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Creative Technology Ltd., a worldwide leader in digital entertainment solutions for PC users and the creator of Sound Blaster, announced that early testing of the Creative X-Fi Xtreme Fidelity audio processor revealed that it delivers a 17 percent frame rate increase in this summer’s hottest PC games.

“For the first time ever, we have an audio processor that is capable of delivering frame rate acceleration simultaneously with advanced 3D audio processing,” said George Thorn, director of developer relations for Creative. “Our early testing demonstrates that the Creative X-Fi Xtreme Fidelity audio processor can increase frame rates by 17 percent over host audio, and we are optimistic that percentage will increase even more once our hardware has been finalized.”

Creative’s internal tests were performed using the PC games Battlefield 2 and Unreal Tournament 2004, on a Pentium IV 3.4GHz PC with an ABIT AA8XE motherboard, Nvidia 6600 GT 128MB graphics card, and 1GB of RAM. To perform the test, Creative switched between the ABIT motherboard’s HD audio solution, and a Sound Blaster sound card with the Creative X-Fi Xtreme Fidelity audio processor. Creative used Fraps to benchmark the results in Battlefield 2, and used the internal benchmarking tool of Unreal Tournament 2004.

In order to perform a direct comparison in Unreal Tournament 2004, Creative limited the Creative X-Fi Xtreme Fidelity audio processor’s output to 30 voices, as that is the maximum number of simultaneous 3D audio sources that the motherboard HD audio solution is capable of playing. In that test, it outperformed the motherboard HD audio solution by a staggering 17 percent frame rate increase. That number is even more impressive given that the Creative X-Fi Xtreme Fidelity audio processor was simultaneously running EAX 4.0 ADVANCED HD, CMSS-3D surround sound, and 24-bit Crystalizer effects, while the motherboard HD audio solution was only capable of running EAX 2.0. In additional testing, Creative removed the restriction of 30 simultaneous voices, and found that even when the Creative X-Fi Xtreme Fidelity audio processor was delivering 120 simultaneous voices, it still outperformed motherboard HD audio by a three percent frame rate increase in Unreal Tournament 2004.

For a direct comparison to motherboard HD audio in Battlefield 2, Creative set the game audio device settings to “Hardware” and the audio quality setting to “Medium,” or 32 voices at 22KHz, as that is the maximum that motherboard HD audio can support. In this test, the Creative X-Fi Xtreme Fidelity audio processor outperformed motherboard HD audio by even more than the 17 percent frame rate increase demonstrated in Unreal Tournament 2004.

“One of the primary benefits of the Creative X-Fi Xtreme Fidelity audio processor is that it delivers not only unbeatable gaming performance, but also a phenomenal 3D audio experience,” continued Thorn. “With the power of the Creative X-Fi Xtreme Fidelity audio processor, we can deliver accelerated frame rates with the highest level of audio quality and realism.”

“Battlefield 2 is going to be an amazing gaming experience, and the soundtrack will play a central role in bringing the Battlefield to life like never before,” said Sergio A. Salvador, Battlefield 2 European Product Manager for Electronic Arts. “The Creative X-Fi Xtreme Fidelity audio processor helps us to stay at the cutting edge of PC audio, by ensuring that gamers enjoy superior frame rates and excellent 3D audio for robust gameplay."

All PC games based on a 3D audio platform will benefit from running on a computer with the Creative X-Fi Xtreme Fidelity audio processor. However, games running on the OpenAL audio API will see the most significant improvement in audio quality and frame rate. At the Creative X-Fi Xtreme Fidelity audio processor’s launch, several top OpenAL-based PC titles will take full advantage of it, including Battlefield 2, Doom 3 (with patch 1.3), Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil (with patch 1.3), and Unreal Tournament 2004.

The Creative X-Fi Xtreme Fidelity Audio Processor

The Creative X-Fi Xtreme Fidelity audio processor represents a major breakthrough in audio technology that provides dramatic improvements to the recording and playback of music, movies and PC games. It has more than 51 million transistors, and is capable of 10,000+ MIPS. The Creative X-Fi Xtreme Fidelity audio processor is 24 times more powerful than its predecessor, and is designed with multiple engines, so it can dynamically direct resources through a modular architecture to completely change the way audio is managed for any application. The Creative X-Fi Xtreme Fidelity audio processor provides key modes that are optimized for experiences with MP3 music, gaming, movies and audio creation. Each mode is configured to dynamically dedicate the processor’s power to deliver only the features, quality and capabilities that the user requires.

For more information about the Creative X-Fi Xtreme Fidelity audio processor, Xtreme Fidelity, and the benchmark results from these performance tests, visit www.soundblaster.com

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Faiakes

Well, 17% AND a seriously improved Headphone experience!

There might be a reason to buy a soundcard after all!