X-Fi XtremeGamer Fatality PRO vs Asus Xonar DX???!

[sxulocktor]

hi, the question is simple, which one of this audio cards is better in general use (games, movies, music) ?


X-FI xtremegamer Fatality Professional 115 U$S Used

Asus Xonar DX 145U$S NEW


which one should i buy?

PD: im from argentina, so the prices are high and this 2 are the UNIQUE options that i have from that price range

 

[MKmods]

I have both the Asus D1 and Fatality Pro. Both are very good cards

I like the Asus control panel best, also its a smaller card (takes up less space)

Creative has the 64mb of memory and since its less $$ that may tip the scales in favor of it.

Its a very hard decision for me, maybe a sound expert can help.

 

[Darren]

hi, the question is simple, which one of this audio cards is better in general use (games, movies, music) ?


X-FI xtremegamer Fatality Professional 115 U$S Used

Asus Xonar DX 145U$S NEW


which one should i buy?

PD: im from argentina, so the prices are high and this 2 are the UNIQUE options that i have from that price range

The X-Fi is a gaming card has EAX 5.0 support in hardware, however game developers do not use EAX much and its implementation in Vista is non-existent too.

The Asus Xonar DX isn't a gaming card, its better suited for movies and music, and hence its Dolby Digital and DTS encoding features, not sure if you are interested in that.

Depends on your speakers, if you have regular computer speakers I would get the X-Fi, however if you have a home theatre system I would get the Xonar.

 

[LittleLizard]

i would get the xfi, just because of personal preference

 

[imperialreign]

The X-Fi is a gaming card has EAX 5.0 support in hardware, however game developers do not use EAX much and its implementation in Vista is non-existent too.

The Asus Xonar DX isn't a gaming card, its better suited for movies and music, and hence its Dolby Digital and DTS encoding features, not sure if you are interested in that.

Depends on your speakers, if you have regular computer speakers I would get the X-Fi, however if you have a home theatre system I would get the Xonar.

Agreed.


As to actual sound quality - the difference between the two cards is negligible. The Xonar is very slightly better, but the differences are so slight it'd be hard to actually hear anything noticeable.

 

[sxulocktor]

The X-Fi is a gaming card has EAX 5.0 support in hardware, however game developers do not use EAX much and its implementation in Vista is non-existent too.

The Asus Xonar DX isn't a gaming card, its better suited for movies and music, and hence its Dolby Digital and DTS encoding features, not sure if you are interested in that.

Depends on your speakers, if you have regular computer speakers I would get the X-Fi, however if you have a home theatre system I would get the Xonar.

i have an Edifier C2 Aduio system (2.1 + 1 external amplifier). its regular, nothing WOW, but have a lot of power!.


i have read that the X-Fi has DTS and Dolby decoding, hasn't it?


ohh, could you explain me a bit in what i would be beneficiated in having DTS and Dolby decoding? because i dont have idea of audio

 

[Darren]

i have an Edifier C2 Aduio system (2.1 + 1 external amplifier). its regular, nothing WOW, but have a lot of power!.


i have read that the X-Fi has DTS and Dolby decoding, hasn't it?


ohh, could you explain me a bit in what i would be beneficiated in having DTS and Dolby decoding? because i dont have idea of audio

The X-Fi's along with every other sound card that has SPDIF (coaxial/Fibre) has DTS and Dolby Digital decoding. It just passes the existing pre-encoded data on the DVD movie straight to the amplifier for decoding.

The Xonar has encoding, which means it can encode the DTS/DD algorithms in real time, so it can up convert 2 channel stereo such as MP3s or games into 5.1 DD/DTS and pass the data to the amp for decoding.

Hope that helps


Edit:

Does your external amplifier have digital out? you need an amplifier that supports SPDIF/Coaxial as well as Dolby Digital and the DTS features such as the STR-DG920 in order to take advantage of the Xonar.

http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs...10151&langId=-1&productId=8198552921665364793

If your amplifier does not have these features, the X-Fi is your best choice.

 

[niko084]

Playing games get the X-Fi, want simple quality or need it for professional use get a Xonar.

Looks like Daren pointed out the details a bit.