Buying a Creative X-Fi sound card advice

I`m thinking of buying either a Creative Labs X-Fi Xtreme Audio 7.1 Sound Card or the X-Fi Gamer version.

Can anyone who has either of these please tell me what the main differences are?

Which would be the best one to go for? I`m thinking the Gamer one although the Audio one seems to have more ports which could be handy in the future. Is there a perfomrance difference between the two?

Thanks for any help,
Jason.

I think it's very difficult to justify buying a dedicated sound card these days, particularly if you are running Vista. The crystaliser is nice for old (low quality) MP3 files but otherwise you are paying ~£50 for not much.

Darkheart

Doing an EASY Google search for 'x-fi extreme audio versus vs x-fi gamer' turned up the fact that Extreme Audio is actually a rebadged Audigy Value card, ie you'd be better off getting an Audigy 2 or 4 (if you can find one, I set up a notification on eBay for Audigy 4 Pros and a few months later one was put up for sale... and I got it, screw everyone else).

The X-Fi Gamer is an -actual- X-Fi, so if it's an X-Fi you're after, out of the two you listed, this is your only 'choice'.

Darkheart's right though, onboard sound is pretty good these days (even EAX emulation). I would only recommend getting a dedicated card if you're an audiophile and need the extra ports.

Far as i know audigy dont get vista drivers so best to go for x-fi.

I have the X-Fi XTtemeGamer Fatal1ty Edition. I had upgraded from built in audio.
WOW.
The difference is incredible, especially if you spend a little time in the THX setup console to tweak your settings. Couple this with even an inexpensive set of 5.1 speakers, and the result is amazing. It adds a whole new level of realism to your games. It's incredible!
Surround Sound setups don't have to be expensive. I have a set of Logitech X-540 5.1 Surround Sound speakers. They cost about $60 on sale. With my X-Fi card the total cost is less than $200. Definately worth it!
You can even set your card to different modes through the setup console, depending on what you're doing. Game Mode I leave on most of the time, which obviously is for gaming. Music Mode (if I remember to turn it on) is great for listening to any kind of music; MP3, CD, whatever. You can definately hear the difference between modes! And Audio Creation Mode is supposed to be for when you're recording audio, although there's something wrong with mine because when I turn it on, my mic shuts off.

All together, this is an amazing card, and definately worth it. Hope that helps! :-)

Thanks for the help everyone.

Jason.

Audigys get Vista drivers fine, though they're only a shadow of the drivers for XP. They even released ALchemy for free finally, guess it didn't sell too well.