Creative Technology has boosted the console gaming experience yet again. With a new firmware update adding GameVoice Mix to the Sound BlasterX G6 features set, users can now expect an even better performance with quality audio, seamless controls and enjoy game-chat balancing alongside pristine audio for unparalleled console gaming.
Since its launch back in 2018, the Sound BlasterX G6 has been well-received by tech reviewers, winning prominent awards such as the CES 2019 Innovation Awards Honoree in ‘Gaming’.
Powered by audiophile-grade components (including a 130 dB DNR, 32-bit / 384 kHz DAC) and the award-winning Xamp discrete headphone bi-amplifier, driven by the fabled Sound Blaster surround sound virtualization technology, and packaged in a sleek yet handy form factor, it has established itself as a mainstay on many gamers’ ‘must-have’ accessories lists.
With GameVoice Mix, the Sound BlasterX G6 is a console gamer’s dream.
With game-chat balance being an increasingly popular feature especially for console gamers, the Sound BlasterX G6 has been boosted with GameVoice Mix, elevating the gaming experience at no extra charge. Users can seamlessly adjust both the voice chat volume and gaming audio with a simple turn of the control knob, without having to exit the game – so that they can focus on the gameplay itself.
Pricing and Availability – Sound BlasterX G6 is priced at GBP129.99 and is available at Creative.com. For more information, visit creative.com/G6
Creative Technology levels up the aesthetic game with the Sound BlasterX AE-5 Plus Pure Edition, to bring on a symphony of lights and pristine audio that sets the stage for PC gamers to clinch every victory in style. Only available through a limited production run, gamers can transform any PC set up into an RGB masterpiece of light and color, matched only by the powerful audio befitting a Sound Blaster.
The Sound BlasterX AE-5 Plus Pure Edition comes in a sleek metallic white finish and features four additional customisable RGB LED strips that show off Creative’s very own Aurora Reactive Lighting System. With 16.8 million customizable colors, it offers gamers the creative bandwidth to build the ultimate gaming rig with spectacular sound and mesmerizing lighting effects.
As with the standard Sound BlasterX AE-5 Plus launched a month ago, the Pure Edition supports Dolby Digital Live and DTS Connect encoding, to offer more delivery options to external audio devices. It also sports the latest Sound Blaster Command software, which features a more user-friendly interface and fuss-free customization settings.
Pricing and Availability
Sound BlasterX AE-5 Plus Pure Edition is priced at GBP169.99 and is available at Creative.com.
The Creative Sound Blaster G3 is a Portable External Console Gaming USB-C DAC Amp for PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, PC, and Mac, This enhanced gaming audio experience has voice chat balance capability, a customizable EQ preset with custom-tuned Footsteps Enhancer, and on-the-fly audio adjustments without having to exit your game’s screen.
The first impression of the unit was the feel of the unit, the plastic seems flimsy, with the buttons/switches not as comfortable as I would expect for the well-know Singapore-based Creative, Technology company. The inclusion of the USB Type-C to Type-A Converter reinforced the UpToDate technology with the fibre optic cable.
Package contents,
Sound Blaster G3
Optical Cable (1m / 3.28 ft)
USB Type-C to Type-A Converter
Quick Start Leaflet
Warranty Leaflet
Compatibility.
Setup:
The basic setup was easy in terms of the units was designed for use with gaming consoles with No software required, no drivers just plug and play. When using the advance features via the Creative app, this had challenges in the connection to the unit, the app had to removed from the android phone and reinstalled as did not pair immediately to the Samsung S10 phone. After reinstalling this worked ok. The setup was done via a PS4 Slim which does not have an optical port (The standard Ps4 and PS4 does), this was easily connected directly to the optical port on the TV and worked.
Overall.
There were a few niggles in the build quality the app setup and the length of the cable option. On the positive, once the set up was done there is an abundance of features tailored to specific games in the app, which can be adjusted from your phone and saved on the unit or via the app. The audio difference was noticeable in terms of isolation out specific sounds to your colleagues on the games or enhanced sound which often go unnoticed on the game. This is a real gamer paradise in terms of sounds.
Today, HP Inc. unveiled its newest Z by HP mobile workstation and HP ENVY portfolio – designed for creators who push the envelope of what’s possible. The HP ZBook Studio, HP ZBook Create, and HP’s touch screen laptop, the HP ENVY 15 are the latest additions to the HP Create Ecosystem, which launched at Adobe MAX in 2019.
The powerful line-up enables all levels of creators, including consumers, prosumers and professionals, to capture, create, and bring to life digital concepts and ideas that can be shared, enjoyed, and experienced. In the past, creators had to choose between heavy workstations or bulky gaming devices to get the power they require for work and play. Today, HP is pushing the boundaries of engineering and creative productivity by allowing photographers, vloggers, graphic designers, architects, film makers, and everyone in between, to achieve what was never thought possible.
“As we continue learning how to adapt to new ways of working and learning during these unprecedented times, one thing remains constant – everyone is a creator and needs the right tools to bring their creations to life,” said Alex Cho, president, Personal Systems, HP Inc. “Whether it’s the ZBook Studio, the most powerful workstation of its size, or the ENVY 15 with gaming-class thermal solutions, HP is giving professional creators the power needed for their next breakthrough and anyone who wants to create, the versatility needed to power their passion.”
With a rich history of PC innovations for the creative community, HP is the ideal technology partner for the next generation of creators. For Gen Z creators, the practice of creativity is instinctual, and they need a device that helps bring their expressions to life as quickly as the latest memes and trending topics come and go. For those who create professionally – from design, modeling, coding, or application design – Z by HP solutions are perfect small form-factor powerhouse solutions for resource-intensive tasks. The HP ENVY portfolio, including the newest ENVY 15, is built for today’s consumers and prosumers who regularly edit photos and video, or develop graphics or web designs.
“Creatives need the power to work from anywhere,” said Bob Pette, vice president and general manager of professional visualization, NVIDIA. “Accelerated by NVIDIA Quadro and GeForce RTX GPUs and backed by NVIDIA Studio drivers, HP’s ZBook Studio, ZBook Create and ENVY 15 deliver on the performance, mobility and reliability that creators demand.”
HP’s ZBook Studio, ZBook Create, and ENVY 15 laptops with RTX GPUs are members of NVIDIA’s RTX Studio program, featuring acceleration for demanding ray-traced rendering and AI creative workloads, and Studio drivers for outstanding reliability.
Z by HP: Power Your Breakthrough
The HP ZBook Studio, the world’s most powerful mobile workstation per cubic centimetre[, and HP ZBook Create, the world’s smallest 15” notebook for creation and gaming[v], allows users to create on-the-go unlike ever before. There has been a 47% growth in thin and light form factors over the past three years, but most devices are still not designed for demanding workflows with professional applications, graphics, or color accuracy. The latest additions to the Z by HP portfolio are purpose-built and re-engineered from the ground up to meet the demanding needs of the most creative applications and workflows and provide optimal experiences today and in the future.
In 2015, the Scientific and Engineering Award was awarded by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for the development of the HP LP2480zx Professional DreamColor display[vi]. The ZBook Studio and ZBook Create bring the first DreamColor display with 17.5 hour, all-day battery life2 to visual effects artists, animators, and colorists worldwide, enabling them to accurately represent their content on-screen from anywhere because of DreamColor’s built-in colorimeter for automatic self-calibration, 100% sRGB and Adobe RGB for accuracy, and over a billion colors[vii] for smoother shading and more consistent gradients.
HP ZBook Studio and HP ZBook Create:
Performance:
Creators can design, edit, render, and stream from anywhere no matter how complex the workflow, with choices of Quadro® or GeForce® graphics and next-gen Intel® Core™ and Intel® Xeon® processors.
Creative pros today want to multi-task while projects are rendering in the background without slowing down other applications. The ZBook Studio is the most powerful mobile workstation per cubic centimetre for rendering.
Z Power Slider gives the user complete control over the type of performance and acoustics for specific workflows. At the same time, the Z Predictive Fan Algorithm intelligently manages fan behavior based on the kind of work and applications used by creatives.
New vapor cooling chamber and liquid crystal polymer, gaming-class thermals are designed to equip users with the ability to run at maximum performance, as needed. The custom advanced cooling system pushes air away from the CPU and GPU in 2-dimensional paths, unlocking power density that is 2.8x higher gen to gen in a laptop design that is up to 22% smaller.
Design:
The ZBook Studio, the world’s most powerful mobile workstation per cubic-centimetre[, and ZBook Create pack a nearly borderless screen experience – 22% reduction in volume from the previous generation – alongside an up to 17.5-hour long-lasting battery life into a lightweight aluminum exterior, bringing creators a color-accurate laptop with all-day battery life.
The Z Command Keyboard is designed specifically for creators for a seamless transition from other products, with a familiar keyboard layout for shortcuts, and ultra-quiet keys for the perfect creative flow without interruptions.
World’s best audio experience on a 15.6” notebook[ix] for creation and gaming provides rich audio with 150 Hz roll-off bass and speakers custom-tuned by Bang and Olufsen to surround users in a rich sound space, featuring the most powerful speakers with the highest levels of bass on any HP notebook.
Sustainability:
The world’s first mobile workstation with ocean-bound plastics1, the highly recyclable and lightweight aluminum exterior provides 5x the abrasion resistance of painted carbon fiber and still complies with MIL-STD 810G testing[x].
Meticulously built with extraordinary performance in a transformative size, never has so much power been engineered into such a sleek package. Rigorously tested. Ingeniously crafted. Keep your best talent creating on our best tech with the new benchmark for mobile workstations.
Minimalist design nods throughout this head-turning device, with a sophisticated aluminum chassis and diamond-cut design and is the first ENVY with a layer of glass on top of the touchpad for a smooth-touch experience.
Available across all new HP ENVY devices this year is the all-in-one keyboard, which includes easily accessible buttons for power, camera shutter, mute mic, fingerprint reader, and HP Command Center.
Create:
Creators desire devices with a stunning display, powerful performance – all with long battery life and connectivity and the new ENVY 15 delivers.
Digital creations take on a new level of details and realism with 4K OLED VESA certified DisplayHDR™ True Black display. It features 100% DCI-P3 color gamut, 100,000:1 contrast ratio with 400 nits brightness[xi]. Every 4K display is color calibrated to meet Delta E <2 standard to ensure consistent and accurate colors. The touch display takes workflow efficiency to a new level for a responsive and comfortable experience.
HP QuickDrop – exclusive to the new ENVY 15 – seamlessly transfers digital creations, documents, notes, websites, addresses, and more across a variety of devices – PC, iPhone, Android, or tablet.
Performance:
Fast rendering, seamless playback, and smooth multitasking is a breeze with an up to 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i9 (H-series) processor[xii], up to NVIDIA® GeForce® RTX 2060 with Max-Q design[xiii], and up to 32GB of DDR4 Memory.
The ENVY 15 is the first HP ENVY device to offer gaming-class thermals – a vapor chamber and two 12-volt fans. Compared with a traditional heat-pipe design, HP’s custom vapor chamber solution provides 33% more processor power to power through intensive workloads.
The device also features HP Dynamic Power, which intelligently allocates power between the CPU and GPU; and, the IR thermal sensor supports Performance Control to fully utilize thermal capacity.
Blazing-fast storage and connectivity with up to 2 TB PCIe SSD and RAID 0 (2xSSD), 3x faster file transfer speeds connectivity with Wi-Fi 6 versus Wi-Fi 5, and Bluetooth 5.
Create whenever and wherever the mood strikes with up to 16.5 hours of battery life2 – and quickly charge the device with HP Fast Charge, offering a 50% charge in 45 minutes
Along with up to 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i9 featuring 8 cores and 16 threads12 and NVIDIA® GeForce® RTX 2060 with Max-Q design13the HP ENVY 15 brings gaming-class thermal, with its vapor chamber solution providing 33% more processor power to power through intensive workloads compared to traditional heat-pipe design.
HP ENVY Portfolio:
Also available is the latest HP ENVY portfolio, designed for creators seeking versatility and mobility, which includes:
HP ENVY 13: With an 88% screen-to-body ratio, up to a 10th Gen Intel® Core™ CPU and optional NVIDIA® GeForce® MX330 graphics, up to 19.5 hours of battery life2 and fast Wi-Fi 6 connectivity15, this is a powerful creator device in an 11” diagonal footprint.
HP ENVY x360 13: This delightful convertible has both form and function, featuring an 88% screen-to-body ratio, this convertible PC comes with the AMD Ryzen™ 4000 Series Mobile Processors with Radeon™ Graphics, up to 17.5 hours of battery life[xvii] and fast connectivity with Wi-Fi 5 and Bluetooth 5.0.
HP ENVY x360 15: With an 88% screen-to-body ratio3, up to a 10th Gen Intel® Core™ processors or AMD Ryzen™ 4000 Series Mobile Processors with Radeon™ Graphics, up to 18.5 hours of battery life, , and fast connectivity with Wi-Fi 615 and Bluetooth 5.0.
HP ENVY 17: With an 86% screen to body ratio, up to a 10th Gen Intel® Core™ CPU and NVIDIA® GeForce® MX330 graphics, up to 11 hours of battery life, , and fast connectivity with Wi-Fi 615 and Bluetooth 5.0.
Pricing and availability
The HP ZBook Studio and HP ZBook Create is expected to be available in August. Pricing will be shared closer to availability.
HP ENVY 15 is expected to be available in June starting at €1720
HP ENVY 13is expected to be available in May starting at €975
HP ENVY 17 is expected to be available in May starting at €1315
HP ENVY x360 13 is expected to be available in May starting at €900
HP ENVY x360 15 is expected to be available in May starting at €975 for the AMD version and €1080 for the Intel version
Creative Technology has boosted its PC gaming audio range with the release of Sound BlasterX AE-5 Plus, an enhanced version of the original Sound BlasterX AE-5 boasting more surround sound features aimed at enhancing the audio experience for die hard PC gamers.
The celebrated Sound BlasterX AE-5 was a double CES 2018 Innovation Awards honoree in ‘Computer Hardware and Components’ and ‘Computer Accessories’. Backed up with Sound Blaster’s long legacy of audio processing technology such as the award-winning Xamp discrete headphone bi-amplifier, and powered by a 122 dB 32-bit / 384 kHz ESS SABRE32 Ultra-class DAC, it was the also world’s first sound card with an integrated RGB controller and already a stand-out gaming fan favorite in its own right.
Now, with support for Dolby Digital Live and Connect encoding, the Sound BlasterX AE-5 Plus provides more delivery options to external audio devices, for an even more enhanced gaming experience than before. Together with the existing AE-5, it has also been updated with the latest Sound Blaster Command software, which features a user-friendly interface. In addition, the soundcard’s low price tag also means it provides more value for PC gamers.
Pricing and Availability
Sound BlasterX AE-5 Plus is priced at GBP139.99 and is available at Creative.com.
