Results 1 to 5 of 5

Thread: Anyone tried the Creative X-Fi Xtreme Audio for Notebooks?

  1. #1
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Posts
    524
    Thanks
    79
    Thanked
    67 times in 47 posts

    Anyone tried the Creative X-Fi Xtreme Audio for Notebooks?

    <a href="http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=671613">Creative X-Fi Xtreme Audio for Notebook - UK Retail @ Scan</a>

    Like several posters, I recently acquired a Vostro 1500 with windows XP, and it is a fine laptop in many regards.

    However, there is no offering of hardware sound acceleration for games, and the headphone socket suffers from significant interference from the fan. The latter point is extremely annoying, as it prevents prolonged use of headphones.

    Has anyone tried using an X-fi for notebooks before? Does it help to cut down the noise output on the headphone line (the one on the card, that is)?

    I'm sure other express slot sound cards would also help, but the additional load off the CPU would help with playing Oblivion, too

  2. #2
    finding nemo staffsMike's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Posts
    11,498
    Thanks
    197
    Thanked
    794 times in 741 posts
    • staffsMike's system
      • Motherboard:
      • evga 680i
      • CPU:
      • e6600
      • Memory:
      • geil ultra pc6400
      • Storage:
      • WD 320gb
      • Graphics card(s):
      • leadtek 8800 GTS 640mb
      • PSU:
      • ocz gameXstream 700w
      • Case:
      • akasa eclipse
      • Monitor(s):
      • dell 2007wfp and Lg L194WT
      • Internet:
      • pipex homecall

    Re: Anyone tried the Creative X-Fi Xtreme Audio for Notebooks?

    I tried the old audigy PCMCIA which was very effective for decent sound in games and 5.1 support. Never bought one though as my vaio's onboard sound was quite good at the time.

    I'd probably get a usb something or other so I could use it with any pc, that would certainly get rid of any interference but I don't think you would suffer any with the expresscard either.

    It would be nice to get full 5.1 from the laptop and I think thats the only use I would find for it.

  3. #3
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Aug 2003
    Posts
    6,585
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked
    246 times in 208 posts

    Re: Anyone tried the Creative X-Fi Xtreme Audio for Notebooks?

    One of my friend getting the Audigy 2 NX (USB). It was a pretty good, but I seem to remember that it required it's own power supply so lose points in portability. On the other hand it is pretty good connectivity wise.

    I've never seen anyone use a laptop X-Fi though. One of the issue with USB sound cards as I recall, is that they do eat a bit of CPU compared to PCMCIA. Not sure if it is caused by the USB interface or the sound card's implementation.

  4. #4
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Posts
    524
    Thanks
    79
    Thanked
    67 times in 47 posts

    Re: Anyone tried the Creative X-Fi Xtreme Audio for Notebooks?

    I would presume that most USB ones would just be a DAC package, perhaps with minor DSP parts thrown in. Most of the processing would likely be done on the CPU itself If that's not the case, then the USB protocol itself would need hand-holding, yes.

    I don't mind not being able to port the sound card across to a PC. This laptop is going to last me a good amount of time, and frankly, the headphone port has far too much noise for extended use, reducing the usefulness of the system (the built in speakers are quite reasonable, though!).

    The big worry I have with the interference issue is that the expresscard slot is right next to the current headphone socket, just behind which is the main system fan. As such, I worry about the quality of the components and shielding in the x-fi for notebooks card, as without proper care the issue could still reoccur.

  5. #5
    finding nemo staffsMike's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Posts
    11,498
    Thanks
    197
    Thanked
    794 times in 741 posts
    • staffsMike's system
      • Motherboard:
      • evga 680i
      • CPU:
      • e6600
      • Memory:
      • geil ultra pc6400
      • Storage:
      • WD 320gb
      • Graphics card(s):
      • leadtek 8800 GTS 640mb
      • PSU:
      • ocz gameXstream 700w
      • Case:
      • akasa eclipse
      • Monitor(s):
      • dell 2007wfp and Lg L194WT
      • Internet:
      • pipex homecall

    Re: Anyone tried the Creative X-Fi Xtreme Audio for Notebooks?

    Some people over on notebook review had their vostro's replaced due to that problem I believe.

    I don't think it would still happen with the expresscard but obviously I can't tell you for sure.

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Similar Threads

  1. Creative X-Fi Extreme Audio OEM
    By DWhitley in forum SCAN.care@HEXUS
    Replies: 11
    Last Post: 08-09-2007, 06:03 PM
  2. Replies: 14
    Last Post: 05-07-2006, 02:53 PM
  3. Creative Audigy, mp3, speakers etc
    By Flibb in forum Retail Therapy and Bargains
    Replies: 13
    Last Post: 25-07-2005, 12:32 PM
  4. Creative announces new audio technology
    By Steve in forum HEXUS News
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 14-05-2005, 05:37 PM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •