Creative Labs Soundblaster X-Fi Fatal1ty Review

“This is a fantastic sound card, which was a large...”

Written on: 20/09/2007 by AirborneUK (15 reviews written)

Good Points
Improved CPU performance
Great Audio for gaming and music
Easy to install and setup
includes some nifty software

Bad Points
High pitched whine with microphone on my XP64 bit machine*
Slightly on the expensive side.

General Comments
This is a fantastic sound card, which was a large improvement over my on-board sound system!



The sound card helps improve system performance as it does the job of processing the audio and leaves the main system processor to get on and do other things.



Although slightly expensive for my liking, you do get what you pay for! This card really does work well with a good speaker system - mine being a Creative 5.1 surround speaker set, which has lasted me years.



I can now set all my audio settings to HIGH and have it set to EAX, which adds depth & amazing effects to games!! - Although it does take some getting used to.

Works brilliant with BF2142 bringing out all the noises I never knew existed inside the Titans - and in other games too.



*With all that said I was disappointed and am still completely baffled with an odd microphone issue I am experiencing, every time I increase the microphone volume I get a high pitched whining noise which might not seem like much but trust me it is annoying after 5 minutes! Oddly enough I only get this with my XP64 bit machine, and not my windows 2000 pro OS, I haven't yet come across anyone else with this problem so it may just be my setup at fault!



Despite that, it is a brilliant card which does exactly what it is meant to do, and the software included is very helpful, an easy to use speaker setup allows you to adjust all sorts of setting to suit your needs, or just a simple pre-adjusted setting mode (Game/Audio Creation/Entertainment modes).



Another piece software included can in most cases clear up any distorted audio that you have, as well as improving mp3 music in some cases.

Although some have said about random clicks, snaps and crackles which apparently is a common issue with some people, I have not come across such problems, always check your system is compatible before buying any hardware/software!



Another classic product from a brilliant company, Creative! I strongly recommend this product to those wanting more from their standard on board or old sound card. Try one, you won't believe the difference until you have tried it.