(Not So) Mini Review - Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Go! USB Audio Device
Posted: Sat Jul 31, 2010 10:41 pm
Okay, so some quick details and background before I start this (not so) mini review. These will make more sense later.
Desktop: Custom Build
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800+ 2.4GHz, 4GB DDR2 800 (4x1GB sticks)
ECS EliteGroup A780GM-A Motherboard: AMD 780G Northbridge, SB750 Southbridge
ATI Radeon 4850 512MB PCI-E Graphics
Integrated IDT HD Audio Codec
Windows 7 Ultimate 64-Bit OS
Laptop: Toshiba Satellite A305D-S6914
AMD Turion X2 Ultra ZM-82 2.2GHz, 4GB DDR2 800 (2x2GB sticks)
AMD 780V Northbridge, SB700 Southbridge
Dedicated Radeon 3650 512MB PCI-E Graphics
Integrated Realtek HD Audio Codec
Windows 7 Ultimate 64-Bit OS
As you can see, these are very similar systems. Why this is important will make sense a bit later in this review.
Somewhat recently, the sound on my laptop began to crackle. Figuring this was either a driver or Vista issue, I took the opportunity to upgrade my laptop to Windows 7 OS, using the exact same install media that I had used to install W7 on my desktop. Since the systems were so similar, I was also able to use most of the same driver installers as I had with my desktop, aside from a modified Mobility Radeon video driver and the audio codecs. The latter was a bit of a relief, as the IDT HD Audio drivers are horrible, causing random lock-ups on my PC and some gaming issues.
Sadly, the reinstall didn't help anything. The audio continued to crackle, and progressively began to get worse. It was then I began researching alternative audio solutions for my laptop, as I am definitely not ready to retire this perfectly capable laptop due to an audio issue. As I rarely ever used the laptop's integrated speakers and I own a rather nice set of headphones, I was looking specifically for something I could use my existing headphones with as opposed to some type of USB speaker or headset.
At first I began looking at Creative's X-Fi Express Card solution. At one time I owned a very nice Creative X-Fi XtremeGamer Fatal1ty Professional sound card that died due to a faulty motherboard. I enjoyed the X-Fi Crystallizer and bass boost options of that card, so I had hoped to get something somewhat similar if I could. But the Express Card X-Fi was a bit pricey for my tastes, and considering that it was only useable in my laptop, I passed.
I began to look towards USB audio solutions, as I figured I could easily swap it between my desktop and laptop and I would not have to buy dedicated cards for both. I knew going into this that no solution I could find in my price range and interface limitations would support any type of hardware acceleration, but as Vista/7 did away with this, and the fact that any USB solution will have a CPU usage hit similar to any integrated audio solution, this was a non issue. My main concern was audio quality on a budget. Anything better and less buggy than my integrated IDT audio. And as I had had nothing but good luck with my PCI X-Fi, I decided to go ahead and go with another Creative solution. This left me with two options: the Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Surround 5.1 (SB1090) or the Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Go! (SB1100).
Both cards are relatively similar in terms of features. In my research, I found that aside from the former supporting 5.1 Surround Sound and the latter only supporting 2.1,both use the same drivers, both are at a somewhat similar price point, and both seem to be built around the same platform. Both cards featured the X-Fi Crystallizer and bass boost options of my old X-Fi PCI card.
I have never used a surround sound solution. I have a rather nice pair of headphones that I use for almost all of my audio needs, and I have no intentions of changing this any time soon. Also, since I had planned on using this on both my laptop and desktop, and I had hoped to pack this in the bag with my laptop whenever I decided to travel (I sometimes play some games of Star Trek Online, StarCraft, and World of Warcraft at friend's houses) size was another important issue. While the X-Fi Go! is marginally larger than a large flash drive, the X-Fi Surround 5.1 is a breakout box type configuration, connected to the computer using a USB cable. With all this in mind, I decided to go with the X-Fi Go!
When the card came in, I did not have access to my laptop as I had lent it to a friend for a project. So my first experience with using the card came on my desktop.
A few features that instantly stood out to me: The sound card is similar in size and shape to a USB flash drive, if only being a bit wider, about 1 « times the size. I realize this could cause some problems with some USB ports, but luckily Creative thought ahead and included a short (6") USB extension cable for those tight squeezes. It uses a cap similar to a flash drive would, but the cap is tethered to the main body of the unit using a small nylon loop. As I am always loosing caps to my thumb drives, this was a rather welcome bonus. My only complaint as far as this goes would be if you do not pull on the loop while putting the cap on, it can sometimes get pulled under the cap and cause it to not fit flush. More of an annoyance than any real complaint, something I can easily live with.
Along with this, the package also contained a set of ear buds with integrated mic, and a rather touristy-looking manual, both of which I could have happily done without. I have not even unwrapped the ear buds as I have no interest in using them, but I have read mixed reviews on their quality. One thing I should note now is that the top surface of the audio card is a glossy piece of plastic that I found rather quickly gathered fingerprints. This didn't bother me so much as my laptop has something called the Fusion Finish, completely glossy all over, and I've gotten used to the inevitable fingerprints.
Another bonus would be that the audio card also has 1GB of integrated flash memory, which will be seen and used as a standard flash drive. This is where the factory-shipped drivers are stored and ready for installation. Upon plugging the device in, Windows automatically recognized both the USB audio and flash drive, and installed appropriate Windows drivers for both, which was a surprise to me. This also ended up being a blessing in disguise, as you will see later.
As the drivers on the device were outdated, the first thing I did was download and install the latest drivers available on Creative's website. I decided to go ahead and delete the old drivers from the device and replace them with the new installer package I had downloaded, for later use on my laptop. Here, I ran into my first problem with the device. The device has a small switch on the front to set the device to read-only or writeable, much like a floppy disk. But even with this set to `open', I could not delete or write to the flash memory. A quick format using the appropriate Windows utility allowed me to write to the flash, but I found the write speed to be horrible. Read speed was just as bad. In the manual, Creative suggests not playing music through the device when you are attempting to transfer files to the flash memory, to give it more bandwidth. But no matter what I did, I could never get the flash memory to reliably write or read files. Depending on your expectations of the device, this may very well be a con, but I had never intended to use the device as flash storage other than drivers. My 8GB flash drive handles that just fine. So honestly, this is a feature I will not miss. I will note that I was able to copy the driver files to the device, and I was able to read them from the device, albeit slowly. So it will serve its purpose for me.
After everything had installed and after the mandatory Windows restart, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the Creative Audio Control Panel, which is used to set and adjust the various special effects supported by the audio device, was almost exactly the same as the one that was included with my PCI X-Fi card. Therefore, I was very easily able to duplicate most of my various personal settings on this new card without an issue. For new users with a medium to high technical understanding, the interface is relatively easy to use and self explanatory. Creative also offers some decent documentation on the various features that is not all that hard to decode.
Compared to the integrated audio, sound coming from the X-Fi Go! was notably better. Bass response, which is one of the main reasons I purchased the card, was excellent, and using X-Fi Crystallizer, songs seem to `pop' more; things seem much clearer and crisper. And when I was doing comparisons between the two cards, I now realize that my integrated audio produced an almost unnoticeable hiss during playback, which is all but gone using the X-Fi Go! Compared to the integrated audio, CPU usage is consistently 1-2% higher during audio playback and about 3-5% higher during gaming. My processor is fast enough to easily handle this small increase, but as I do not really have a lower end system to test on, I cannot say whether performance on such a system will be negatively impacted or not. YMMV.
I was eagerly awaiting the return of my laptop so that I could test it on there, considering the marvelous experience I had had with my desktop. When I finally did get it back, I immediately set to installing the device, exactly the same way I had on the desktop.
This is where the honeymoon ended, and many problems began cropping up.
The drivers installed normally, and after restart I went ahead and set the options in the Audio Control Panel the way I wanted. When I went to play a song, I began to notice that audio playback would seem to skip, crackle, or lag every 5-10 seconds. This problem was also present in games, to a greater extent.
To make an hour's long story short, no matter what I tried, I could not get this problem to go away. I tried 3 different sets of Creative drivers, installed USB Audio Filter drivers from AMD's website, ran countless troubleshooting steps, and still, nothing. The crackle-skip remained. When I plugged the device back into my desktop, I had absolutely no issues. Sound was crisp and consistent with no skips, even under high CPU load.
Since I had done so many driver-related tweaks, I decided to once again re-image a fresh installation of Windows 7. I plugged the device in, and as I was about to install the Creative drivers once more, I decided to hold off on that for a moment and test the Microsoft drivers. Lo and behold, no audio stutter, even under CPU load, just as my desktop had been. Taking this as a software error on the old install, I installed the Creative drivers, restarted, set my ACP settings, and played the same song. Snap, crackle, pop. I rolled back to the Microsoft drivers, and my problems were gone.
I spent many more hours doing research on this issue, and I still can't figure out the problem. I would be quick to point to Creative's drivers as the source, but as they work with no issues on my desktop, that isn't too clear of an option. And since the systems are technically so similar, I shouldn't be having this issue. About the only explanation I can come up with would be the SB700 vs. SB750 Southbridge, as I know that there are various reports of problems with this particular chip that the SB750 fixed.
While I have been typing this review, I have been listening to music on my laptop using the X-Fi Go! and Microsoft's provided generic USB audio drivers. Since I cannot use the Creative drivers, I cannot use the X-Fi Crystallizer feature, but with some tweaking of the Windows Audio Properties, I was able to get Bass Boost to work. While it isn't as good as the Creative implementation, audio quality is still acceptable, and still better than the onboard had ever been.
Final Thoughts:
For the most part, I am happy with my purchase. I very much enjoy using the card on my desktop, as it almost feels like I have my old X-Fi PCI card back. On the laptop, I am somewhat less thrilled, but I am at least happy to be able to have audio once again. I am in talks with Creative to see if there is anything that can be done for my laptop, but I doubt I will hear anything of interest. If I do, I will post back.
Would I buy the product again? For my desktop, in a heartbeat. For my laptop, not so much. But happily, when I decide to get a new laptop sometime in the future, I hope I will be able to use the card with no issues. And who knows, perhaps Creative will roll out a driver update down the line that fixes my issue. That, or AMD will. Or someone will, who knows.
Either way, the card serves its purpose. I found it to be a reasonably priced upgrade over the integrated HD Audio Codecs. I no longer have IDT driver issues with my desktop, and it restored audio to my laptop, albeit a bit crippled. It is also conveniently small enough to throw in a bag and take for LAN parties or travel gaming sessions. I'd happily recommend this card to anyone looking for something to serve these purposes.
Small Update: After I had finished writing this review, I decided to try the card in a few more systems. An old Dell Latitude D600 running XP, my uncle's desktop running Vista 32, and my HTPC running W7 Home Premium. In all of these systems of various hardware configs, using the same drivers I had used on my other systems, none of them exhibited the crackle/pop issue as my laptop had. So I am now relatively sure it is a problem with my laptop, perhaps the onboard audio still interfering. And as I can not switch it off through BIOS, I can only disable it in Device Management. Either way, I thought I would put this up.
Desktop: Custom Build
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800+ 2.4GHz, 4GB DDR2 800 (4x1GB sticks)
ECS EliteGroup A780GM-A Motherboard: AMD 780G Northbridge, SB750 Southbridge
ATI Radeon 4850 512MB PCI-E Graphics
Integrated IDT HD Audio Codec
Windows 7 Ultimate 64-Bit OS
Laptop: Toshiba Satellite A305D-S6914
AMD Turion X2 Ultra ZM-82 2.2GHz, 4GB DDR2 800 (2x2GB sticks)
AMD 780V Northbridge, SB700 Southbridge
Dedicated Radeon 3650 512MB PCI-E Graphics
Integrated Realtek HD Audio Codec
Windows 7 Ultimate 64-Bit OS
As you can see, these are very similar systems. Why this is important will make sense a bit later in this review.
Somewhat recently, the sound on my laptop began to crackle. Figuring this was either a driver or Vista issue, I took the opportunity to upgrade my laptop to Windows 7 OS, using the exact same install media that I had used to install W7 on my desktop. Since the systems were so similar, I was also able to use most of the same driver installers as I had with my desktop, aside from a modified Mobility Radeon video driver and the audio codecs. The latter was a bit of a relief, as the IDT HD Audio drivers are horrible, causing random lock-ups on my PC and some gaming issues.
Sadly, the reinstall didn't help anything. The audio continued to crackle, and progressively began to get worse. It was then I began researching alternative audio solutions for my laptop, as I am definitely not ready to retire this perfectly capable laptop due to an audio issue. As I rarely ever used the laptop's integrated speakers and I own a rather nice set of headphones, I was looking specifically for something I could use my existing headphones with as opposed to some type of USB speaker or headset.
At first I began looking at Creative's X-Fi Express Card solution. At one time I owned a very nice Creative X-Fi XtremeGamer Fatal1ty Professional sound card that died due to a faulty motherboard. I enjoyed the X-Fi Crystallizer and bass boost options of that card, so I had hoped to get something somewhat similar if I could. But the Express Card X-Fi was a bit pricey for my tastes, and considering that it was only useable in my laptop, I passed.
I began to look towards USB audio solutions, as I figured I could easily swap it between my desktop and laptop and I would not have to buy dedicated cards for both. I knew going into this that no solution I could find in my price range and interface limitations would support any type of hardware acceleration, but as Vista/7 did away with this, and the fact that any USB solution will have a CPU usage hit similar to any integrated audio solution, this was a non issue. My main concern was audio quality on a budget. Anything better and less buggy than my integrated IDT audio. And as I had had nothing but good luck with my PCI X-Fi, I decided to go ahead and go with another Creative solution. This left me with two options: the Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Surround 5.1 (SB1090) or the Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Go! (SB1100).
Both cards are relatively similar in terms of features. In my research, I found that aside from the former supporting 5.1 Surround Sound and the latter only supporting 2.1,both use the same drivers, both are at a somewhat similar price point, and both seem to be built around the same platform. Both cards featured the X-Fi Crystallizer and bass boost options of my old X-Fi PCI card.
I have never used a surround sound solution. I have a rather nice pair of headphones that I use for almost all of my audio needs, and I have no intentions of changing this any time soon. Also, since I had planned on using this on both my laptop and desktop, and I had hoped to pack this in the bag with my laptop whenever I decided to travel (I sometimes play some games of Star Trek Online, StarCraft, and World of Warcraft at friend's houses) size was another important issue. While the X-Fi Go! is marginally larger than a large flash drive, the X-Fi Surround 5.1 is a breakout box type configuration, connected to the computer using a USB cable. With all this in mind, I decided to go with the X-Fi Go!
When the card came in, I did not have access to my laptop as I had lent it to a friend for a project. So my first experience with using the card came on my desktop.
A few features that instantly stood out to me: The sound card is similar in size and shape to a USB flash drive, if only being a bit wider, about 1 « times the size. I realize this could cause some problems with some USB ports, but luckily Creative thought ahead and included a short (6") USB extension cable for those tight squeezes. It uses a cap similar to a flash drive would, but the cap is tethered to the main body of the unit using a small nylon loop. As I am always loosing caps to my thumb drives, this was a rather welcome bonus. My only complaint as far as this goes would be if you do not pull on the loop while putting the cap on, it can sometimes get pulled under the cap and cause it to not fit flush. More of an annoyance than any real complaint, something I can easily live with.
Along with this, the package also contained a set of ear buds with integrated mic, and a rather touristy-looking manual, both of which I could have happily done without. I have not even unwrapped the ear buds as I have no interest in using them, but I have read mixed reviews on their quality. One thing I should note now is that the top surface of the audio card is a glossy piece of plastic that I found rather quickly gathered fingerprints. This didn't bother me so much as my laptop has something called the Fusion Finish, completely glossy all over, and I've gotten used to the inevitable fingerprints.
Another bonus would be that the audio card also has 1GB of integrated flash memory, which will be seen and used as a standard flash drive. This is where the factory-shipped drivers are stored and ready for installation. Upon plugging the device in, Windows automatically recognized both the USB audio and flash drive, and installed appropriate Windows drivers for both, which was a surprise to me. This also ended up being a blessing in disguise, as you will see later.
As the drivers on the device were outdated, the first thing I did was download and install the latest drivers available on Creative's website. I decided to go ahead and delete the old drivers from the device and replace them with the new installer package I had downloaded, for later use on my laptop. Here, I ran into my first problem with the device. The device has a small switch on the front to set the device to read-only or writeable, much like a floppy disk. But even with this set to `open', I could not delete or write to the flash memory. A quick format using the appropriate Windows utility allowed me to write to the flash, but I found the write speed to be horrible. Read speed was just as bad. In the manual, Creative suggests not playing music through the device when you are attempting to transfer files to the flash memory, to give it more bandwidth. But no matter what I did, I could never get the flash memory to reliably write or read files. Depending on your expectations of the device, this may very well be a con, but I had never intended to use the device as flash storage other than drivers. My 8GB flash drive handles that just fine. So honestly, this is a feature I will not miss. I will note that I was able to copy the driver files to the device, and I was able to read them from the device, albeit slowly. So it will serve its purpose for me.
After everything had installed and after the mandatory Windows restart, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the Creative Audio Control Panel, which is used to set and adjust the various special effects supported by the audio device, was almost exactly the same as the one that was included with my PCI X-Fi card. Therefore, I was very easily able to duplicate most of my various personal settings on this new card without an issue. For new users with a medium to high technical understanding, the interface is relatively easy to use and self explanatory. Creative also offers some decent documentation on the various features that is not all that hard to decode.
Compared to the integrated audio, sound coming from the X-Fi Go! was notably better. Bass response, which is one of the main reasons I purchased the card, was excellent, and using X-Fi Crystallizer, songs seem to `pop' more; things seem much clearer and crisper. And when I was doing comparisons between the two cards, I now realize that my integrated audio produced an almost unnoticeable hiss during playback, which is all but gone using the X-Fi Go! Compared to the integrated audio, CPU usage is consistently 1-2% higher during audio playback and about 3-5% higher during gaming. My processor is fast enough to easily handle this small increase, but as I do not really have a lower end system to test on, I cannot say whether performance on such a system will be negatively impacted or not. YMMV.
I was eagerly awaiting the return of my laptop so that I could test it on there, considering the marvelous experience I had had with my desktop. When I finally did get it back, I immediately set to installing the device, exactly the same way I had on the desktop.
This is where the honeymoon ended, and many problems began cropping up.
The drivers installed normally, and after restart I went ahead and set the options in the Audio Control Panel the way I wanted. When I went to play a song, I began to notice that audio playback would seem to skip, crackle, or lag every 5-10 seconds. This problem was also present in games, to a greater extent.
To make an hour's long story short, no matter what I tried, I could not get this problem to go away. I tried 3 different sets of Creative drivers, installed USB Audio Filter drivers from AMD's website, ran countless troubleshooting steps, and still, nothing. The crackle-skip remained. When I plugged the device back into my desktop, I had absolutely no issues. Sound was crisp and consistent with no skips, even under high CPU load.
Since I had done so many driver-related tweaks, I decided to once again re-image a fresh installation of Windows 7. I plugged the device in, and as I was about to install the Creative drivers once more, I decided to hold off on that for a moment and test the Microsoft drivers. Lo and behold, no audio stutter, even under CPU load, just as my desktop had been. Taking this as a software error on the old install, I installed the Creative drivers, restarted, set my ACP settings, and played the same song. Snap, crackle, pop. I rolled back to the Microsoft drivers, and my problems were gone.
I spent many more hours doing research on this issue, and I still can't figure out the problem. I would be quick to point to Creative's drivers as the source, but as they work with no issues on my desktop, that isn't too clear of an option. And since the systems are technically so similar, I shouldn't be having this issue. About the only explanation I can come up with would be the SB700 vs. SB750 Southbridge, as I know that there are various reports of problems with this particular chip that the SB750 fixed.
While I have been typing this review, I have been listening to music on my laptop using the X-Fi Go! and Microsoft's provided generic USB audio drivers. Since I cannot use the Creative drivers, I cannot use the X-Fi Crystallizer feature, but with some tweaking of the Windows Audio Properties, I was able to get Bass Boost to work. While it isn't as good as the Creative implementation, audio quality is still acceptable, and still better than the onboard had ever been.
Final Thoughts:
For the most part, I am happy with my purchase. I very much enjoy using the card on my desktop, as it almost feels like I have my old X-Fi PCI card back. On the laptop, I am somewhat less thrilled, but I am at least happy to be able to have audio once again. I am in talks with Creative to see if there is anything that can be done for my laptop, but I doubt I will hear anything of interest. If I do, I will post back.
Would I buy the product again? For my desktop, in a heartbeat. For my laptop, not so much. But happily, when I decide to get a new laptop sometime in the future, I hope I will be able to use the card with no issues. And who knows, perhaps Creative will roll out a driver update down the line that fixes my issue. That, or AMD will. Or someone will, who knows.
Either way, the card serves its purpose. I found it to be a reasonably priced upgrade over the integrated HD Audio Codecs. I no longer have IDT driver issues with my desktop, and it restored audio to my laptop, albeit a bit crippled. It is also conveniently small enough to throw in a bag and take for LAN parties or travel gaming sessions. I'd happily recommend this card to anyone looking for something to serve these purposes.
Small Update: After I had finished writing this review, I decided to try the card in a few more systems. An old Dell Latitude D600 running XP, my uncle's desktop running Vista 32, and my HTPC running W7 Home Premium. In all of these systems of various hardware configs, using the same drivers I had used on my other systems, none of them exhibited the crackle/pop issue as my laptop had. So I am now relatively sure it is a problem with my laptop, perhaps the onboard audio still interfering. And as I can not switch it off through BIOS, I can only disable it in Device Management. Either way, I thought I would put this up.