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Maximus IV x-fi etc. benefits/setup questions

Retired
Not applicable
Hi,

I have the Gene IV and when sold to me, they pointed out that I was receiving x-fi... and that it was superior to stock ac889 etc.

Now when installing drivers, I end up installing realtec codecs which surprises me a little.
Then I go to asus's site, download this SB_XFi_V10_VistaWin7 file, install and find nothing really any different bar some modes.

So what have I bought sound wise? BC2 sounds much the same and so did the bf3 beta.
Have I missed something or done something wrong? Is there a setting guide which will suddenly give me a massive improvement in the sound experience?

I have just re-installed the realtek drivers and am unsure if it's even worth installing the soundblaster portion.

I am confused...

Also, I plugged in my toslink and no matter what I do, I can't get sound outputting through my amp. The end of the cable shows the red light and is clean.
Has the amps toslink input died? I have no other device to test this with sadly so it's a bit of a "what do you think" question.

I use the realtek audio manage to swap from headphone to digital out (optical)

Any help would be appreciated.
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14 REPLIES 14

Retired
Not applicable
I cannot remember 100% but the earlier Asus ROG's did come with hardware based cut down X-FI's but I am sure the new ones are only software based to get EAX etc!

KILLER_K
Level 10
Yes, and those was the 1x blck pci slot riser add on cards on top of that. All you got should be is a realltek audio chip on the board. Same as the rest of guys here as i don't think that i have seen or heard of those with the later boards.

1ceTr0n
Level 11
Though im not an audiophile, the X-Fi is nothing more then a realtek chip running creative x-fi emulation software along with the THX software included. Its not bad for an onboard sound card but once I installed a new X-Fi titanium PCI-E soundcard and install custom PAX drivers and not the creative ones, the sound difference for music, games and movies compared to the Supreme2 X-Fi is unmatched.

Spathi
Level 9
I have not tried optical, I just switch between good headphones via a digital front jack and the rear stereo to the cheap LCD stereo speakers.

realtec chip is suppose to be as good as the all the sound blasters except one uber high end sound blaster card. So nothing to worry about there.

I leave everything default and just check the crossover is 20 and the windows is set to headphones (or the headphones will get too much bass and crackle.)

If you fiddle with the settings and turn things on you will be modifying the sound, so it will get pre-processed too much, best just leave it at default for proper THX (default also includes the mp3 range enhancement I think, which is OK apparently).

EDIT, yep ices Titanium HD would be it if you were hooking to a high end Yamaha amp or something for a PVR. I would still try the onboard out though first to see if I was happy enough. For gaming the high end card will probably use up PCIe lines. For BluRay or other stuff with highend sound I just use a BluRay player, PS3 & DVR, no real use case for the PC for me, but if I were using PC for all these things then I might go for it.

1ceTr0n
Level 11
I heard a big difference in bass and all around sound output vs the Supreme 2, no matter how much I tweaked around with the THX, the Supreme doesn't have the "oommpfff" compared to my X-FI titantium on custom drivers

Retired
Not applicable
Ok, thx guys.

I realize the realtek chip is a relatively decent on-board solution but the marketing didn't tell me I was getting this.
Even the reviews I read don't point this out so I am pretty disappointed Asus has dropped to this level of marketing.
I would have bought the fullsize board with combined space for a soundcard and 2 x graphics cards in SLI if I had known.

EAX isn't required/supported in the later BF series so I don't think there's any need to install the soundblaster/x-fi emulator for the time being.
I would love to be told differently...

Cheers

1ceTr0n
Level 11
Thats why they call it "marketing"

Spathi
Level 9
hmmm ignore my "crossover is 20" I checked today and it is 80 on my Yamaha and the GENE-Z did not seem to have this I could find anyway, although I swear I had found it a few months back and would have changed it to 80 from 20 maybe.. must be goin senile. Maybe now I use headphones the setting goes away. Anyway, if you have the setting for surround then read up on what is best, probably 80.

RE useful features, yeah it does have EAX, but I leave that off. Maybe something worth turning on is the mic effects, so you can sound like han solo or whatever for fun. Been meaning to try that.

dave_c
Level 7
Also keep in mind the X-Fi utility adds overhead and uses memory, including startup items. There is one constantly running service that uses more memory than AV software. Having used both the X-Fi software (on the GENE-Z) and an actual X-Fi Titanium sound card before, the software utilities are exactly the same. IMO, a bit of overhead is worth it for the benefits of an actual X-Fi sound card, but NOT for what is essentially a spiffy interface for the Realtek ALC889 codec. 😐
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