Verdict: Go on, gives your ears a treat

On paper, Creative's X-Fi is a huge leap forward in sound card technology. Creative claims that the X-Fi's processor is 24 times more powerful than that of the Audigy. It has ten times as many transistors and runs at 400MHz, double the frequency of the Audigy, giving it 10,000 MIPs of processing power. However, do you actually need this much hardware for good PC sound?

In our gaming tests, the Xtreme Music produced frame rates similar to those of the Audigy 2 ZS. And, like the latter, it was significantly faster than Intel HD Audio in Doom 3 with surround sound enabled. It also supports EAX4 with the 1.3 patch for Doom 3 but, unlike the Audigy 2 ZS, the Xtreme Music didn't slow down the frame rate. Its gaming ace is enabling X-Fi mode in Battlefield 2, which in turn allows you to switch on ultra-high sound quality. This has a stunning effect on sound quality; clothes rustle, explosions are more explosive and sounds are better positioned around you. Better still, ultra-high quality has no performance penalty, showing what the Xtreme Music can do with direct game support.

Our DVD video sequence was also more involving, but the other killer feature of the Xtreme Music is the 24-bit Crystalizer. This uses frequency analysis and the extra dynamic range of 24-bit processing to reduce the effects of frequency compression during audio mastering. As frequency compression is also a prerequisite for compressed audio, it should have a pronounced effect on low bit-rate MP3s. We tried the Crystalizer on everything from grungy rock to jazz, punk and funk, and in every case it brought out the detail in the mix, and made the panning of instruments more defined. If you listen to a lot of music on your PC then this feature alone almost makes the X-Fi worth the money.

Although it's hard to find a reason to spend money on a discrete sound card these days, the Xtreme Music has managed to unearth a couple of really good ones.

Granted, £100 is a lot of cash, but once you've heard the X-Fi in action, you'll never want to go back to on-board audio.

• Cases - 21st November 2008
• Motherboards - 24th October 2008
• Gaming Headsets - 26th September 2008
• Dream PCs - 24th September 2008
• Headphones - 12th September 2008
• Media PC components - 22nd August 2008
• PSUs - 14th July 2008

• Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB - Hard disks / storage
• Asus EAH4870 TOP - Graphics cards
• Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Pro - Sound cards
• Multiwinia - Games
• Zotac GeForce GTX 260² - Graphics cards
• Sapphire Radeon HD 4850 X2 - Graphics cards
• Scan 3XS X58 Core i7 - Desktop PCs