0 Sound Blaster X-Fi Go! Pro Review

Hello everyone! Today I will be reviewing the external sound card I bought lately, Sound Blaster X-Fi Go! Pro. The reason I bought this card was mainly because I wasn't satisfied with my laptop's onboard audio. Now, I also use it with my desktop computer instead of using the onboard function. I can say it's easy to feel a difference.

When you open the box, you'll see the USB stick which is the card, a pair of headphones with microphone attached, (I must say, they're a lot better than the 30-40$ Sennheisers I often picked up for my iPhone) driver CD, (you can also install the drivers on the internet if you wish) and a USB extension cable. (since the card is bigger than a usual pen drive, it might block out other ports if you don't use this)

It's pretty straight forward to install the card on your computer and start using it. Just plug it into a USB slot, install the drivers, hook your headphones up and you're good to go. It shouldn't even take you 10 minutes.

The drivers also come with Creative Entertainment Console, where you can find EAX (environmental) effects, THX effects (such as virtual surround or crystalizer), a graphic equalizer, a sound mixer (it's connected to the Windows one), and microphone effects where you can change your voice into sounding really interesting and weird.

Although I am really happy with the card and it's definitely worth the pick up if you're using onboard and looking for something better, there are known issues about X-Fi cards (not just about this one, all the X-Fi cards) such as crackling and popping sounds which happened to me as well. It makes it impossible to use the card, so if you experience issues like this, here are a few advices.

- Update your BIOS (this solved my crackling issue, it was my last resort)
- Pull your other USB cords out to see if anything causes conflict with the card
- Download the latest drivers from the internet instead of using the CD

These are the things I can think of right now, and I think there are many other alternate solutions going on around the internet (which I tried with no help, but then again a different solution might work for someone else) that you should try. You can also try to mail Creative Support if you have tried everything with no success. I found the fix to my problem before I got a reply from them, but they still sent me a really helpful e-mail where the solution I used was also included.

All in all, ignoring the little drawback which took me 2 days to fix, I definitely recommend this card. The sound is much better compared to both onboard audio on my laptop and desktop. I picked the card up for around 60$ (electronics are expensive where I live), but you can pick it up at Amazon for 30$ if you have the possibility. Considering that it also includes a pair of headphones with a microphone, (like I mentioned, better than the low tier Sennheiser earbuds I've used) it's an amazing opportunity to take.

Thanks for reading!

0 Hello everyone & Core i7 3930K vs. Core i7 3960X

Hello everyone! In the first post of my blog which I will be often posting about computer hardwares and softwares, I'd like to do the debut by comparing two high-end processors that gamers would be interested in.

If you are looking forward to gather a new gaming computer up, I suggest that you should not miss this post.

In one side, Intel Core i7 3930K, sitting on 560$ (prices are based on Newegg), and in the other side, Intel Core i7 3960X EE sitting at 1029$.

Let's make a quick comparison between these two processors now.

As you can see, the sole difference between these two processors are that the 3690X has 100 MHz of a higher frequency, and 3MB more of L3 cache. What did we say the price difference was? Around 500$.

Now one might say, the 3690X is a better CPU and has its reasons that its price is a lot higher compared to the 3930K. There's no doubt that 3690X is a better CPU as seen in the values, but the problem being that you'd be never able to feel the difference between these two CPU's on a real life situation, and you can use that 400$ to improve your gaming rig in a better way.

Here's some benchmark results between these processors. As you can see, the difference is minimal. (You can see by checking other CPU's benchmarks and comparing them if you wish)

(Benchmarks from Tom's Hardware & Hexus)

3ds Max Render 1440x1080 Benchmark :

This benchmark shows us everything a lot better and clearer than the other one. Only one second difference between these two processors on a 3DS Max render. Personally, I wouldn't throw 500$ away to save one second!

Most gamers love Call of Duty. (I'm not really a big fan myself) There we see, 3930K even outperforming 3690X in this particular benchmark. That of course, will not be the case for every game or every situation, but it just shows us how close these two processors are in terms of performance.

There are many more benchmarks all over the internet if you are curious about one particular game or a situation, but the difference between these two processors is barely noticable. In gaming terms, it would probably gain you an extra 3-5 FPS if you choose to go with the 3690X (talking in terms of statistics). Then again, with the money you save by buying 3930K, you'll end up with a better graphics card which would top the FPS gain you get from buying the 3690X.

With all being said, there's no doubt that i7 3930K takes the trophy home by far, with its 500$~ price advantage, and even then, performing as good as the 3690X. If you wish to buy a high-end Sandy Bridge CPU, then 3930K will be your best choice.

In the other hand, you'll be better off by spending that extra 500$ on a better graphics card! I don't really suggest spending this much on a processor for a gaming computer at all, since you can get a CPU for 250$~ and clock it up to your needs, and save the cash for a graphics card as I've said.