As we've said, X-Fi cards have three operating modes: Entertainment (for activities like listening to music or watching a DVD), Games, and Audio Creation (sound and music). You choose one of the three via a Mode Switcher and the card is reconfigured to provide the best performance for the activity chosen. Naturally, the possibilities - and also the control panel - are different depending on the configuration you choose. The table below provides a summary.
The Mode Switcher lets you choose the operating mode that corresponds to what you're doing at a given moment. The X-Fi card is reconfigured in a few seconds to provide the best possible performance.
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Header Cell - Column 0
Entertainment
Audio Creation
Games
3DMIDI Playback
Yes
Yes
Yes
3DMIDI Interaction
No
Yes
No
EAX ADVANCED HD 5.0
Limited
Limited
Yes
EAX ADVANCED HD 4.0
Limited
Limited
Yes
EAX ADVANCED HD 3.0
Yes
Yes
Yes
Number of Auxiliary Effects
2
4
4
Maximum Number of Reverbs
1
2
4
Insert Effects
No
4
No
ASIO Out Channels: Dry
1 pair
5 pairs
1 pair
ASIO Out Channels: FX
No
4 pairs
No
ASIO In Channels: WUH
8
8
8
ASIO In Channels: Basic
2 (1 pair)
2 (1 pair)
2 (1 pair)
ASIO 2.0 Support
Limited
Yes
Limited
ASIO 2.0 Direct Monitoring
0
12 (6 pairs)
0
Bit-Matched Playback
No
Yes
No
Bit-Matched Recording
No
Yes
No
CMSS-3DSurround
Yes
No
Yes
CMSS-3DHeadphone
Yes
No
Yes
CMSS-3DVirtual (2 Speakers)
Yes
No
Yes
CMSS-3DVirtual (4 Speakers)
No
No
Yes
CMSS-3DInteractive
Yes
Yes
Yes
24 bit Crystalizer
Yes
Yes
Yes
Graphic EQ
10 bands
10 bands
10 bands
Smart Volume Management
Yes
Yes
Yes
Bass Management
Advanced
No
Advanced
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