Creative Labs, as it is more commonly known in the United States, started out in Singapore as a small computer repair shop that stumbled upon producing standalone audio cards for the PC market. Although it wasn’t a big hit at first, Creative eventually outranked all competitors and became the biggest sound card producer in the world. They would have market superiority until the computing power finally overcame the need for standalone sound cards and motherboard manufacturers started to produce boards that already have a sound processing unit built right into it. This trend eliminated the need for an independent card for most people and Creative’s sound cards went from necessity to accessory in record time. The remaining consumer base for the Creative sound cards were the people who had high standards in sound quality, or those who require the advanced capabilities of the Creative sound cards.

But aside from sound cards, Creative also ventured into many other products with varied successes and failures. Creative’s attempt at optical drives fell into ruins soon after it was started as cheaper alternatives surfaced. Their music players that include the Zen and MuVo became a big success as they provided a small but very competent replacement to the CD players. Despite the introduction and wild success of the iPod from Apple, Creative still remains as a major player in this market. Creative also has a lot more products that are usually computer peripherals. They have speakers, mice, headphones, and even web cameras.

The latest sound card from Creative is called the Soundblaster X-Fi, from their Soundblaster line-up. This should be more than adequate for anyone who simply wishes the best sound for gaming or watching movies, you would not be able to enjoy your top of the line speakers with an on-board sound processing unit. It comes in a few configurations that are suited for different applications, one of which is the Fatal1ty line that was named after one of the top pro gamers in the world. This card used EAX 5.0 that lets you position up to 128 3D voices around the room. It also has the most advanced mixing features that lets starting musicians mix their own tracks with relative ease. Creative has also come up with a brand new resampling method that solved previous issues with the Audigy cards before it. Some packages also contain a front panel and a remote control that add even more to its flexibility.