Creative Labs Sound Blaster Live! X-Gamer 5.1

List Price: $69.99

Features:

• Clear digital and analog 5.1 audio
• 3-D positional audio with the dynamic accuracy and realism of EAX
• Real-time audio and effects acceleration with the powerful EMU10K1 Digital Signal Processor
• Enjoy 5.1 sound when connected to the 5.1 speaker system
• PC compatible

Accessories:
Jensen JF25 Stereo Headphones	Koss TD-80 Closed-Ear Home Stereophone	Koss R-10 Home Headphones	Monster Cable MP AV600 Power Protector

Customer Reviews:

Very Good Sound Card For DVD Play back [Posted on 2001-03-01]
have being using this sound card with my pentium 4 the sound is very good you have to have a ALTEC LANSING SPEAKERS TO ENJOY THE GREAT 5.1 PLAYBACK. WHEN YOU PUT THE SPEAKERS ALL THE WAY LOUD YOU COULD HEAR STRANGE SOUNDS BUT IT DOESN'T MATTER TO ME IF YOU HAVE A GOOD COMPUTER AND A GOOD VIDEO CARD THIS SOUND CARD WILL BE GREAT AND THIS SOUND CARD IS ONE OF THE BEST I WAS WATCHING XMEN THE OTHER DAY SOUND WAS VERY CLEAR AND THE EFFECTS WERE GREAT I FELT LIKE I WAS IN A THEATER...

Sound Blaster does it again! [Posted on 2001-03-27]
There are many pretenders to the throne, but for quality sound cards that /everyone/ supports, there can be only one: Sound Blaster. The Sound Blaster Live! X-Gamer 5.1 is an excellent sound card, optimized for 5.1 (6 speakers--4 surround, one center channel, one subwoofer) speaker systems (though I'm using a 2.1 (2 speakers + subwoofer) system myself). Sound quality is excellent, and the card itself comes with plugs for attaching microphones and other devices (such as MP3 recorders) to. Note that this is /not/ the Platinum card, which comes with the front panel port some of the other reviews talk about--hardware-wise, you just get the card (and appropriate cables).

Software-wise, it comes with an amazing bundle--aside from the usual utility programs, the X-Gamer comes with Unreal tournament, Duex Ex, Thief 2 (the Metal Age) and MDK2. Not demos, but full versions of the games. It's almost worth buying the card just to get the bundle, as so many magazine reviews have said!

Note: although I said everything is compatible with Sound Blaster, this isn't entirely true. Windows 2000 is, I believe, not compatible with it (though check the Creative website for further developments), and Windows ME may have some issues (since WinME doesn't use DOS anymore, and SB Live! still uses DOS emulators for some functions). As far as games go, however, you shouldn't have any problems whatsoever!

Must have for games or DVD [Posted on 2001-04-14]
Wire this baby into your stereo, and you'll definitely notice the difference between good sound cards and the bad ones. This card is excellent although it is a little expensive due to the market strength of sound blaster. The included games give this package a little more value. The digital output is great if you have the equipment for it. At maximum volume, I don't even notice distortions (of course you need your speakers to perform too).

Decent but better choices exist. Incompatibility problems! [Posted on 2001-07-16]
The X-Gamer is a very decent card. Pretty good sound quality. DVD's play okay, games are okay, the only thing that's really great about the card is the sound quality in DOS but not a lot of people have applications in DOS. For the same price, there are many better choices out there currently which have much better sound quality in recording and playback.

Also, the SB Live! cards have problems working on motherboards with VIA southbridge chipsets and many AMD-based motherboards have a VIA southbridge. The IRQ settings get messed up and the only way to get the card working is to upgrade and install the 4-in-1 drivers.

Best Soundcard EVER!! [Posted on 2001-09-22]
When I first used this soundcard under Win98, it was difficult to install at first, but after downloading the latest driver, it worked fine. I was really impressed with the sound quality of this card and the games packaged with it(especially Unreal Tournament). The sound from playing my DVD movies on my computer is outstanding! This card works great under WINDOWS XP Professional because you do not have to install any drivers for it since XP sets it up automatically and painlessly! Overall, I think this soundcard was a great purchase. Well worth the money spent.

Note: If you are trying to get the Soundblaster Live card to work with a VIA based motherboard or any other non Intel based board, you may need to download the latest driver at soundblaster.com or creative.com to get it to work.

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