Available for:
Windows PCs
The Good:
Easy setup; fabulous sound quality; remote control.The Bad:
Not much to pick on here.The Verdict:
An upgrade that your ears won't regret.
REVIEW:
I've always been deeply skeptical of products with the word "extreme" — or any variant thereof — in their name. When it comes to computers, pragmatism is my most basic rule: I want a solid, non-flashy part that delivers consistent performance, reliability, and is well-supported. That means through good drivers, ease of installation, or whatever other features are necessary to maximize my use of that product — I want it done right. Everyone, however, has an obsession with strange names for sound cards: Xi-Fi Xtreme, XtremeSound, even Thundersound.
I asked myself — why upgrade something that has reliably worked since 2001, the last time I even thought about soundcards? With a name like "X-Fi Xtreme Gamer" ($120 U.S. retail), what really sets it apart from my previous soundcard, a Soundblaster Audigy from 2001? My Audigy played sound just fine, never once complained or malfunctioned, and sounded great for all my gaming, music playback, and internet voice chat.
Out of the Box and Into the Computer
I've assembled many computers over time, so being handed a box with a sound card in it wasn't a problem for me. For those interested in installation, I'm happy to say that removing the old soundcard and placing the new one in is nothing unusual — the card is far smaller than I'd expected. I was surprised to find another piece to install, though: A drive-bay insert for my computer that fit into a normal slot, like a CD-ROM drive. It contains a variety of utility pieces, such as a headphone jack, optical audio input and output, and a receiver for the included remote control. The installation for this piece isn't as simple, since it involves screws and some lengthier cable wrangling if your case is full — like mine is. Nonetheless, everything came with clear instructions and labeling, and I was all set in about 20 minutes. So far, so good.
The Sound of Music
Power on, computer's set back up. Time to install the best part of the whole kit: the drivers and software that make this card work with the computer. The installation of the drivers took a while, and I proudly say I did not pay any attention whatsoever to the process. I obsessively listen to music all day, and a silent computer drives me slowly crazy, so I wanted everything back up and running as soon as possible. After restarting my computer to complete the driver installation, I recalled that I hadn't removed the software from my previous sound card. I went to uninstall the old software, carefully avoiding uninstalling my new software — they had separate entries in the Add/Remove software list, after all!
To my surprise, this uninstalled the old software anyway! Oops. I was left with a silent computer again. Thankfully, instead of running through the installation from Creative's bundled CDs, I just went to their website and used their Software AutoUpdate (http://www.creative.com/support/) — and got even more recent drivers than their CDs had provided. All was once again good. Just remember to always remove your old drivers and software for any hardware before upgrading it. It will save you confusion and annoyance, which computers provide free of charge even when you're not installing new hardware and software.
I have a good speaker system — 5.1 surround speakers. My older soundcard hadn't supported them properly, and I'd had to adjust it so the subwoofer in my system faked output to the speakers by taking what my soundcard supplied and splitting it up. In my new setup, the Xi-Fi Xtreme Gamer gave me true 5.1 sound, and I could hear the difference right off the bat. After using the Speaker Connection Wizard to make sure my speakers were all in the right position, I started blasting some of my favorite stuff: heavy metal, high female vocals, and some pure instrumental. The sound was more diffuse, uncentered, and my speakers no longer felt as if they were just blaring out music directly at me. My music had gained real depth and I wasn't even toying with settings yet — or my remote control. I'd never realized how much of a difference hardware can have on sound generation and quality, but everything was already more vibrant. I asked a friend for her opinion, and although she hates my taste for thrash metal, she agreed that the music did sound much better than ever before.
