Creative Labs 70SB104000000 Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio Sound Card - PCIe

1. Posted: Aug 17 2009

   I purchased the Creative Labs SB1040 PCI Express Sound Blaster Xtreme Audio sound card to replace the built-in sound on my Windows Vista computer's motherboard. I needed more power and more 'line out' sockets. I found that this card satisfied both needs excellently. I installed the software to see if it was as 'ho hum' and problematic as some other reviewers had written. I found the software to be outstanding and allows you to really tailor the sound of your system. The only truly lacking part of the package was the instructions on using the software (especially the "Entertainment Mode"). It took me a few days to figure out how to get normal output to all line out sockets instead of the default 7.1 output. I literally stumbled across the screen that allows you to make that configuration change while looking for something else. You pretty much have to figure out what each feature does by experimentation before you can truly make use of them. Once you gain an understanding of how things work you'll find that you can get tremendous performance from this sound card. I must say that more in-depth instructions are available at the Creative Labs web site and you can download a file that contains help and instructions from that site. Live technical support, however, is non existent. I would normally have reduced the score of my review due to the less than adequate instructional material and no technical support (beyond web site FAQs), but my review is really of the sound card hardware and software. They are both great!

2. Posted: Jul 11 2009

   As other reviewer(s) have mentioned, this is a deliberately mislabeled product. It has no X-Fi chip. Apparently, it's just an old 33 dollar Audigy Sound Blaster with some software drivers pasted on. That was very "creative" of Creative Lab$$ aka "money-grubbing cheats". As for performance, it was fair and not sufficiently better than on-board audio to justify the cost.

3. Posted: May 26 2009

   I purchased this card for editing music files and playback of HD movies on my computer in surround sound. I have been unable to detect extraneous electronic noise from the card, and the surround sound is phenominal. Editing of music files yields tremendous results when creating movie tracks or audio CDs. Cost relative to performance is worth the purchase.

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