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Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi, what's are the new features that make this hot?

This is a collection of the new features only found in the Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi generation of audio solutions for gaming systems to help inform buyers of these new features.

What does X-Fi stand for? Xtreme Fidelity - In short the X-Fi processor is like having a 3.4GHz CPU dedicated solely for use in processing audio. This chip can handle more than 10 billion instructions per second. The X-Fi processor will boost your game performance by handling those audio calculations off of your main system CPU. Performance framerate boosts compared to onboard audio are as much as 15% for UT2004 and as high as 40% in Battlefield2 depending on the main system CPU.

EAX Advanced HD 5.0 - This is one of the main bonuses of X-Fi. With full support of up to 128 voices (4 reverbs) your games will sound amazing. This is double what EAX Advanced HD 3.0 supported.

Environment FlexiFX - This is a new way to manage the 4 effects slots which in the past, were restricted to specifically a Chorus and a Reverb slot with only 2 left open. For example if you are in a hallway with rushing water in the back ground, that would leave 2 other slots open for game sound. If you were outside, the hallway reverb slot would not be used since you are outside. Designers still weren't able to fill the slot. Now they can. Expect your games to sound much better just by using an X-Fi card. Environment FlexiFX combines the previous EAX Advanced HD features of EAX Extended FX, Environment Reverb, and EAX Multi-Environment into a single feature.

Environment Occlusion - Sounds will be muffled when blocked by an object like a door or wall. You will be able to get a great sense of which direction the sound is coming from and be able to adjust accordingly to track your foe or escape from an incoming threat just around the corner.

ISACT (Interactive Spatial Audio Composition Tool) - Makes the game music like a movie soundtrack where your actions dictate the pace and sound of the tracks being played.

EAX PurePath - Fully utilizes the subwoofer and the ".1" part of the 5.1 and 7.1 systems. EAX PurePath now gives game designers the ability to specify exactly which sounds go to which speaker so explosions for example, can now properly be sent to your subwoofer for added punch without overriding your other speakers that can't handle the bass.

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