do all new X-Fi's come with the Heatsink?

[CHaynes112]

^...?

[Disposibleteen]

To which heatsinkk are you referring, i just looked on Newegg at all of them and did not see a single heatsink in the lot.

[CHaynes112]

a small black hs

[mdzcpa]

Mine is fairly new and it does not have any heatsinks. Then again, the card hardly gets warm anywhere.

[CHaynes112]

hmm... i am gonna try to research this a little more

[cx323]

hmm... i am gonna try to research this a little more

i don't know about newegg, but my local bestbuy has one with heatsinks

[nn_step]

I have never seen a Sound Card with a Heat sink.. EVER

[mdzcpa]

Well, after doing a bit of googling, I see that the newer cards are indeed coming with a heatsink it appears. Odd, though, cause after 3 hours of BF2 with Ultra High Quality sound, the core is lukewarm at most.

Smells like a marketing gimmick to me.

[CHaynes112]

Smells like a marketing gimmick to me.

Perhaps

[OmegaMerc]

Or maybe a problem they've realized too late?

[krille]

I'm gonna look at mine, it just arrived 15 minutes ago.

Update: Yes, it indeed has the aforementioned heatsink. Will post pic in a minute.

Update 2: Pictures added









Ok there goes. Very fresh, arrived less than half an hour ago.

[OmegaMerc]

Talked to a SB rep,

"Hi everyone,

Based on the high demand we are seeing for the recently launched Sound Blaster X-Fi range of sound cards, we have been working towards increasing supply. Achieving this involves using different techniques and one of these is refining the production process of the X-Fi chip, which in turn results in the chip generating more heat. All chips generate heat and some run very hot, but this is not an issue providing some form of heat dissipation is implemented. We have therefore implemented a heat-sink on all Sound Blaster X-Fi based cards going forwards.
Sound Blaster X-Fi products, with or without a heat-sink, have identical audio quality, performance levels, feature set and reliability.
We are continuing efforts to refine the production process further and may in the future revert to a cooler-running X-Fi chip that does not require a heat-sink.
As always, Creative tests and makes changes throughout the life cycle of a product to ensure that we only ship hardware that is reliable and of the highest quality.



Cat

Forum Administrator
Creative Labs"

[krille]

Does that mean the silicon I got was of sub-par lower-bin than previous batches?

[mdzcpa]

Hmmmm...that deosn't sound good. My chip never gets more than lukewarm. Sounds like they have gone to other foundries in order to meet demand....or perhaps current yields just aren't what they should be. Either way, I'm sure the heatsink takes care of the issue.

[Sentential]

Does that mean the silicon I got was of sub-par lower-bin than previous batches?

Wouldnt be any worse than ATi or anyone else has done in the past.

[GazC]

Talked to a SB rep,

"Hi everyone,

Based on the high demand we are seeing for the recently launched Sound Blaster X-Fi range of sound cards, we have been working towards increasing supply. Achieving this involves using different techniques and one of these is refining the production process of the X-Fi chip, which in turn results in the chip generating more heat. All chips generate heat and some run very hot, but this is not an issue providing some form of heat dissipation is implemented. We have therefore implemented a heat-sink on all Sound Blaster X-Fi based cards going forwards.
Sound Blaster X-Fi products, with or without a heat-sink, have identical audio quality, performance levels, feature set and reliability.
We are continuing efforts to refine the production process further and may in the future revert to a cooler-running X-Fi chip that does not require a heat-sink.
As always, Creative tests and makes changes throughout the life cycle of a product to ensure that we only ship hardware that is reliable and of the highest quality.



Cat

Forum Administrator
Creative Labs"

That sounds fishy to me. Seems like they are employing heatsinks to allow them to use Audio processors that have failed normal testing.

[MaxxxRacer]

My chip gets pretty freeking hot.. cant hold my finger on it for too long.

[Kayin]

Mine has the heatsink too... Odd...

[mdzcpa]

Hmmmmm...I double checked after an hour straight of BF2 with Ultra High Quality sound...just luke warm on the chip. 30 minutes of MP3s yielded the same.

That's a pretty interesting variation in temps. Odd.

[MaxxxRacer]

I should state that my chip only gets how after listening to music or something similar. just putzing around the internet doesnt get it too warm.

On the flipside, it looks like a drunkey monkey soldered the cap that is sitting next to the chip. The caps leads are only partially in and one lead is all bent up.. QC on this card was sub par.. tried to resolder it myself, but the solder they use is really freaky and didnt want to melt.

[Daveb2012]

I added a heat sink to mine im sure it doesn't need it but I have a lot of extra little ones and nothing to put them on.

[axion]

Guess it can't hurt

[rick_fx]

Hmmmmm...I double checked after an hour straight of BF2 with Ultra High Quality sound...just luke warm on the chip. 30 minutes of MP3s yielded the same.

That's a pretty interesting variation in temps. Odd.

Mine too is only luke warm, even after listening to music for over 2 hours on end.

[Pinnacle]

I, too have alittle black one on mine

[Andrew LB]

I have a little black heatsink on my APU. I have not noticed any high temps on it thus far, otherwise i'd add some active cooling.