Asus vs. Creative Smackdown 9000

[Vlad_I]

So the time is coming for me to build my first rig. Since this is the first and very likely will stay with me for a while i want it to be top notch. Obvioulsy im doing a ton of research on all the hardware parts that i will need. Now its the sound card's turn to be selected amount the many competitors. Fortunately price isnt much of an issue.
I am curently eyeing the creative x-fi fatality champion series... you know the one... yeahhhh you know :) also comes with the front mount to access crystalizer and CMSS-3D i think? However i currently own a creative product and i am NOT satisfied with it. It came very overpriced, is not an ACTUAL x-fi card, which it claims to be, and its overall build quality is horrifying. I also know that creative has the tendency to overprice their products in general. So the question is then what else??!!
I think the answer may be: Asus Xonar D2X Ultra Fidelity 7.1 PCI-E x1 Sound Card with Complete Dolby & DTS. Thats a mouthful.
Asus products are high up there in my books so trust is not an issue but functionality is. Will this card be adequate in 5.1 surround sound games, 5.1 surround sound movies, and of course music? Does someone maybe own one? Does anyone know how it compares to the chamion fatality? And finally, how is the champion fatality in general?
Thank you in advance. :)

[Vlad_I]

http://www.auzentech.com/site/products/x-fi_prelude.php

Ok, how about this?

[Robscix]

The Auzentech Forte 7.1 is a also a good option.

[Dave510]

Prelude Advantages: Xonar D2X only supports up to EAX 2.0, whereas Prelude goes up to EAX 5.0. D2X does have their own software emulation though, and the result isn't bad, but there's disagreement as to whether or not it can match the real deal. But if you're using Vista then it doesn't really matter. So if you're going to do alot of gaming on XP, then go with the Prelude.

D2X Advantages: D2X supports Vista better. The benchmarks and the subjective listening from most reviews seem to point to D2X being the better card for movies and music. If you don't mind spending a little more (about $20-30) then you might want to consider the Xonar Essence STX as well. In short, if you're running Vista, or if you consider music and movie more important than gaming sound, then go with the D2X.

[Oversized Rooster]

Originally Posted by Dave510

D2X Advantages: D2X supports Vista better.

Where did you get that from? I've been using my Prelude on Vista Business 64-bit for a long time without problem. I wouldn't consider trading it in for a Xonar. What do you mean the D2X supports Vista better? It either supports it or not. Prelude does.

[Bradan]

You can't go wrong with either. You seem to dislike creative though.

[enaberif]

Originally Posted by Dave510

Prelude Advantages: Xonar D2X only supports up to EAX 2.0, whereas Prelude goes up to EAX 5.0. D2X does have their own software emulation though, and the result isn't bad, but there's disagreement as to whether or not it can match the real deal. But if you're using Vista then it doesn't really matter. So if you're going to do alot of gaming on XP, then go with the Prelude.

D2X Advantages: D2X supports Vista better. The benchmarks and the subjective listening from most reviews seem to point to D2X being the better card for movies and music. If you don't mind spending a little more (about $20-30) then you might want to consider the Xonar Essence STX as well. In short, if you're running Vista, or if you consider music and movie more important than gaming sound, then go with the D2X.

EAX is totally overrated and very few games actually support it. As long as your system outputs 5.1 properly and the game can support that you'll be fine.

Any of the Auzentech cards work flawlessly in Windows XP or Vista unlike the Asus cards which I've heard do have some issues.

EAX is not over rated my friend... and more games support it than you think. I can vouch for the issues of the asus card. Check their forums... lotta unhappy people in there.

[Dave510]

Originally Posted by Oversized Rooster

Where did you get that from? I've been using my Prelude on Vista Business 64-bit for a long time without problem. I wouldn't consider trading it in for a Xonar. What do you mean the D2X supports Vista better? It either supports it or not. Prelude does.

Elite Bastards • View topic - Creative EAX vs. ASUS DS3D GX 2.0
You're essentially looking at a small trade off in performance, for less hardware compatibility issues in Vista.[COLOR=blue ! important][COLOR=blue ! important][/COLOR][/COLOR]

[Cptn Vortex]

The 1 reason I went from the Prelude to my little DX is because the software is much less obese... Its very light and simple. The X-Fi software is a huge pain.