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Creative Labs SB073A Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Gamer Audio Card

There's so much Focus on Video and graphics when it comes to games. But that's only part of the experience. What if you couldn't hear the blasts, bombs, explosions, tackles, and grunts? That's why your available PCI slot in your Desktop needs this Sound... Read More

$81.88 - $107.99Email me when this price drops

Overall Rating: Star Full

( 33 reviews )

( 1 of 1 found this review helpful ) Posted: Aug 17 2008

The sound from this card blows onboard audio away. I couldn't believe the difference when I first tried it. Music is clearer, video game sounds are crisper, and overall everything just sounds a hundred times better. There's no way to describe it in words; you really just need to listen for yourself. I've also found that my games run about 10 to 20 fps higher now that I'm not using onboard audio. I've watched a few DVDs with the included PowerDVD program, and they sound just as good as games. The same thing happens with music, it's just better! This card features an Intel HD Audio front panel connector (not compatible with the AC'97 audio connector) which is nice. It seems like very few cards offer it. On the downside, installing the drivers and software is like pulling teeth. The software installation alone took longer on my computer than installing Supreme Commander (an 8 gig game), and required 3 reboots. Plus there's a driver updating utility that needs to be dealt with, and the ever-present "Register Me" notice. The Creative software itself is a little bit unnecessary and the interface can be confusing. Instead of having all audio options built into one single program, Creative broke it up into many programs. To change options for Game Mode is one program, to change options for Entertainment Mode is another, to change general options is yet another program. The programs link to each other, but its still annoying. Overall, I highly recommend this card. Games, movies, and music all sound fantastic on it. (Side note: when installing the software, choose "Minimum Installation". The full install includes tons of stuff that you don't need.)
Posted: Aug 2 2008

Excellent sound, way better than my onboard sound card which i was using before. Works great with vista, just make sure you use the drivers online.
Posted: Jul 1 2008

For such a reasonable price, and ease of installation (to Vista-32, no less), this sound card is sensational. This is the best ROI I have ever experienced in a hardware product. Intuitive directions and the software installation wizard made the entire process clock in at about 30 minutes. The sound improvement from motherboard to 5.1 is absolutely astounding!