Konklusion
Creative må siges at have gjort det igen. De har lavet et fremragende produkt, som selvfølgeligt også koster mere end den lille onboard lydchip der efterhånden sidder på alle onboard bundkort.
Det er såmænd ikke engang den rigtig gode lydkvalitet der har overrasket mig, fordi Creative har gang på gang vist sig gode til at følge med lydudviklingen og udvikle forbedrede produkter gang på gang. Det er mere den rare oplevelse med at de egenudviklede nyskabelser de slår meget på, i det store hele præstere som de lover det.
CMSS-3D funktionen bør bestemt være kommet for at blive, og jeg håber på at en funktion som den vil gå hen og blive standard snart.
Fatal1ty mærkatet..... ja hvordan skal jeg nu lige forklare det det.. Et godt eksempel er den køler jeg vandt i bomberman til årets hyggeligste Lan. (OC-LAN ;) ). Det er netop et Fatal1ty branded produkt, men han skal altså ikke stå der bag på kassen og fortælle mig hvor vigtigt det er for min gaming oplevelse at min CPU er 10 grader køligere.... og jeg tror for den sags skyld heller ikke at det var ham der var hovedingeniøren bag den. Så kald den da noget andet.
Med andre ord ikke altid min kop the at se det mærkat velvidende at han skal have royalties for det, og at det så i sidste ende går ud over min pengepung. Dog vil jeg meget hellere acceptere det i et tilfælde som dette, hvor kortet rent faktisk frigiver nogle ressourcer og samtidigt formentligt vil kunne hjælpe en gamer på højt niveau med CMSS-3D effekten og den generelt rigtigt gode lyd.
Innovation Creative har denne gang virkeligt haft gang i heksekedlerne og både lavet nyskabelser på hardware og software fronten i forhold til deres forrige produkter, i denne kategori fortjener kortet et højpoleret femtal
Bundle Bundlet er stort, frontpanelet giver en fantastisk fleksibilitet i både Midi, analog og digitale ind- og udgange, men jeg har en anke. Jeg synes virkeligt det er ærgerligt at der ikke har sneget sig en enkelt digital udgang ind på selve PCI kortet. Det ser dumt ud med en ledning hængende fra frontpanelet hvis man vil bruge kortet til noget seriøst lyd, men samtidig vil man gerne undgå at optage det flexijack stik der rent fysisk kun kan have en funktion af gangen. Om den anke skulle fyres af underbundle eller innovation kan diskuteres, men nu blev det her.
Design Godtnok er der et frontpanel, og jeg synes det er meget pænt lavet og lækkert at de har holdt det i sort, men jeg synes alligevel det er for tyndt et grundlag at give en designkarakter på, så det har jeg valgt at udelade i dette tilfælde selvom den var på vippen.
Software Creative har godtnok smidt hele baduljen efter en denne gang. Der er programmer til det hele, og de er faktisk allesammen ret gode inden for hver deres kategori. Naturligvis er det ikke 15 professionelle programmer man for med, men man kan komme meget langt med dem uden at mangle noget. Igen en 5'er.
Ydelse Ydelsen er i top, lydkvaliteten kan følge med DVD- og CD-afspillere der koster noget mere, effekterne fungerer, men om man så lige er til 24-Bit crystalizer eller ej er en smagssag. CMSS-3D effekten har jeg vist rost nok igennem artiklen så ikke et ord mere om den.
Pris Ja gode produkter koster mere at udvikle end middelmådige produkter, derfor koster gode produkter også mere end middelmådige produkter. prisen ligger pt. på 1450 kr i de billigste online butikker, men det synes jeg er helt rimeligt selvom det naturligvis ligger i den højere ende af skalaen for lydkort. Det bilver til et 3 tal.
Conclusion
You can only say : Creative has done it again. They've made a brilliant product, which of course also does cost more than the little audiochip you can find on any mainboard.
It's actually not the splendid sound quality which impressed me, as Creative has always shown that they're on the leading edge of audio technology, constantly releasing improved and sometimes groundbreaking products. What I liked the most was the pleasant experience and their new developments, which Creative also does point out - and overall they do deliver as promised.
The CMSS-3D functionality ought to become a common feature, and I hope something like that will become a standard soon.
The Fatal1ty branding...well, how should I put it... A good example is the heat sink I won in the Bomberman competition during the most cheerful LAN of the year, OC-LAN.
That one is also a Fatal1ty-product, but I don't think he should be on the back of the box telling me how important it is for my gaming experience that my CPU temperature is 10 degrees lower - and anyhow, I doubt he was the main engineer behind it anyway.
So please do name it something else.
In other words, it's not always my cup of tea to see that branding, knowing that he gets royalties for it, which I have to pay for in the end. Then again, I can much better accept it in a case like this, where the card actually frees resources, which might help a high end gamer with the CMSS-3D effect - and the overall very good sound quality.
Innovation Creative has really been brewing up something new this time, both on the software and the hardware side this product has brand new features and functionality compared to their older offerings, and they deserve a top score of 5.
Bundle The bundle is large, and the front panel provides for lots of flexibility with both MIDI, analog and digital inputs and outputs, but I do have one complaint. I really feel the card lacks at least one digital output on the PCI card itself. It doesn't look very smart having a wire hanging from the front panel if you want to use the card for serious sound work, and you at the same time don't want to occupy the single flexijack connector which can physically only provide one simultaneous connection.
Whether that complaint should be under the category "bundle" or innovation I am not sure, but I chose bundle.
Design Well, there is a front panel, which I think is very nicely made, I especially like that they've kept it black, but I don't really think there's enough "meat" to rate the design category, so although it was close I didn't rate it.
Software Creative has really started throwing software at you this time. There are programs for anything, and they're all quite good within their category. Of course you do not get 15 professional programs, but you can get very far using them, without missing anything.
Another 5 here.
Performance The performance is top notch, the sound quality can keep up with quite more expensive DVD and CD players, the effects works well, but if you're into a 24 bit crystallizer or not is a personal matter. I think I've praised the CMSS-3D effect enough in the main article, so no more about that.
Price Yes, quality products does cost more to develop than run-of-the-mill products, and that is reflected in the price. The cheapest price online is currently around 1450 DKK, which I think is fair, although it is quite a lot for a sound card. A 3 here.
Test: Creative X-Fi Fatal1ty
Innovation / Teknologi | 5 |
Bundle - Tilbehør | 4 |
Software - BIOS | 5 |
Ydelse | 5 |
Pris | 3 |
| |
Samlet | 88% |
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