More on Creative X-Fi Xtreme Audio

A month ago, I posted about my frustrations concerning the Creative X-Fi Xtreme Audio soundcard I recently bought. The card is not really compatible with Vista (no control panel, no surround, etc.), so when some time ago the Vista X-Fi drivers were released, I was quite thrilled! This feeling didn't last long however, as the new drivers are only compatible with every other X-Fi card, except for the Xtreme Audio. I let this pass, as Creative has promised it will have proper drivers for it sometime in Q2-2007... But as times goes, I'm getting more and more frustrated.. So I Googled this, and guess what turns up..

The Xtreme Audio version of the X-Fi line does not feature a X-Fi chipset at all! It is merely a tuned up version of the Live 24! card, with some software features that emulate X-Fi functions.

For more information on this, please visit this thread:
http://forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?t=200348

I don't know yet what frustrates me the most.. Either the fact that Creative published a card that clearly deceives consumers, or the fact that my computer vendor doesn't mention this (complete misinformation actually)...

Anyway, I hope the above mentioned computer vendor will offer me some solution for my problem..

For now, be warned: if you are looking for a soundcard that actually reduces your CPU load (when gaming, for instance), don't go for the X-Fi Xtreme Audio, instead purchase X-Fi XtremeGamer or something alike!