boycott sb live!

[Pikachu]

The SB Live! Value has been a huge bump up from cheap basic sound solutions. Wayyyyyyyy beyond adequate and a must have in any PC configuration on the Hardware Forum for years. Now, all of a sudden, it's junk? Uh, I don't think so! It's one thing to say another card is arguably, marginally better, but to say it's junk is saying that we've ALL been using a junk component in our systems for years... BULL SH|T! And it's still got one huge point in it's favor... PRICE!

• $46.00 SOUNDBLASTER LIVE! VALUE
  
  $70.00 TURTLE BEACH SANTA CRUZ

Boycott that, you lazy lamer!

 

[Chad]

I've seen the Cruz for < 60... and you talking the Live VALUE.

You get what you pay for.

 

[TheNewGuy]

Heck, I order the Santa Cruz (OEM) for $58 (CAD), so it must be alot cheaper in the U.S....

Dave

 

[Pikachu]

I linked to a store that carries both for a fair compare. I've seen the SB Live! for $36.00, so let's see your LINKS to cheap Santa Cruz prices...

 

[kombatmud]

<< to say it's junk is saying that we've ALL been using a junk component in our systems for years >>



How many components that aren't junk last in any system for years?
The only component in my system that I've owned for over a year is my floppy drive, and it is junk. I like having a floppy drive, but that doesn't mean it's not junk.

The SB Live is several steps above generic sound, however it's not nearly as good as many of the other cards available, including several cards that were out before it. It also doesn't have new enough technology that it should still be on the market as anything other than to clear inventory for something newer.

I would personally do whatever possible to avoid doing business with Creative. I'd prefer to have no sound card, or some ESS crap to a Creative card. Not because I think all of their products are junk, but because I don't like the way they do business.

 

[RedShirt]

Where do you get the Santa Cruz for cheap?

 

[Dreadogg]

Never had problems with my Soundblaster !! But did just switch to the HGXP and am really starting to like it even with incountering the driver problem !!

 

[jaydee]

<< Abit is crap, its just a simple fact >>


Dude, if you're going to post something like that you better back it up, cause they're more people on this forum (me included) that don't think their Abit board is crap, than you count. I'm interested WHY IS MY MOBO CRAP?

 

[paruhd0x]

Ok, I own a Abit motherboard with a Via chipsets, I play about 6 different games, and play mp3s all the time, ABSOLUTELY NO PROBLEMS. Infact I love my SBlive, so you can stop whining, because I'm sure its just you and your &quot;5 other friends&quot; are imaginary.

-2 cents

P.S. The only problem I know of from a good friend which recommended the card to me is, it does not like SMP.

Windows 98SE/Windows 2000 Professional

 

[Raincity]

As for the SBLIVE,I never had an trouble getting it to work in any operating system. Alienware and Falcon gaming are still building both AMD and Intel platform systems with the SBLIVE and a quick call to a contact over at Falcon G says that they have had very few issues with the SBLIVE on either platform. As for Abit, the truth is that Abit has the highest rate of returns and RMA than any other mainboard maker in the industry due to their lack of quality control. Abit lost 30% of their vendors last year due to this issue with quality control. As for LXI comments over Abit mainboards. I suspect that LXI does knows the facts on Abits quality control and made such statements about Abit. Sure there are people around these forums that have Abit mainboards working fine for them but there are enough horror stories as well documented at this forum alone.

Rain

 

[MikeO]

I wont boycott a product that has worked perfectly for me..

..but I would boycott Live's software package, all the crap they stuff in it and how the software tries to take over the whole goddamn desktop.

 

[hungrypete]

{mocking hasty finger-pointing people}
oh no *I* can't get X hardware to work. X must not work for anyone. Lets put the manufacturers of X out of business. That will teach them to design something *I* have difficulty setting up.
{/mocking}
I apologize for my hostility. Working in tech support has ruined my otherwise generous nature. :|

 

[Sugadaddy]

<< Dude, if you're going to post something like that you better back it up, cause they're more people on this forum (me included) that don't think their Abit board is crap, than you count. I'm interested WHY IS MY MOBO CRAP? >>



IMO, Abit is the worst motherboard you can buy. Sure they always have nice features to get your attention, but they have the worst RMA rate of any mobo manufacturer. Ask any store that carries them, and some stores are even dropping them because they have so many bad ones get returned. On top of that, Abits cost more than many other manufacturer's products (MSI, Iwill, Epox, etc.). Their prices are right up there with Asus (which I usually don't mind paying a little extra for).

Of course you're going to get many people coming in here saying my Abit works perfectly, best mobo I ever bought, but the point is that if you compare large numbers (say 10,000 mobos), Abit is far behind the others.

 

[Duvie]

I give every manufacturer a chance...you are only as good as your last product and who nows what is in the hopper...

I don't use creative products anymore cause IMHO they just don't make anything where they are in the top 2 to 3 in quality.

Vid cards...no
Sound cards...not anymore
DVD-roms...not anymore
CD-RW...not even close
CD-roms...not even close

Maybe they like being a company of mediocre products...they haven't seem to be pushing the envelope in any of their products the last year or so.

 

[Shudder]

{mocking hasty finger-pointing people}
oh no *I* can't get X hardware to work. X must not work for anyone. Lets put the manufacturers of X out of business. That will teach them to design something *I* have difficulty setting up.
{/mocking}

Here's creative then: Oh no! Company B put out a better product! People might get mad if our inferior product isn't updated! We may have to do some real work, so we should sue them and put them out of business for no reason.

That alone is a decent reason to boycott Creative products, aside from their being sub-par.

 

[Boogak]

I've had my Live! for almost a year with just 1 problem, and updated LiveWare fixed it.

 

[DoOLiE11]

ia veh teh orginal sblive gold with my asus a7v

no problmes whatsoever

i've installed at least three or four other sblive cards in other tbird setups ( a7v133s) and they avhe been fine to

 

[BooneRebel]

<< Bah, let's move on to a real issue...ilke PANTS! It's time we put an end to the tyrannical despot of chaffing that is pants. >>




Time to change my sig!

 

[Pikachu]

&quot;Oh no! Company B put out a better product! People might get mad if our inferior product isn't updated! We may have to do some real work, so we should sue them and put them out of business for no reason.&quot;

Boy that sounds VERY familiar:

Oh no! MSIE put out a better product! People might get mad if our inferior product isn't updated! We may have to do some real work, so we should sue them and put them out of business for no reason. - Netscape et al

 

[ace31216]

I had problems with SB Live too, but I still think its a decent cards. It just had too many problems with my motherboard. I have a philips acoustic edge and its fantatic.

 

[randomlinh]

regarding the SMP thing.... i don't think any sound card seems to like SMP.. didn't the SC have probs w/ it?

 

[kombatmud]

<< i don't think any sound card seems to like SMP >>



I've got a vortex 2 on a serverworks III HEsl chipset (SMP) w/ no problems, and previously had the same vortex 2 on an i840 SMP setup as well as an i440LX SMP setup, w/ no problems. I have however heard of several issues w/ via chipsets with aureal cards. The reason those issues aren't resolved is largely due to creative purchasing the dying remains of Aureal, and refusing to support it at all in hope of causing people w/ vortex cards to buy SB Lives.

I have not personally encountered any problems with SB Live on SMP either, since I've never used an SB Live, so I won't comment on that.

 

[Auric]

Bah, let's move on to a real issue...ilke PANTS! It's time we put an end to the tyrannical despot of chaffing that is pants.

If you're chafing in pants then might I suggest fat loss? Still, I'm with you in principle. As for the soundcard, the Live! is still around after a couple or three years because it works and it's relatively affordable. Creative is all about PC audio and will remain focussed on that. Sure, fly-by-night operations will come along temporarily with stuff that seem good but in the end Creative is still there with more than adequate products and solid support. Remember when dedicated audio chips and modems were going to be made obsolete by software? Didn't happen cause they suxored. Remember when A3D was sooo much better that EAX? It was too complex to program for developers and it was hard coded. Dumb. EAX is simple and it works -and don't confuse in-game EAX with cheesy reverb effects and chipmunk voices. The Live! is a big step up from all previous low to mid-range sound cards and it doesn't cost much more if at all. If you have oddball hardware or can't figure out software and some other oddball sound card seems to be the magic fix well then that's t'riffic -meanwhile the vast majority of people will be more than content with the Live!

 

[danii8]

I once had problem with live and via
still can't think buying other brand.

 

[spanner]

All this about boycotting the SBlive cos of its errors with certain chipsets is a bunch of croc. The Sblive was around well before most of the current chipsets and was a pretty popular and standard setting soundcard. The chipset manufactures should have taken the time to make sure thier chipsets worked with it as it was and still is a standard. Also about the lack of updated hardware, why change what already works so well at a good price. My sblive mp3 5.1 rocks and so far there is no other competing soundcard that has given me the incentive to upgrade. The only beef I have with creative is they are waaaay behind with liveware4 but then again there is not much to update from liveware3. I used to own an aureal vortex 2 based card and lets just say it didn't even come close to the live, no cool features and A3D 2.0 which was worthless due to its high cpu utilization. I also respect Creative for their Bold move in supporting and pushing openAl, the free sound API.