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i have to say tanks on the desert/ more open maps are heaps fun. i've still found that the warhead or optics is the best add -on. with missile locks trying to dodge the missiles works better than using smoke, imo, most of the time ive dodged the missile with the most dmg being around 50. saying that it works alot better with a good squad machine gunner being an engineer. next time i will try the alt gun :)

Just a little bit of info for the neowin players. If you shoot a tracer at a tank helicopters like the apache and the russian version's missiles will home in on the tracer. Hope this helps everyone. :laugh:

I haven't tried it to see if you have to target the tank for a certain amount of time like rpg's though. But I think it's still useful information.

Edit: Also the alt fire perk gives the attack heli's extra missiles for the gunner. And the smoke perk will clear a tracer from a vehicle and break missile locks. But that goes for any vehicle that has a tracer or missile lock on it.

It still has to lock on, tested before I went on Easter break.

Been playing on Reddit servers these past few days and I have to say that this game is completely different, ridiculously hard and way more fun when both teams are using comms (redditors are using Mumble and works really well). Everyone is coordinating attacks and if you're not using teamwork, you're done for. So people that are playing it on PC and are playing in servers that lack communication, find a good server, settle and ask the clan members for their vent/ts info. You'll enjoy the game a whole lot more.

Quick question- tank mines. Do they need time to arm something, and what is the range, does the tank need to be directly over them before they go off? As I have ran up to an enemy tank placed mines infront and behind it, and they still refused to go off. Now either they need some time to arm, or the tank needs to acually roll over them - which is it? For now, I have resorted to placing the mines, retreating, and then shooting at my own mines to set them off.

Also, how long does a tracer dart stay planted?

i have to say tanks on the desert/ more open maps are heaps fun. i've still found that the warhead or optics is the best add -on. with missile locks trying to dodge the missiles works better than using smoke, imo, most of the time ive dodged the missile with the most dmg being around 50. saying that it works alot better with a good squad machine gunner being an engineer. next time i will try the alt gun :)
Tanks wreck the game IMO, obviously in big open maps they are needed, but god damn that first objective on that map is so annoying and boring.
Been playing on Reddit servers these past few days and I have to say that this game is completely different, ridiculously hard and way more fun when both teams are using comms (redditors are using Mumble and works really well). Everyone is coordinating attacks and if you're not using teamwork, you're done for. So people that are playing it on PC and are playing in servers that lack communication, find a good server, settle and ask the clan members for their vent/ts info. You'll enjoy the game a whole lot more.
Agreed, I am using a server's TS server, and we have way more fun. Last night we actually all bothered to seperate into different channels allowing tactics to be used properly (before it was like Y:"I'm arming A" X: "player Y is arming A, killll him!").

They seriously need to fix in game VOIP. I haven't tried it, but everyone who has tells me it is crap, and the VOIP is limited to squad only. You should have Squad, Team and Global VOIP.

Tanks wreck the game IMO, obviously in big open maps they are needed, but god damn that first objective on that map is so annoying and boring.

i would definetely agree, in the map which you parachute in and its a snow map( i forget the name)...the one that isnt nelson bay. tanks in that ruin it, becuase all ppl do it flatten buildings. but in the first part of arica harbour where it is actually tank v tank....normally 2v2 it fun!

The maps in which defenders and attackers have tanks= fun, the ones where only attackers have tanks =fail.

The in-game VOIP is decent but its only limited to squads. Funny thing is, no one even uses it 99% of the time. It's only until one person talks that other people start talking. Even then, it's only one other person or it's "Can you guys hear me?"

sorry still new to the Battlefield terms.. :rofl: but GOL and MGNM AM is what?
Don't worry I'm a newbie too!

GOL = One of the most accurate sniper rifles you can unlock (100% accurate).

MGNM AM (Magnum Ammo) = Class wide unlock/perk that gets unlocked after you reach a certain rank. I think Rank 15. Basically it gives you a more heavier bullet, allowing for deeper penetration (more damage by 25%).

Don't worry I'm a newbie too!

GOL = One of the most accurate sniper rifles you can unlock (100% accurate).

MGNM AM (Magnum Ammo) = Class wide unlock/perk that gets unlocked after you reach a certain rank. I think Rank 15. Basically it gives you a more heavier bullet, allowing for deeper penetration (more damage by 25%).

ahh I see.. I'm still using the first unlock bolt action Sniper.. it's takes a while to get hold of but I like it.. gives me a sense of realism. Afterall, getting headshots from that thing is hard..lol.

I just started using the M1 Garand and man, is that gun awesome. Not only is it powerful (usually a 3 body-shot kill and 1 headshot kill) but it is EXTREMELY forgiving on accuracy just like in 1943. It's like they're saying "hey, thanks for buying old battlefield games. Here's a gun where you don't have to aim directly at people to hit them" LOL

Well apparently GOL + MGNM AM is unstoppable. Little or no bullet drop, not sure why but that is the case.

That's not entirely true. What the Gol's 100% accuracy gives it is no sway when you're aiming. It still has bullet drop. But yeah, it's pretty much a direct upgrade to the M24. Which is why I don't get why so many people are still using that rifle.

That's not entirely true. What the Gol's 100% accuracy gives it is no sway when you're aiming. It still has bullet drop. But yeah, it's pretty much a direct upgrade to the M24. Which is why I don't get why so many people are still using that rifle.

The M24 has a better bullet penetration imo

i installed XP on my machine and wow this game runs amazing on it. Yeah i know you people are going ot say blah blah blah dx9. but you can force the AA and it looks just as good or i can't tell any difference. I get about 20-30 more FPS average....

i installed XP on my machine and wow this game runs amazing on it. Yeah i know you people are going ot say blah blah blah dx9. but you can force the AA and it looks just as good or i can't tell any difference. I get about 20-30 more FPS average....

Hmmm, I am curious now, can you force this on Win 7 by just right clicking the icon and changing the compatibility mode to XP SP3?

Or what about XP Mode in 7? I do not know anything about it, but I do own Ultimate so think I could use it if I wanted to no?

Hmmm, I am curious now, can you force this on Win 7 by just right clicking the icon and changing the compatibility mode to XP SP3?

Or what about XP Mode in 7? I do not know anything about it, but I do own Ultimate so think I could use it if I wanted to no?

You can change the DX mode in the settings.ini file I believe. So you don't even really need to get that involved with it.

That's not entirely true. What the Gol's 100% accuracy gives it is no sway when you're aiming. It still has bullet drop. But yeah, it's pretty much a direct upgrade to the M24. Which is why I don't get why so many people are still using that rifle.

Since the bolt action snipers are so similar, people use what feels right to them, often based on the scope. Personally I find both rifles amazing, but I slightly prefer the m24's scope.

Course I spend more time running around with the VSS than the rifles as most servers like close-in maps it seems.

Since the bolt action snipers are so similar, people use what feels right to them, often based on the scope. Personally I find both rifles amazing, but I slightly prefer the m24's scope.

Course I spend more time running around with the VSS than the rifles as most servers like close-in maps it seems.

I know, I don't think there is anything wrong with the M24...it's just that I'm 5 kills away from platinum with my Gol. :laugh:

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Posts

    • Nope. That lack of surround sound capability (analog) won't fly with me. Sure, I use headphones most of the time, but still.
    • 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.
    • Thanks
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