Page 1
Article Type: Review
Article Date: October 16, 2001
Back To Part I
All this started with the SB Live and Creative's Environmental Audio Extensions. Developers use EAX to add lifelike environments to games, expanding the ambience and “live” quality to sound. The introduction of EAX 2.0 added occlusion and obstruction support. There haven’t been many prominent applications for EAX 2.0 yet, but 1C: Maddox Game's IL-2 Sturmovik makes use of them and we are likely to see additional title support by Christmas 2001.
Once you fly in the complex sound environment of IL-2, you will agree that EAX is an excellent platform for reproducing authentic environments. There simply isn’t a lot more that a gamer could ask for. Once upon a time 3D sound meant merely positional placement of sound sources; that is almost prehistory with EAX 2.0.
The program itself is quite intuitive, and comes with a number of faces. There is a very small interface, a larger one with more control options, or the full screen version. Swapping between these, or adding the EQ is very quickly done.
Similarly, managing music files is quick and easy, as is cataloging your music library.
The four games bundled with the X-Gamer are Interplay's MDK2, Eidos Interactive's Deus Ex, Epic Games Unreal Tournament, and Eidos' Thief II: The Metal Age. These are all main stream games and have quite a large following. If you don't find yourself interested in these titles, chances are you have a friend who will be happy to have them!
The Live! Series of sound cards have always been known for being easy on the CPU. I tested the X-Gamer against the TB Santa Cruz using Audio WinBench 99. Here are the results:
The X-Gamer manages very well. With 16 streaming voices CPU usage is 1.8 percent, compared to the TB Santa Cruz which clocks in at 0.8 percent. With 32 streaming voices CPU usage jumps to 4.1 percent, to 3.8 percent for the Santa Cruz. Anything less than 3 percent really isn’t significant.
Note that while the Santa Cruz outperforms the SB Live! by a small margin, the Santa Cruz uses a Virtual 5.1 mode for games; it doesn't have true 5.1 support. In its Virtual 5.1 mode the Santa Cruz combines the left and right channels for the subwoofer, and all four streams for the center channel. Furthermore, virtual 5.1 output is not bass managed, which means the subwoofer out isn't a low frequency effect channel but a full-range mono output. The speaker itself must cut the high frequencies. Unfortunately, many speaker systems expect the sound card to do it for you.
But until you have heard digital 5.1 reproduction, you haven’t really heard the best that a modern sound board can produce. My wife was astonished the first time she interrupted me as I was working and simultaneously listening to music in my office. While my home stereo outputs 240 watts through a set of expensive JVC speakers, it doesn’t compare to the quality of the 5.1 system in my office. Whether I am listening to music or trying to stem the German tide in my La5 in IL-2, sound reproduction is clean and flawless.
With the original SB Live! Value, an additional Digital I/O card had to be purchased for digital output, demanding an extra $45. Creative stopped producing the daughterboard and added the Digital Out to the card itself. Digital speakers can be connected to the X-Gamer through a minijack-to-DIN conversion, which is included with the speakers.
In-game positional audio is excellent, and it's difficult to imagine much improvement. Chasing a bandit into cloud in IL-2, I quickly lost sight of him. A moment later I heard an engine sound passing from my right to my left. Instinctively, I pulled hard and into the sound. Sure enough, when I popped out of the cloud I was above and to the left of the bandit and still in a good position for the chase.
If, however, you are also in the market for a new motherboard, you ought to consider waiting for the introduction of the nForce chipset on Athlon mainboards this month. This chipset will not only maximize the power of the Athlon CPU, it also introduces onboard audio features that will rival the Audigy in sound reproduction. At one time it was crazy for a gamer to opt for onboard audio; the world is about to change.
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Creative SB Live! X-Gamer 5.1 - Part II
by Len "Viking1" HjalmarsonArticle Type: Review
Article Date: October 16, 2001
Back To Part IEAX vs A3D
A few years ago there was a roaring debate as to whether A3D or EAX should become the new standard. A3D devotees claimed greater precision in sound reproduction. EAX devotees claimed less CPU burden and greater flexibility.All this started with the SB Live and Creative's Environmental Audio Extensions. Developers use EAX to add lifelike environments to games, expanding the ambience and “live” quality to sound. The introduction of EAX 2.0 added occlusion and obstruction support. There haven’t been many prominent applications for EAX 2.0 yet, but 1C: Maddox Game's IL-2 Sturmovik makes use of them and we are likely to see additional title support by Christmas 2001.
Once you fly in the complex sound environment of IL-2, you will agree that EAX is an excellent platform for reproducing authentic environments. There simply isn’t a lot more that a gamer could ask for. Once upon a time 3D sound meant merely positional placement of sound sources; that is almost prehistory with EAX 2.0.
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| Playcenter 2.5 |
Playcenter 2.5
This latest version of the music player also includes ripping/encoding abilities. I've been waiting for a piece of software that would integrate music management, CD player, and ripping and encoding. Playcenter handles all these functions with aplomb.The program itself is quite intuitive, and comes with a number of faces. There is a very small interface, a larger one with more control options, or the full screen version. Swapping between these, or adding the EQ is very quickly done.
Similarly, managing music files is quick and easy, as is cataloging your music library.
Game Bundle
While many sim pilots could care less what games come bundled with their new audio hardware, others make this part of their purchase decision. Certainly the bundle included with the X-Gamer does add value.The four games bundled with the X-Gamer are Interplay's MDK2, Eidos Interactive's Deus Ex, Epic Games Unreal Tournament, and Eidos' Thief II: The Metal Age. These are all main stream games and have quite a large following. If you don't find yourself interested in these titles, chances are you have a friend who will be happy to have them!
Performance Testing
Test System:- Abit KT-7 RAID mobo with Athlon 933
- OCZ Titan 3 GeForce 3 64MB
- 384 MB PC133 SDRAM
- IBM Deskstar 40GXP 7200 RPM ATA 100
- Toshiba TrueX 72X CD ROM
- WIN ME with DirectX 8.1
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| CPU Usage Comparison |
The Live! Series of sound cards have always been known for being easy on the CPU. I tested the X-Gamer against the TB Santa Cruz using Audio WinBench 99. Here are the results:
The X-Gamer manages very well. With 16 streaming voices CPU usage is 1.8 percent, compared to the TB Santa Cruz which clocks in at 0.8 percent. With 32 streaming voices CPU usage jumps to 4.1 percent, to 3.8 percent for the Santa Cruz. Anything less than 3 percent really isn’t significant.
Note that while the Santa Cruz outperforms the SB Live! by a small margin, the Santa Cruz uses a Virtual 5.1 mode for games; it doesn't have true 5.1 support. In its Virtual 5.1 mode the Santa Cruz combines the left and right channels for the subwoofer, and all four streams for the center channel. Furthermore, virtual 5.1 output is not bass managed, which means the subwoofer out isn't a low frequency effect channel but a full-range mono output. The speaker itself must cut the high frequencies. Unfortunately, many speaker systems expect the sound card to do it for you.
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| Flying the 109 Online in IL-2 |
Sound Reproduction
The recent generation of sound cards all product excellent sound. Whether one chooses the Hercules Fortissimo or the Turtle Beach Santa Cruz, one is going to get some great sound.But until you have heard digital 5.1 reproduction, you haven’t really heard the best that a modern sound board can produce. My wife was astonished the first time she interrupted me as I was working and simultaneously listening to music in my office. While my home stereo outputs 240 watts through a set of expensive JVC speakers, it doesn’t compare to the quality of the 5.1 system in my office. Whether I am listening to music or trying to stem the German tide in my La5 in IL-2, sound reproduction is clean and flawless.
With the original SB Live! Value, an additional Digital I/O card had to be purchased for digital output, demanding an extra $45. Creative stopped producing the daughterboard and added the Digital Out to the card itself. Digital speakers can be connected to the X-Gamer through a minijack-to-DIN conversion, which is included with the speakers.
In-game positional audio is excellent, and it's difficult to imagine much improvement. Chasing a bandit into cloud in IL-2, I quickly lost sight of him. A moment later I heard an engine sound passing from my right to my left. Instinctively, I pulled hard and into the sound. Sure enough, when I popped out of the cloud I was above and to the left of the bandit and still in a good position for the chase.
Conclusion
The introduction of the Sound Blaster Audigy means that the SB Live! X-Gamer is already falling in price. For about $85 US you can purchase a powerful audio board that will reproduce the sounds in your games or music authentically.If, however, you are also in the market for a new motherboard, you ought to consider waiting for the introduction of the nForce chipset on Athlon mainboards this month. This chipset will not only maximize the power of the Athlon CPU, it also introduces onboard audio features that will rival the Audigy in sound reproduction. At one time it was crazy for a gamer to opt for onboard audio; the world is about to change.
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