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Drivers for SoundBlaster X-FI XtremeMusic. (D)w/Dolby Digital 5.1, 64-Bit Win 7 drivers
I got the above card in my new Dell. I am having trouble with a service the driver uses taking up CPU time (about half of a core) even when no sound is being played. I can turn off the service, but the sound quality goes down a bit (at least to my ear). Dell has no drivers for this card and OS on their download site. Creative tells me their drivers will probably not work on the Dell version, and besides, the photo they have of the XtremeMusic has different connectors (mine has five analog pin inputs, and two optical (one in, one out). Do you think the creative drivers would actually work? I have always switched right away to the nVidia or ATI drivers when I get a new machine. -- Andrew Hall (Now reading Usenet in alt.sys.pc-clone.dell...) |
#2
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Drivers for SoundBlaster X-FI XtremeMusic. (D)w/Dolby Digital5.1, 64-Bit Win 7 drivers
Hi!
Do you think the creative drivers would actually work? Of course I do. The only difference that card is likely to have from a retail version--and this is speculative--is a special front panel audio connector. (I say "speculative" because I haven't seen any really new Dell products with upgraded sound cards, so I don't know how they are doing it today.) You may also find that you get some added features that Dell didn't wish to enable or support with your card. I'm not sure why disabling a service would reduce the audio quality, unless that service is upsampling/upconverting all audio to a higher bit rate or something. What is the service called? William |
#3
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Drivers for SoundBlaster X-FI XtremeMusic. (D)w/Dolby Digital 5.1, 64-Bit Win 7 drivers
"William R. Walsh" writes:
Hi! Do you think the creative drivers would actually work? Of course I do. The only difference that card is likely to have from a retail version--and this is speculative--is a special front panel audio connector. (I say "speculative" because I haven't seen any really new Dell products with upgraded sound cards, so I don't know how they are doing it today.) You may also find that you get some added features that Dell didn't wish to enable or support with your card. I'm not sure why disabling a service would reduce the audio quality, unless that service is upsampling/upconverting all audio to a higher bit rate or something. What is the service called? It is CTAudSvc.exe. I got some Creative drivers (I finally found out what Creative calls this card) and they work well. The new CTAudSvc takes up 1/12th of a CPU rather than half, so it is a significant improvement. I must say that Dell and Creative did not do well here. Both pointed to the other as the supporter of the card. Thanks, ah William -- Andrew Hall (Now reading Usenet in alt.sys.pc-clone.dell...) |
#4
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Drivers for SoundBlaster X-FI XtremeMusic. (D)w/Dolby Digital 5.1, 64-Bit Win 7 drivers
On Tue, 19 Oct 2010 07:26:08 -0700 (PDT), in alt.sys.pc-clone.dell, "William R. Walsh" wrote: Do you think the creative drivers would actually work? Of course I do. The only difference that card is likely to have from a retail version--and this is speculative--is a special front panel audio connector. (I say "speculative" because I haven't seen any really new Dell products with upgraded sound cards, so I don't know how they are doing it today.) That's not a safe assumption about OEM versions of Creative sound cards. I ran into this several years ago: I tried to use Creative's drivers with one of their cards that came with my computer, and they didn't work. I don't remember the specific problem, but when I Googled and also checked a relevant newsgroup, it turned out that other people had the exact same problem. Using the latest drivers from the computer manufacturer worked, but using ones from Creative didn't. This wasn't just a one-time problem: I've seen this exact same problem mentioned other times since then. Apparently the OEM versions of Creative's card have enough differences that Creative's drivers won't always work with them. You may also find that you get some added features that Dell didn't wish to enable or support with your card. This is quite common with video card drivers. I've never had problems using the manufacturer's drivers with the video card that came with a computer, and they often have configuration options and other features that are missing from the drivers supplied by the computer manufacturer. But OEM versions of Creative sound cards seem to be a different story. -- Nick TANSTAAFL! (There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch!) R.A.H. |
#5
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Drivers for SoundBlaster X-FI XtremeMusic. (D)w/Dolby Digital 5.1, 64-Bit Win 7 drivers
Nick writes:
On Tue, 19 Oct 2010 07:26:08 -0700 (PDT), in alt.sys.pc-clone.dell, "William R. Walsh" wrote: Do you think the creative drivers would actually work? Of course I do. The only difference that card is likely to have from a retail version--and this is speculative--is a special front panel audio connector. (I say "speculative" because I haven't seen any really new Dell products with upgraded sound cards, so I don't know how they are doing it today.) That's not a safe assumption about OEM versions of Creative sound cards. I ran into this several years ago: I tried to use Creative's drivers with one of their cards that came with my computer, and they didn't work. I don't remember the specific problem, but when I Googled and also checked a relevant newsgroup, it turned out that other people had the exact same problem. Using the latest drivers from the computer manufacturer worked, but using ones from Creative didn't. Dell has No drivers for this card on their website for Win 7. And apparently no plans to add any. I got lucky with the creative drivers. This wasn't just a one-time problem: I've seen this exact same problem mentioned other times since then. Apparently the OEM versions of Creative's card have enough differences that Creative's drivers won't always work with them. You may also find that you get some added features that Dell didn't wish to enable or support with your card. This is quite common with video card drivers. I've never had problems using the manufacturer's drivers with the video card that came with a computer, and they often have configuration options and other features that are missing from the drivers supplied by the computer manufacturer. But OEM versions of Creative sound cards seem to be a different story. -- Andrew Hall (Now reading Usenet in alt.sys.pc-clone.dell...) |
#6
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Drivers for SoundBlaster X-FI XtremeMusic. (D)w/Dolby Digital5.1, 64-Bit Win 7 drivers
Hi!
That's not a safe assumption about OEM versions of Creative sound cards. *I ran into this several years ago: I tried to use Creative's drivers with one of their cards that came with my computer, and they didn't work. What card was it--or what model was it most closely related to? I have never had problems using the Creative sourced drivers (that is, if they sourced any to start with--there are some cards where you can only upgrade the drivers and not do a fresh install) with any OEM- provided Creative sound card. As far as I know, Creative builds all of their own cards, whether OEMs use them or they go to retail. The only exception I'm aware of would be the old ViBRA chipset. I remember a discussion thread somewhere (not sure if it was on this NG or elsewhere) talking about OEM versions of hardware being cut down only with watered down software--and regaining their full functionality when the retail version of the drivers were put into use. William |
#7
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Drivers for SoundBlaster X-FI XtremeMusic. (D)w/Dolby Digital5.1, 64-Bit Win 7 drivers
On Oct 19, 5:04*pm, "William R. Walsh" wrote:
Hi! That's not a safe assumption about OEM versions of Creative sound cards. *I ran into this several years ago: I tried to use Creative's drivers with one of their cards that came with my computer, and they didn't work. What card was it--or what model was it most closely related to? I have never had problems using the Creative sourced drivers (that is, if they sourced any to start with--there are some cards where you can only upgrade the drivers and not do a fresh install) with any OEM- provided Creative sound card. As far as I know, Creative builds all of their own cards, whether OEMs use them or they go to retail. The only exception I'm aware of would be the old ViBRA chipset. I remember a discussion thread somewhere (not sure if it was on this NG or elsewhere) talking about OEM versions of hardware being cut down only with watered down software--and regaining their full functionality when the retail version of the drivers were put into use. William Sorry if I seem like an ASS....but isn't this guy a bit needy. This guy can afford a dell precision computer (WAY overpriced), so why could he not have had a custom built (with NO oem crap) computer for a similar price. ALL his problems revolve around DELL specific problems which they won't currently address. He JUST needs to wait for updated drivers...etc from Dell. Most people DON'T have this computer so we are not going to very helpful. Sorry for the rant. Dave |
#8
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Drivers for SoundBlaster X-FI XtremeMusic. (D)w/Dolby Digital 5.1, 64-Bit Win 7 drivers
On Tue, 19 Oct 2010 14:04:44 -0700 (PDT), in alt.sys.pc-clone.dell, "William R. Walsh" wrote: Hi! That's not a safe assumption about OEM versions of Creative sound cards. *I ran into this several years ago: I tried to use Creative's drivers with one of their cards that came with my computer, and they didn't work. What card was it--or what model was it most closely related to? I honestly don't remember: this was on a previous, long-gone computer. Might have been my first Dell, or maybe one of the Microns from before switching to Dell. I vaguely remember the card had an I/O port (serial?, parallel?) that wasn't on the retail version from Creative. It's quite possible that the problem doesn't occur these days, but, as I mentioned, it wasn't just a one-time thing: I've seen mentions of similar issues a few times over the years. On this Dell, I didn't get a separate sound card: I don't play games anymore, and I have a decent stereo when I want music to compute to. So I just stuck with the sound that came with the motherboard. -- Nick "The best laid schemes o' mice an' men Gang aft agley." Robert Burns |
#9
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Drivers for SoundBlaster X-FI XtremeMusic. (D)w/Dolby Digital5.1, 64-Bit Win 7 drivers
Hi!
Sorry if I seem like an ASS....but isn't this guy a bit needy. I'm not sure who you are addressing...probably not me! (The only Precision I have is an old Precision 220 workstation and it was priced right.) This guy can afford a dell precision computer (WAY overpriced), so why could he not have had a custom built (with NO oem crap) computer for a similar price. While there are no doubt some reliable, honest and long-operating "white box" computer builders around, they aren't for everyone. Nor are those reliable choices around in every area. I do a little bit of "white box" building and in the time that has elapsed since I really started to help others with their computers (since ~1995) I've seen a lot of them come and go. Dell is at least likely to be in business if the need to honor a warranty arises. He JUST needs to wait for updated drivers...etc from Dell. It's not likely to help. Dell's standard operating procedure is to pick a given release of a driver, package it and provide it for download as the "official" software. The only exception happens when a serious issue arises, usually security related. I'll be surprised if they update this driver in any meaningful way. Despite what chip makers would have you believe, most OEMs do very little to change the reference drivers that are later distributed. William |
#10
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Drivers for SoundBlaster X-FI XtremeMusic. (D)w/Dolby Digital 5.1, 64-Bit Win 7 drivers
Dave writes:
On Oct 19, 5:04*pm, "William R. Walsh" wrote: Hi! That's not a safe assumption about OEM versions of Creative sound cards. *I ran into this several years ago: I tried to use Creative's drivers with one of their cards that came with my computer, and they didn't work. What card was it--or what model was it most closely related to? I have never had problems using the Creative sourced drivers (that is, if they sourced any to start with--there are some cards where you can only upgrade the drivers and not do a fresh install) with any OEM- provided Creative sound card. As far as I know, Creative builds all of their own cards, whether OEMs use them or they go to retail. The only exception I'm aware of would be the old ViBRA chipset. I remember a discussion thread somewhere (not sure if it was on this NG or elsewhere) talking about OEM versions of hardware being cut down only with watered down software--and regaining their full functionality when the retail version of the drivers were put into use. William Sorry if I seem like an ASS....but isn't this guy a bit needy. This guy can afford a dell precision computer (WAY overpriced), so why could he not have had a custom built (with NO oem crap) computer for a similar price. ALL his problems revolve around DELL specific problems which they won't currently address. I only post Dell questions here. I have had plenty of other questions, posed to the Photoshop group, the SSH group, the Win-7 Group, so far on Linux I am just reading documentation and forums, I expect I will have lots of questions for some groups on that when I get further into it.. Just because I have lots of Dell questions here doesn't mean I don't have lots of other questions elsewhere. You are right, I should have built my own. I chickened out... So call me a coward... But all the problems to date have been solved, one way or another. A new one came up today, but it is not Dell related. He JUST needs to wait for updated drivers...etc from Dell. They quite explicitly said they will not update those drivers. As I mentioned in the first post in this thread. Most people DON'T have this computer so we are not going to very helpful. In the 15 years I have asked questions here there has been a lot of help, and still is. It is one of the better places left in my Usenet groups. Sorry for the rant. De nada... Dave -- Andrew Hall (Now reading Usenet in alt.sys.pc-clone.dell...) |
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