I do a lot of audio work. Many sections of this site offer audio files. So when I wanted to upgrade my sound card, to one that could handle digital audio, I assumed my best bet would be to go with Creative. Ever since I first started getting into computers (back in ’94, I think) I’ve always seen reference to “Sound Blaster compatible”. So if Sound Blaster is the standard, why not finally get one for my own? It seemed simple enough…but then again most mistakes are simple ones.I aimed high and chose the Sound Blaster Live Platinum 5.1. I learned too late that I was buying more than a sound card; it also contains an interface called Live Drive IR, which fits in a 5.25″ bay. Unfortunately, I didn’t have an open bay (having recently installed an internal CDR drive) — so I bought the card only to find out I could not use it. All the digital and MIDI inputs Creative advertises are available only on this interface; the card itself just has outputs for speakers.
Eventually I talked myself into finally utilizing the sound card. I made room by removing my DVD-ROM drive temporarily. Installation was fairly easy, but the Sound Blaster comes with a lot of seemingly useless and bloated software. For my dual-boot system, I installed all of it under Windows 2000 but only necessary files under Windows 98 (this was not by design as much as for space reasons). The Sound Blaster’s performance under Windows 2000 was very poor. The first few times I booted up there was a noticeable whine or loud hiss until Windows loaded. I was also unable to fully use the sound card; the Live Drive IR appeared as if dead. I could not input any audio through it, digital or analog. I almost thought it was dead, except for the fact I could get the headphone output to work. I have since discovered that other Windows 2000 users are very upset with Creative for their shoddy support of the card. Of course it would’ve been nice to know this three weeks ago, but at least I can console myself that I do not suffer alone. Updated drivers for the sound card are available at Creative’s web site, but I can join my fellow users in saying these drivers do not help and in fact can aid in crashing the OS.
Admittedly, Windows 2000 is not designed to be a multimedia operating system, so one might expect the Sound Blaster’s performance to improve under Windows 98. There was no difference. My Live Drive IR was just as dead as before. So, after two weeks’ usage, I uninstalled the sound card this morning. I’m not even crazy about Sound Blaster’s uninstall program, since it left a lot of junk behind (in Windows 98). So now I’m back to my original Turtle Beach Montego card. It doesn’t sound all that great either (especially under Windows 2000), but at least it doesn’t crash my system.
