Creative Labs SB0790 PCI Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio Sound Card

by Creative Labs

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 11 x 2 x 8 inches ; 10.4 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B000IZC0GO
• Item model number: 70SB079000000
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (49 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
  • #31 in Electronics > Computers & Add-Ons > Computer Components > Internal Sound Cards
• Date first available at Amazon.com: April 2, 2004

Product Description

From the manufacturer

The Creative SB0790 PCI Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio sound card features cutting-edge technology to give you outstanding sound when you listen to music, watch movies, or play games. Why settle for basic, built-in sound when you can turn your downloaded music into a personal concert, experience movies as though you were in a cinema, and play games with 3-D audio effects? The SB0790 X-Fi Xtreme Audio sound card delivers the audio experience you deserve.

PCI Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio Sound Card At a Glance: X-Fi CMSS-3D creates nine virtual speakers when using stereo headphones X-Fi Crystalizer restores lost detail in compressed music and audio THX-certified surround sound for a fantastic cinematic experience Realistic gaming effects with EAX ADVANCED HD Restores surround sound to games in Windows Vista

Creates nine virtual speakers for exceptional surround effects. View larger.

Positional 3-D Audio
Whether you're using headphones or speakers, Creative's X-Fi CMSS-3D technology delivers outstanding surround sound. When used with a pair of headphones, the technology creates ninevirtual speakers for exceptional surround effects, letting you feel like you're sitting in the best seat of a movie theater. You'll get an advantage in games, too, with the ability to locate enemies by sound before they see you.

When used with multichannel speakers, you'll be able to hear exactly where the audio cues are--even between speakers. Voices will be right in front of you and ambient sound will surround you, just like a live performance. CMSS-3D works with both desktop stereo speakers and full surround speaker systems.

X-Fi Crystalizer Restores Lost Details
X-Fi-Crystalizer technology restores the audio detail that is lost in compressed audio files so you'll regain vibrancy and clarity in your music and movies. The technology restores the highs and lows that are often lost due to compression, so whether you're listening to cymbal crashes or wailing guitars, you'll hear the music as it was meant to be heard.

Realistic Sound Effects for Gaming
With support for EAX ADVANCED HD technology, the SB0790 X-Fi Xtreme Audio delivers rich environmental effects in your games, giving you a more immersive experience. You'll hear bullets whizzing by your head, and experience explosions that seem to shake the whole room.

And if you're using Windows Vista, Creative ALchemy technology restores surround sound to DirectSound3D games for an exceptional gaming experience.

Intense Cinematic Sound for Movies
The SB0790 X-Fi Xtreme Audio delivers THX-certified surround sound for a cinematic experience right at your computer. Cyberlink PowerDVD software is included (via free download) and supports DTS and Dolby Digital-EX decoding for an unmatched DVD movie-watching experience.

System Requirements
Microsoft Windows 7, Vista, or XP; Intel Pentium 4 1.6 GHz or AMD Athlon XP 2000+ processor or equivalent; available PCI slot; 256MB RAM (512 MB RAM for Vista); 600MB of free hard-disk space; CD or DVD-ROM for software installation; headphones or amplified speakers; Internet connection to download PowerDVD player software.

What's in the Box
Creative SB0790 PCI Express Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio sound card, Quick Start leaflet, and installation CD.

Creative Sound Blaster Sound Cards (Internal)
Looking for external sound cards from Creative? Click here.	Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio PCI Sound Card	Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio PCI Express Sound Card	Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium PCI Express Sound Card	Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Professional Series PCI Express Sound Card	Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium HD Internal Sound Card with THX SB1270
General Info:
Connection Type	PCI	PCI Express	PCI Express	PCI Express	PCI Express
SNR for Playback	108 dB	104 dB	109 dB	109 dB	122 dB
Speaker/Headphone Support	Stereo to 7.1	Stereo to 7.1	Stereo to 7.1	Stereo to 7.1	Stereo, with dedicated 115dB 24-bit/96kHz HD headphone output
Music and Movies:
24-bit Sound Quality
X-Fi Crystalizer
X-Fi CMSS-3D
DTS & Dolby Digital Decoding via free PowerDVD Download
Dolby Digital Live and DTS Connect (Win Vista Only) Encoder
Swappable Op-Amps
THX TruStudio Pro
Games:
EAX Support	EAX 4.0	EAX 4.0	EAX 5.0	EAX 5.0	EAX 5.0
X-Fi CMSS-3D Headphone Surround
Hardware Accelerated for Better Performance
Hardware OpenAL and DirectSound3D Support
64MB X-RAM
Music Creation:
Dedicated Creation Mode with ASIO 2.0 and 3D Midi Support

Product Description

Revitalize your downloaded music and moviesRestore the details and vibrance your music and movies lost during compression. X-Fi technology intelligently enhances the highs and lows so youll hear it all-crisp cymbal crashes, wailing guitar solos, screeching tires and booming explosions. Surround sound from your stereo music and movies. Expand your stereo music and movies into surround sound. Voices are centered in front of you. Ambient sound appears all around you... just like a live performance. Listen on a pair of desktop speakers or a full 5.1 speaker system. Headphone surround that sounds like a room full of speakers. Headphone surround that sounds like a room full of speakers. Headphone surround that sounds like a room full of speakers.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

115 of 118 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Caveat emptor..., April 9, 2007

By 

Christopher M. Hill (San Bernardino, CA, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Creative Labs SB0790 PCI Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio Sound Card (Personal Computers)

Despite being sold as an X-Fi card, this particular model does not use the X-Fi chipset. In fact it uses a variation of the Audigy 2 SE chipset. This is further confirmed by the fact that this card uses different drivers than the rest of the X-Fi line, and is not recognized as an X-Fi card in games. The main problem with this is you cannot uses any of the X-Fi features in games like you would expect. Try using this card in Battlefield 2142 and you will see what I mean.

Creative Labs should be ashamed of themselves for this blatant act of marketing fraud. When someone buys a Ferrari, they are expecting to get a Ferrari, not a Honda with a Ferrari emblem on the front. But that is exactly what Creative Labs has done here. They are marketing this sound card as a high-end brand (X-Fi) when it is really a crippled version of the previous product line (SE model Audigy). They must have a glut of unsold chips and they thought they could pull a fast one on consumers with this cheap card.

I for one will be very cautious before I consider purchasing Creative Labs products in the future. Buyer beware!

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This Card Gets a Bum Rap, June 22, 2009

By 

MassiveAttack (New Orleans) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Creative Labs SB0790 PCI Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio Sound Card (Personal Computers)

While Creative pulled a underhanded move with the naming of this card (X-Fi is a misnomer), this is a great card IF you know what you are getting.
There are two reasons to hate this card: Crappy drivers and gaming performance. As for the drivers, Creative is notoriously slack. However, I am running this card on Windows 7 with zero issues (use Creative's Win7 driver at their site, not the included disc). As for gaming performance, buy a different card! The internet has made smarter shoppers of us all. READ about what you order, and you won't be disappointed.

All of that said, this card is great for music. The reason a non-gamer would want a dedicated card is to take advantage of superior DAC chips and analog stages. In that regard, you're gonna be hard-pressed to find a better deal than the Xtreme Audio. The sound quality for music (my primary concern) is stellar as compared to all but the highest end motherboard solutions. If that's what you're after in a sound card, this is the one for you.

Oh, and I were you, I'd install just the driver. It includes the audio console and all of the necessary switches for X-Fi enhancements, speaker settings, etc. The other 500MB of stuff is mostly silly and redundant. That's just my opinion , though.

It's true that the X-Fi "enhancements" are processed using your cpu, and not via hardware chip. This would have sucked many years ago, but these days even $500 computers have 3.0ghz dual core processors. Personally, I don't make any use of the "enhancements" as I'm one of those jerk audiophile purists who likes an unmolested signal. It excels here, offering a dead-silent SNR (106, I believe, and it sounds like that claim isn't too far off the mark). Basically, it offers superior, clean sound free of the noise that most onboard sound is notorious for. The actual musical quality of the signal is better, too, owing to the superior audio hardware as compared to motherboards.

I haven't used the mic, which is another source of complaints. Basically, if you don't need X-Fi effects for games, don't do a lot of recording, and only have $50 (or less, on eBay) to dedicate to your tunes, you should get this card. If you KNOW what you are getting, you'll be very happy with it.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not happy with Creative., February 19, 2008

By 

M. Robinson "mont2002" (Bangkok, Bangkok Thailand) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Creative Labs SB0790 PCI Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio Sound Card (Personal Computers)

Marketing this as an X-FI card is dishonest. The card itself, and the included software, work very well in windows XP and is all I need for my uses but marketing an audigy chip under the x-fi name has made me very dissapointed with creative.