C0deHunter wrote on 2023-09-14, 02:04:

Hello all, I have ordered one of these: […]
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Hello all,
I have ordered one of these:

Creative SoundBlaster SB0880 X-Fi Sound Card F333J

https://www.ebay.com/itm/153840710737

And installed it on my retro XP machine, using the official drivers:

Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Driver 2.17.0008
File Name: XFTI_PCDRV_LB_2_17_0008.exe
https://support.creative.com/downloads/downlo … ownloadId=11479

Now everything installed well, and I have enabled (or it was enabled by default) the EAX, but in DOOM 3 and FEAR I can not hear/detect any EAX "special" effects, just a normal pan and scan and stereo left and right sound source.

Am I missing something here?

Thanks for your insights!

p.s. the seller labels these as Dell Precision T3500, does it mean that they came from Alienware systems? that is odd, really.

What mode did you set it to in the X-FI control panel ?

For EAX to work correctly on an X-Fi card, a couple of things need to happen:

1. The game must support EAX and you have to turn it on from the in-game options menu
2. The X-Fi card must be in Game Mode
3. EAX effects must be turned in the Creative EAX Console utility
4. Operating system must be Windows XP (32-bit) or older. On Vista and up, EAX is no longer supported natively and needs workarounds

BTW, with Doom 3 specifically, you need to patch the retail game to version 1.31 to get proper EAX support. Digital versions from GOG and Steam are already patched.

Also, I'm not sure if the official drivers from Creative's website contain all the necessary utilities like the EAX Console and Mode Switcher by themselves, or if those need to be installed separately. In any case, I recommend using DanielK's X-Fi support pack instead.

Joseph_Joestar wrote on 2023-09-14, 03:32:

[*]EAX effects must be turned in the Creative EAX Console utility

Isn't that just basically a system wide "EAX" like effect that applies to everything and is completely separate from the actual EAX that you can enable with games that support it?

Having that on can amplify the effect, but is not needed to be enabled for EAX to work.

Sombrero wrote on 2023-09-14, 03:42:

Isn't that just basically a system wide "EAX" like effect that applies to everything and is completely separate from the actual EAX that you can enable with games that support it?

That may have been the case with SBLive cards using older drivers, but on Audigy and X-Fi, you actually need to have EAX enabled in the console utility for it to function correctly. To clarify, I'm referring to this:

This setting is enabled by default in Game Mode on a fresh driver installation, but people sometimes turn it off by accident.

win+R -> type dxdiag -> sound -> level of hardware acceleration -> switch to max

Joseph_Joestar wrote on 2023-09-14, 03:58:

Sombrero wrote on 2023-09-14, 03:42:

Isn't that just basically a system wide "EAX" like effect that applies to everything and is completely separate from the actual EAX that you can enable with games that support it?

That may have been the case with SBLive cards using older drivers, but on Audigy and X-Fi, you actually need to have EAX enabled in the console utility for it to function correctly.

This is news to me, could you clarify how exactly? Any good games to test this with?

I've always turned it off because the system wide effect annoys me and is very much unwanted, but I've still definitely noticed the EAX effects when turned on with games and I haven't noticed anything wrong with them. I did some limited testing months ago with that turned on/off in the console and concluded it only makes the sound too "artificial" to me without bringing anything of value to the table. Perhaps I didn't test with the right games.

Maybe I'm just being me again with EAX, I don't even like CMSS because it sounds unnatural to me.

Thanks for invaluable info!

1) Would you provide a link to the X-Fi drivers?

2) What 'exactly' constitute EAX effects?

Thanks!

C0deHunter wrote on 2023-09-14, 04:24:

Thanks for invaluable info! Would you provide a link to the X-Fi drivers?

I use the ones from DanielK's blog.

Sombrero wrote on 2023-09-14, 04:19:

This is news to me, could you clarify how exactly? Any good games to test this with?

Unfortunately, I don't have any specific game examples, since I've always had this setting enabled on my X-Fi. Honestly, I didn't even know you could get EAX working with it disabled, so I may have been wrong about it being necessary.

I've always turned it off because the system wide effect annoys me and is very much unwanted, but I've still definitely noticed the EAX effects when turned on with games and I haven't noticed anything wrong with them.

With the default installation of X-Fi drivers, I don't think any system-wide effect is applied with that setting turned on. At least I couldn't tell a difference with non-EAX games like Quake 2. In contrast, I remember that turning this on with SBLive cards did create a general reverb effect, which also applied to non-EAX games.

Maybe I'm just being me again with EAX, I don't even like CMSS because it sounds unnatural to me.

Personally, I turn CMSS off while using speakers and turn it on if I'm using headphones. In the latter case, I think I get slightly better sound positioning with regards to elevation.

Joseph_Joestar wrote on 2023-09-14, 05:43:

Unfortunately, I don't have any specific game examples, since I've always had this setting enabled on my X-Fi. Honestly, I didn't even know you could get EAX working with it disabled, so I may have been wrong about it being necessary.

Yeah, while I haven't done any deeper testing I'm quite sure it basically just adds an additional effect layer on top of the EAX the game already has which may amplify the effect and add some reverb effects to sounds where the game normally doesn't have them. I have a faint memory of UT2004 menu sounds getting some noticeable reverb with it on.

Joseph_Joestar wrote on 2023-09-14, 05:43:

With the default installation of X-Fi drivers, I don't think any system-wide effect is applied with that setting turned on. At least I couldn't tell a difference with non-EAX games like Quake 2. In contrast, I remember that turning this on with SBLive cards did create a general reverb effect, which also applied to non-EAX games.

Oh. Well this sounds like I've tested it with SB Live! last summer, noticed it applying an awful system wide effect and then incorrectly decided it does the same with later cards. And since I always turn it off I haven't realized it doesn't do that with later cards.

Joseph_Joestar wrote on 2023-09-14, 05:43:

Personally, I turn CMSS off while using speakers and turn it on if I'm using headphones. In the latter case, I think I get slightly better sound positioning with regards to elevation.

As a headphone user I do enjoy the positional audio, but it's like I can hear the algorithm messing with the sound and I don't like it. I'm sensitive to stuff like that.

Can you tell me which model is the 0880?

C0deHunter wrote on 2023-09-14, 17:28:

Can you tell me which model is the 0880?

It's an X-Fi Titanium PCIe, if that's what you mean.

Yes, thank you. Is that a good one for EAX?

C0deHunter wrote on 2023-09-14, 18:18:

Yes, thank you. Is that a good one for EAX?

Yup, it's a good card.

Update:
I installed DanielK's blog's drivers and it works like a charm! The EAX enhancements sound amazing!

Thanks!