the board for you, too.
I know that in and of itself, this is not a "deal breaker" but it is an example of how sophisticated this board is, and that there are "additional treasures" I find, due to its technology.
When I decide to plug in my headphones into the i/o interface in the front, my PREVIOUS headphone volume level is RECALLED, so that the louder volume I was listenting to on the speakers is NOT carried over to the headphones.
Well, if you decide to take your headphones ACROSS THE ROOM (either hard-wired or infra-red) and you suddenly want to ADJUST the volume for a new song, or a new track, with the remote control, you just stay where you are and "push the button" on the remote.
If sound is important to you (games, musical-voicing, instrumental clarity, vocal purity) then THIS is the board for you.
But rather, the lower volume I had PREVIOUSLY used for the headphones is remembered and stored.
This means that it truly compliments and supports listening to cds, dvds, internet-radio, streaming-videos, sound effects, EVERYTHING, in a full and concentrated way that enhances sound in ways I never knew were possible outside a professional sound studio.
One untouted but truly amazing feature is its ability to calibrate and recall one's accustomed volume levels associated with headphones, computer background sounds, and music-based sounds (cds, radio, dvds) SEPARATELY.
Yes, this sound board is "all that and a bag of chips." It lives up to and performs, AS PROMISED, in the features and specifications, and provides several "perks," often seemingly found by accident.
And the remote control's functionality is just the icing on the cake.
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