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Wow, here I was thinking we could talk all polite in this thread. Guess I was wrong. Oh wait, I guess YOU don't have the capacity to talk politely without getting all butt hurt about something.

Well it's obvious you just won't see reason. You've made your mind up that we should all be incredibly grateful to EA for fooling us in to believing we were a part of the Beta Testing process.

I'd have been happier to be involved in the beta if my input was actually valued. It isn't. They already did all their testing and they are simply calling this a Beta when it's really just giving us a demonstration of the game (even if it's a beta build from a month ago).

Wow, here I was thinking we could talk all polite in this thread. Guess I was wrong. Oh wait, I guess YOU don't have the capacity to talk politely without getting all butt hurt about something.

I do in fact get it that it's odd of them to give us a month old build and are expecting us to give them feedback on that. But the thing I don't understand is that some people are almost hating on that fact.

I'm not getting upset about it. I don't really think anyone is on here at least. We're just scratching our heads trying to figure out why it's being done that way.

The funniest part I think is that when they were testing Caspian Border they password protected it. So they wanted people to test the map but not the Open Beta people. Only their people. If that doesn't prove that this "Open Beta" is just a glorified demo then I don't know what does.

If it was a real beta where we were expected to test things we would have been involved in the Caspian Border beta test.

i agree with what you've said except this part - "when the full game drops give your critique to the published/developer." No, the beta is the perfect time to give critique so that developers can address the identified problems before the game launches or shortly after. That's kinda the purpose of betas - to identify problems before the game ships.

What is NOT right is to draw conclusions about the quality of the final product. That will be determined on 25.10.

I meant critique about the publisher/developer :p Besides that they indeed do need the comments/critique about the game.

@Vice: Where exactly did I say you all should be incredibly grateful to EA for fooling everyone? I believe that ViperAFK gave a believable reason to why we're playing a month old version. Though they could've changed that through updates I suppose. And yeah, in that view it might as well be a demo. But to me demo's are bug-less parts of the actual full game. Hence why in my eyes it's wrong to glorify the beta as a demo. But I guess that's just me.

I meant critique about the publisher/developer :p Besides that they indeed do need the comments/critique about the game.

@Vice: Where exactly did I say you all should be incredibly grateful to EA for fooling everyone? I believe that ViperAFK gave a believable reason to why we're playing a month old version. Though they could've changed that through updates I suppose. And yeah, in that view it might as well be a demo. But to me demo's are bug-less parts of the actual full game. Hence why in my eyes it's wrong to glorify the beta as a demo. But I guess that's just me.

I'm not saying that the build we are playing is not a Beta build of the game. It is an old build a month old Beta build. My point is they are using the Beta build from a month ago as a Demo because our input on the Beta is not needed. That is not how Betas work. Betas in code like this are for discovering and reporting bugs. They don't want us to do any reporting they just want us to play the game. So to me this is not a real open beta this is an open demo / sample using old code.

And I agree with you that demos should use retail code. But that is actually rarely the case. Many games that have demos for PC usually use Beta and old versions where strange bugs persist that are already fixed in the retail copy.

^True that, but is that really a reason to be all negative about them? They still gave you something for free. I don't see any reason to get all negative about it.

@Vice: It's still a beta as a demo doesn't contain bugs and whatnot. I don't get it why people are calling this a demo all of a sudden at all :s Keep on slapping a title on it yourselves when the people who released it actually call it a beta.

I really don't get it any more. Developers decide to give us something, everyone gets greedy. Developers decide to take long while developing a game, everyone demands a release instantly. Players want an HD release of an old game, they start demanding it from the developers. When did it all change to the players demanding everything from these developers?

I completely agree with you Capric0rn, also with your previous post if I made the sound wrong :pinch: I also don't get all the negativity :blink: actually I have hardly anything to add^^ People seem to think they are entitled to something, if I like the game I buy it, if I don't, I leave it in the store.

I meant critique about the publisher/developer :p Besides that they indeed do need the comments/critique about the game.

@Vice: Where exactly did I say you all should be incredibly grateful to EA for fooling everyone? I believe that ViperAFK gave a believable reason to why we're playing a month old version. Though they could've changed that through updates I suppose. And yeah, in that view it might as well be a demo. But to me demo's are bug-less parts of the actual full game. Hence why in my eyes it's wrong to glorify the beta as a demo. But I guess that's just me.

Count me in too! :p

Instead of scratching your heads, I can only guess but it's all that way because of the long verification phases of consoles and to maintain equality between PCs and consoles.

I agree with the Caspian Border thing like said but yeah, maybe it will still come!

I'm not saying that the build we are playing is not a Beta build of the game. It is an old build a month old Beta build. My point is they are using the Beta build from a month ago as a Demo because our input on the Beta is not needed. That is not how Betas work. Betas in code like this are for discovering and reporting bugs. They don't want us to do any reporting they just want us to play the game. So to me this is not a real open beta this is an open demo / sample using old code.

And I agree with you that demos should use retail code. But that is actually rarely the case. Many games that have demos for PC usually use Beta and old versions where strange bugs persist that are already fixed in the retail copy.

And why can't we just report any feedback but game bugs? :p

And why can't we just report any feedback but game bugs? :p

K. I think the shotgun crosshair should be smaller. Oh wait they already fixed that in the retail release. No need to give that input.

They've altered the game more than just where Bugs are concerned so you don't know if the feedback you're giving has already been changed or not. That is the whole point.

I just think it's a bit disingenuous of them to call this a Open Beta when it really isn't. And you know you can give gameplay feedback for a demo too.

^I wouldn't really count on Caspian Border anymore. In fact, I myself don't even want to play it in this beta. I want it to be a complete new experience once I play the full version.

I'm not saying that the build we are playing is not a Beta build of the game. It is an old build a month old Beta build. My point is they are using the Beta build from a month ago as a Demo because our input on the Beta is not needed. That is not how Betas work. Betas in code like this are for discovering and reporting bugs. They don't want us to do any reporting they just want us to play the game. So to me this is not a real open beta this is an open demo / sample using old code.

And I agree with you that demos should use retail code. But that is actually rarely the case. Many games that have demos for PC usually use Beta and old versions where strange bugs persist that are already fixed in the retail copy.

I just hope they actually give us their explanation for all this. I for one am just glad I'm able to play the beta. My only reason for playing the beta is to see if my PC could handle it. I know it'll be a different story with the final version. But now I can at least kinda see how the final version might run. Though it's true that they should have given us an up to date version of the game to actually test the beta for them.

http://www.examiner....-order-discount

Is the above NewEgg price cut promo code link working for anyone?

Every time I put the PS3 and/or the PC version in my cart, enter the code, and hit add; The items stay in my cart at the normal price and it redirects me back out to NewEgg's home page.

(P.S. You guys crack me up with all your pointless and repetitive arguing. Why bother wasting your time like that?)

K. I think the shotgun crosshair should be smaller. Oh wait they already fixed that in the retail release. No need to give that input.

They've altered the game more than just where Bugs are concerned so you don't know if the feedback you're giving has already been changed or not. That is the whole point.

I just think it's a bit disingenuous of them to call this a Open Beta when it really isn't. And you know you can give gameplay feedback for a demo too.

Yep I won't argue here, you're right^^ It would have been best if they just released the full changelog between the Beta build and the current build so we can focus on additional things :/ Of course they could also patch things in a instant I bet but that's only for PC, if they start sending a Beta patch to Mircosoft and Sony now it would atleast take one week minimum to be approved and that wouldn't help much anymore :pinch: Sure they could patch the PC Beta only but I had that already...^^

^I wouldn't really count on Caspian Border anymore. In fact, I myself don't even want to play it in this beta. I want it to be a complete new experience once I play the full version.

I just hope they actually give us their explanation for all this. I for one am just glad I'm able to play the beta. My only reason for playing the beta is to see if my PC could handle it. I know it'll be a different story with the final version. But now I can at least kinda see how the final version might run. Though it's true that they should have given us an up to date version of the game to actually test the beta for them.

Based on the game so far I'm looking forward to the release. I have a pre-order with Origin at this point. I'm sure the final thing will play great. I did get to play a bit of Caspian Border when the password leaked and it was quite fun.

You are making ridiculous assumptions. Just because the build is a month old does not mean all feedback is irrelevant...

You really think they'd release a demo where everyone falls through the ground? What DICE is trying to say, and what people refuse to understand is a beta build is NOT representative of the final. Of course bugs are fixed between the beta and final build.

How are his assumptions ridiculous? One would also think they wouldn't release a public beta that's based on a build that's a month old, but everyone here keeps saying that's what they did. Why would you do that? It makes absolutely no sense. So, no, if DICE and EA are going to release a public beta that isn't representative of the final product in most aspects, then I'm not going to have much faith in them doing the intelligent thing in other situations.

^I wouldn't really count on Caspian Border anymore. In fact, I myself don't even want to play it in this beta. I want it to be a complete new experience once I play the full version.

I just hope they actually give us their explanation for all this. I for one am just glad I'm able to play the beta. My only reason for playing the beta is to see if my PC could handle it. I know it'll be a different story with the final version. But now I can at least kinda see how the final version might run. Though it's true that they should have given us an up to date version of the game to actually test the beta for them.

Yep I agree again here! And you're actually right, I haven't though about that I spoiled myself the experience :p

Based on the game so far I'm looking forward to the release. I have a pre-order with Origin at this point. I'm sure the final thing will play great. I did get to play a bit of Caspian Border when the password leaked and it was quite fun.

Same here, I'm also looking forward to the final release, especially Conquesting^^ Did anybody else climb the huge tower in the middle only to find three snipers ready to be knifed? :rofl:

How are his assumptions ridiculous? One would also think they wouldn't release a public beta that's based on a build that's a month old, but everyone here keeps saying that's what they did. Why would you do that? It makes absolutely no sense. So, no, if DICE and EA are going to release a public beta that isn't representative of the final product in most aspects, then I'm not going to have much faith in them doing the intelligent thing in other situations.

And I say it one last time: Week(s) long console approval process :pinch:

And I say it one last time: Week(s) long console approval process :pinch:

OK, to repeat: if it's the console approval process, why are PC users also having a fairly significant amount of issues?

It only takes 5-7 days for the Microsoft and Sony approval process. So I'm not seeing a whole lot of logic in that argument.

OK, to repeat: if it's the console approval process, why are PC users also having a fairly significant amount of issues?

It only takes 5-7 days for the Microsoft and Sony approval process. So I'm not seeing a whole lot of logic in that argument.

That's a good point but what kind of issues do you mean now? And as I stated earler, I guess they want to maintain equality between PC and console users, simultaneous release, same build etc. Yes PC players have to suffer but the other way around consoles have to suffer, again no way to win :pinch:

I am enjoying the game, my little gtx460 is holding up nicely. only real problem i am having is an issue with the ea id, but i got a few weeks yet to sort that out..

I too was very surprised at how my gtx460 performed, but now that I have a 580, my little 460 is all alone :-(

Based on the game so far I'm looking forward to the release. I have a pre-order with Origin at this point. I'm sure the final thing will play great. I did get to play a bit of Caspian Border when the password leaked and it was quite fun.

I've pre-ordered mine through a Dutch online warehouse. They're also giving us the SPECACT kit. I just hope I can play the full version with the same settings, lol. Time will tell.

To the GTX460 users, I was surprised to to see the game setup with everything on high and be able to play it with no slowdowns etc. One thing I did have to lower down was the Anisotropic filter in order to use Anti-Aliasing. I've set the latter to 4x and I believe Anisotropic filtering to 4 or 8 instead of 16. The city part of Operation Metro just lagged a little too much for my liking.

*ignores all pointless arguing in thread*

Annnyyyywaaayyy, started playing aggressive sniper (BattleReport: http://battlelog.battlefield.com/bf3/battlereport/show/535783/1/241812808/) and I really enjoyed. Most of you know by know I'm not a huge fan of the recon/sniper class but this was actually all right. Got a lot more deaths than you would expect from a recon class. But that's because of my playing style. Many people don't expect to see a recon in your face. OHKs are nice up close too. I don't play with any sniper scopes so that eliminates the glare. Might experiment with the TacLight or RedLaser because of how aggressive I play it might come in handy.

PS, Pistols rock in this game!

Just tried the demo, but my card is only a GTX 260. I have a Core i7 860 with 12GB. Will upgrading my card help significantly? It's pretty laggy now as is.

I'd say you'd notice a big improvement upgrading your card.

bf3-performance-chart-small.png

This chart doesn't seem to be entirely accurate (I play at 70-80FPS on average, and rarely dip below 60 with my 560 Ti), but it'll give you a good idea on where you stand.

A good card to shoot for is at least a 560 Ti, but if you can afford something better by all means go for it.

That's a good point but what kind of issues do you mean now? And as I stated earler, I guess they want to maintain equality between PC and console users, simultaneous release, same build etc. Yes PC players have to suffer but the other way around consoles have to suffer, again no way to win :pinch:

Why shouldn't consoles have to suffer? PC's have to suffer with half-assed, crappy ports that are worse than the original lead platform all the time. It's about time console gamers get a taste of it too.

I've pre-ordered mine through a Dutch online warehouse. They're also giving us the SPECACT kit. I just hope I can play the full version with the same settings, lol. Time will tell.

To the GTX460 users, I was surprised to to see the game setup with everything on high and be able to play it with no slowdowns etc. One thing I did have to lower down was the Anisotropic filter in order to use Anti-Aliasing. I've set the latter to 4x and I believe Anisotropic filtering to 4 or 8 instead of 16. The city part of Operation Metro just lagged a little too much for my liking.

It may give pretty good performance on a GTX460 but the occasional flicker i mentioned thursday and the inherent stability issues in this broken "beta" kind of make the performance not matter.

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.
    • Thanks
    • 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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