Creative has finally released
a non-beta Windows Vista driver for its Sound Blaster X-Fi sound cards. The
new version 2.13.0012 driver is available for download
here for 32-bit versions of Vista and
here for the x64 versions. According to Creative, the driver supports the
X-Fi Crystalizer, the X-Fi CMSS-3D feature, MIDI playback, EAX effects, PCM
stereo output through optical ports, line-in connectivity, and sound recording.
However, much like Nvidia's Vista ForceWare graphics drivers, this release
doesn't offer all the features of its Windows XP counterpart. According to
Creative, the driver doesn't support Dolby Digital and DTS decoding, DVD-Audio
playback, acceleration in DirectSound-based EAX games (although a
workaround is available), and 6.1-channel speaker modes. Creative also says
S/PDIF passthrough will only work in 32-bit versions of Vista, and that the
applications bundled on the original Sound Blaster X-Fi CD won't work with the
new drivers.