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What about issues Themida? Are they fixed?

I don't use any Themida apps, so I can't say.

Any more changes or bug fixed in this build?

Yes, I tried out the gadget bug I found in 7068: https://www.neowin.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=752814

Turns out it's still there :(

Gadget bug

Anime PC Meter gadget (current version 1.7.4) doesn't work properly anymore: display errors, flyouts don't work, causes constant cpu load of ~30%.

new bug, worked fine in 7057

If there's something else you want me to try, just tell me.

2poopon.jpg

Please keep this thread clean from that "7106 is older" bs :pinch:

It's not BS, and if you don't believe me here's another source that says the same thing myself and others said last week:

http://icrontic.com/articles/charting-windows-7-development

This wannabe expert article proves absolutely *nothing* :no:

Neither you nor that other icrontic guy works at MS, so it's nothing but wild claims.

Interesting article. :yes:

Yeah it is, I really have to applaud that guy, he did his homework VERY well and took the time to lay all the pieces out and explain it VERY well.

Ba'al, you don't need to work at MS to know how the process works. You're starting to sound like the countless number of zombies in the Win7 beta newsgroups. Take the information that is posted and learn from it, because I assure you it is correct :). Not trying to flame you, just trying to help you understand, hence why I posted the link.

...to present all his assumptions as if they were facts. Yes, applause please for this little con trick.

Where are your "facts"? I've yet to see any from you at all... anything?

Prove everyone wrong and post your sources from within Microsoft with irrefutable facts. :)

Well my friend...all you have are assumptions as well. :D

Yes, we all have only assumptions (except for the people who have seen the source code and can say for sure).

Just that some people try to pass of their assumptions as facts when they clearly are not, and that doesn't sit well with me :pinch:

Yes, we all have only assumptions (except for the people who have seen the source code and can say for sure).

Just that some people try to pass of their assumptions as facts when they clearly are not, and that doesn't sit well with me :pinch:

Something we can both agree on! :D

BTW: What are your specs? Any driver problems with your specs?

Something we can both agree on! :D

BTW: What are your specs? Any driver problems with your specs?

I tried installing Cat 9.4, and it didn't want to install the driver - it simply didn't offer the driver for my 4870 install, just the Control Center and the other stuff. Trying to install manually didn't work either.

However, I had the exactly same problem with trying to install 9.4 on 7068, so it's independent of the build. Also, I've already seen others post that they can't install 9.4 on Win7.

Catalyst 9.3 installed fine and runs without any problems, just like any other drivers.

My specs: (Aero Graphics is still a bit buggy, should be 7.9)

post-276924-1240278534_thumb.png

I don't use any Themida apps, so I can't say.

Then could you please download am email program for me: The Bat and test if it works on 7106 x86?

http://www.ritlabs.com/download/the_bat/th...home_4-1-11.msi

It uses Themida and did not work on 7077 x86 (but does work on x64 7077)

Please keep this thread clean from that "7106 is older" bs :pinch:

Quoting something i didnt say is just noobish and running a build with 71xx doesnt make you 1337 (even if u feel like one).

In fact trying to find bugs on a build that few use any more makes you just weird and that's why i asked.So get your story straight :)

For you, is this build older then 7106 too? :doctor:

Edited by 0nyX

Any body who knows what they're on about knows that this build IS OLDER than 7077.

I'm still laughing at all the fools who chose to go through all the hassle of changing the language in order to downgrade to this build.

Everyone but users of this build know it is older. I know for a fact that it is and a load of those that are in the know have said so themselves.

Any body who knows what they're on about knows that this build IS OLDER than 7077.

I'm still laughing at all the fools who chose to go through all the hassle of changing the language in order to downgrade to this build.

Everyone but users of this build know it is older. I know for a fact that it is and a load of those that are in the know have said so themselves.

My point EXACTLY. :whistle:

Even when the RC comes out (assuming it'll be 7100) they are NOT going to install it because they have 7106 up and runnin thinking it is the latest one and they are far ahead! :laugh:

Edited by 0nyX

Before the 7082 pictures leaked I also assumed 7106 was older from the code base perspective. Now I am not so sure. Here is my reasoning:

-7082 is clearly newer than 7077 as they come from the same branch.

-7082 reverted back to the old look of active programs higlight on the icons in the taskbar

-the highlight in 7106 was the only reason to doubt if 7106 was newer as it also had the old style of highlight (now we know they have reverted back)

Finally 7105 was compiled on the same day as 7077 so logically 7105 is no older or newer than 7077. 7106 was compiled some 4 days later than 7077 so logic suggests that 7106 is in fact newer than 7077.

6.1.7105.0.winmain.090404-1235

6.1.7077.0.winmain_win7rc.090404-1255

6.1.7106.0.winmain.090408-1623

On a side note, I hate the fac that they went back to the old style highlight of active applications. Love it how it is in 7077.

Then could you please download am email program for me: The Bat and test if it works on 7106 x86?

http://www.ritlabs.com/download/the_bat/th...home_4-1-11.msi

It uses Themida and did not work on 7077 x86 (but does work on x64 7077)

Ok, I'll try it...

...

It works! :cool:

Here are screenshots I took as proof. First setup and configuration:

7106thebat1.png 7106thebat2.png

Then a full desktop screenshot of The Bat! up and running in 7106:

7106thebat3.jpg

Before the 7082 pictures leaked I also assumed 7106 was older from the code base perspective. Now I am not so sure. Here is my reasoning:

-7082 is clearly newer than 7077 as they come from the same branch.

-7082 reverted back to the old look of active programs higlight on the icons in the taskbar

-the highlight in 7106 was the only reason to doubt if 7106 was newer as it also had the old style of highlight (now we know they have reverted back)

There goes their single flimsy excuse for their "7106 is older" preachings :rofl:

Finally 7105 was compiled on the same day as 7077 so logically 7105 is no older or newer than 7077. 7106 was compiled some 4 days later than 7077 so logic suggests that 7106 is in fact newer than 7077.

6.1.7105.0.winmain.090404-1235

6.1.7077.0.winmain_win7rc.090404-1255

6.1.7106.0.winmain.090408-1623

Of course logic suggests that 7106 is newer, but those "7106 is older" preachers wouldn't know logic if it bit them in the ass :laugh:

I pointed out that it's four days older right in the very beginning, but they never listened, as they're completely impervious to logic :pinch:

They simply prefer to take their half-assed assumptions, regardless how illogical they are, and then try to pass them off as facts.

Anyway, back to topic. I noticed that 7106 has more optimised memory management and thus uses memory more effectively :cool:

With all drivers (like Catalyst+Control Center) and all apps (like Security Suite) loaded, it only uses 759MB:

7106memoryusage.png

Before 7106, it easily used 830+ MB with anything loaded and no other programs running yet.

This topic is now closed to further replies.
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    • Creative Sound Blaster AE-X PCIe review: your headphones will love it by Steven Parker If you have been reading Neowin for any length of time, you may remember that I reviewed the Sound Blaster Audigy FX Pro back in April. I found it to be an excellent budget sound card, even though it lacked support for formats such as DTS over the included SPDIF port. Anyway, Creative reached out to me again asking if I was interested in reviewing the Sound Blaster AE-X. It is a card mainly targeted at headphone wearers, which I'll get into a bit later. Before we get underway, here is a disclaimer: Creative Labs provided a free sample without any review pre-approval. Here are the full specs of it: Creative Sound Blaster AE-X Dimensions: 179 x 126 x 18 mm Weight: 263g / 9.28 oz Platform: PCI-e DAC: ESS ES9039Q2M Connectivity Options Side: Rear: 1 x HD Audio Front Panel Connector, 1 x ⅛“ Headphone port, 1 x RCA Line-out (Left) port, 1 x RCA Line-out (Right) port, 1 x Coaxial SPDIF-out port, 1 x ⅛“ Mic in/Line-in port, 1 x TOSLINK SPDIF-in port Surround: No DNR / SNR: THD+N: 0.0001% Dynamic Range 130 dB Recording Resolution: PCM up to 32-bit / 192kHz (Stereo) Direct Mode: Line Out (Stereo): PCM up to 32-bit  384 kHz Coaxial SPDIF Out: PCM up to 24-bit 192.0 kHz Headphone Amp: PCM up to 32-bit / 384kHz (Stereo) Native DSD: DSD64, DSD128, DSD256 Output Impedance: 1Ω, Supported Headphone Impedance: 8–600Ω, IEM: 0.5Vrms, Low: 1.5Vrms, Mid: 3Vrms, High: 6Vrms, Maximum output power: 350mW @ 32Ω (High), Maximum output voltage: 6Vrms (High) Front Panel Headphone Amp: PCM up to 32-bit / 192kHz (Stereo) Native DSD: DSD64, DSD128 Output Impedance: 10Ω, Supported Headphone Impedance: 32–300Ω, Maximum output power: 40mW @ 32Ω, Maximum output voltage: 1.9Vrms ASIO: ASIO 2.3 Total Harmonic Distortion: THD+N: 0.0006% Dynamic Range: 114 dB Scout Mode: Yes EMI shielding: No (but it passed all the FCC emission tests) Operating temperature: 0–45°C Input Power: 12V⎓0.5A Warranty: 1 Year (MSRP) Price: $179.99 / £169.99 The Sound Blaster AE-X was announced at the end of May, and it becomes clear that it is mainly for headphone wearers. I should also note that the card does not support DDL/DTS encoding technology, but it is said to support decoding through the coaxial SPDIF port. I was able to test this working with the classic Windows Sound properties, but I could not get a DTS (decode) signal through my Logitech Z906, it defaulted to 3D sound whenever I played DTS content through Plex or Emby. In addition, this card only supports two channels (stereo) over the speakers. The surround support is limited to the Headphone Amp, so before I get underway, what we have here is a card mostly intended for headphone use, especially with its SPDIF In (Toslink) port where you could connect another device like a console. So what about the highlights of this card? The AE-X is powered by the ESS SABRE DAC (ES9039Q2M), which is capable of a 130 dB dynamic range. In addition, it supports 32-bit/384 kHz playback for deeper detail and clarity. The headphone amplifier delivers up to 350 mW @ 32Ω, which admittedly far surpasses standard onboard audio, offering support for studio-grade headphones. DSD256 and ASIO 2.3 are also supported. What doesn't it have? No support for What-U-Hear, Super X-Fi, or the SmartComms Kit No EMI shielding, but it passed all the FCC emission tests (from the FAQ) I also want to make it clear that I am no audiophile. For me, it's purely subjective and it should just "work" out of the box. First impressions As I said in the introduction, I was a bit sad to see that the AE-X only supports stereo output, meaning it would not be on par with my ALC1220 over my speakers, as I mentioned it seems like this card is marketed toward headphone users. Since I am not an avid gamer that would rule me out as a potential customer, but I can still test its capabilities! The card arrived in a nice-looking box, as shown above. It's quite a bit larger than the Audify FX Pro that I reviewed back in April, and at first I thought the covering meant that it was EMI shielded, but it isn't as mentioned above in the highlights section. What's in the box: 1 x Sound Blaster AE-X PCIe card 1 x 3.5 mm CTIA TRRS to Dual TRS Headset Splitter Cable 1 x Quick Start Guide Aside from the Quick Start Guide, which someone at my age (I guess) needs a magnifying glass to read thanks to the tiny fonts, Creative Labs also has the manual online, which first requires you to prove that you're human in order to access it (so I can't direct link it). Anyway, the box is mostly made up of cardboard, and the only plastic in it is the anti-static bag for the card itself. Design Top Bottom The card itself looks pretty cool and actually wouldn't look out of place in an all-white build. There's only one connector, and for some reason it is awkwardly placed on the side (front-facing) that is for the front panel audio connector, which will let you use the headphones through the front PC audio jack. Since the front panel Headphone Amp has fewer capabilities than the rear headphone port, I decided not to use it. Rear of card PCI-e interface The rear of the card is completely open and is normally where you would find the front panel connector. The PCIe interface side is completely covered, which initially made me think it was EMI shielded. I/O panel Side (front-facing) with Front panel connector On the outer rear bracket side we have the TOSLINK SPDIF in, Coaxial SPDIF out, RCA line out (Right), RCA line out (Left), Headphone out, and Mic/Line in ports. On the front facing portion of the card itself is the F-panel connector. Usage Test System Our test system consists of the following: AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D Gigabyte X870E AORUS MASTER (BIOS F12) Corsair RM1000x (2024) Thermal Grizzly Kyronaut (33x33x0,2mm) 2x 32GB Kingston Fury Beast RGB DDR5 6000MT/s CL36-38-38-80 T-Force Z540 2TB (PCIe Gen5) NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Founders Edition (NVIDIA) Creative Sound Blaster AE-X Windows 11 25H2 Pro I installed the card into the Gigabyte X870E AORUS MASTER which includes the RealTek ALC1220 onboard audio. For our subjective listening tests, I used the Coaxial SPDIF port to my Logitech Z906 speakers. For headphone tests I used the OneOdio Studio Max 2 Wireless DJ Headphones that I reviewed last month. After installing the audio driver, I installed Creative Nexus, which is a relatively new app designed for the latest Sound Blaster cards. Then I discovered the AE-X needed both a driver update from 1.00.15.0001 to 1.01.09.000 and a firmware update from 1.00.06.0000 to 1.00.06.0002, then I was set to go. It should be noted that the card did not work without the driver (not Plug and Play). As you can see above, you can manage the firmware, driver, and inputs via Advanced Settings on the Device tab. By default Nexus enabled "Direct Mode". Upon clicking on Acoustic Engine, the Equalizer can be enabled and set to four different presets, which are: Gaming Music Movies Footsteps Enhancer There's also a dedicated Scout Mode for gamers. I mainly used Tidal and Spotify in the past week to listen to some of my Liked Songs (which now total over 700) in Shuffle mode; there were no pops or interference that I could hear. I also found a 5.1 Surround Music playlist on Tidal that sounded really great over Studio Max 2 headphones. When I reviewed the Audigy FX Pro, I went out and purchased a Logitech Z906 set second-hand for €100 specifically to use with the card, but in this instance all I could get on the AE-X was the 3D output of surround sound through Coaxial SPDIF and although it still sounded great, it isn't quite as good as DTS Interactive via my onboard Realtek ALC1220. Conclusion So what have I learned? The AE-X lacks multi-channel support for 5.1/7.1 setups and drops support for modern surround technologies like Dolby or DTS, functioning strictly as a stereo output device. So to really benefit, you will need Studio-grade headphones to "hear" the benefits of this card. With that being said, I can imagine it will appeal to gamers who are switching between console and PC. By utilizing the SPDIF in port, you could just plug your headphones into the AE-X (front or rear port) and then switch between PC and Console without having to move the headphones to a different port. As I said in the Sound Blaster Audigy review, the EQ in the Creative Nexus app offers safe presets, which allows a user to further tweak the lows, mids, and highs for a personal listening experience. Of course it all depends on the headphones you hook up to it. Speaking of headphones, I kind of wish I had higher-quality Studio-grade headphones to really test this card with; I'm not usually wearing headphones in my day to day duties. The only time I will wear them is if I want to listen to music very late at night and I don't want to disturb my neighbors, so my rating (verdict) is based on this fact. Someone with a PC/Console setup and wears headphone religiously to game, and consume media will benefit much more than I from the high-quality Headphone Amps that are included in the AE-X. Once again, I do feel like Creative could have gone the extra mile to support the S/PDIF port a bit more. Why include it if you're not supporting the main popular digital formats? It seems like the decision was more of a legacy-based one, offering uncompressed 2-channel PCM audio, for users with high-fidelity audio systems and external DACs. Maybe I will be lucky enough to review a card that truly includes all these features in the future. I am sure readers with far more knowledge on audio systems than me will correct me in the comments below. I'll just say I am happy to learn what I don't know! Where to buy The Sound Blaster AE-X is available to purchase now in preorder for $179.99 on the U.S. Creative website, or for £169.99 on the Creative UK website and will start shipping to customers from June 25.
    • $80 or 90%, anything else would be financial suicide one way or another.
    • Or... just use Bitwarden. Free, and has on-prem option as well. Works both on desktop and mobile, wherever you are. The age of local password files is over.
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    • I actually got to use one of those so called "backup codes" once. It was for a customer, I choose the backup code option, and by the grace of god, they actually hade them printed out. Imagine my surprise, when after using the backup code, Google then told use we had to enter a code they just sent to the gmail address we currently did not have access to. I was not amused, Google backup codes should be the end all get out of jail free card, because you had to have access to the account to even get them.
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