The PCI 128, as the name implies, supports 128 MIDI voices and 16 separate channels. As with most PCI based boards on the market the PCI 128 doesn't carry any onboard memory for MIDI samples and instead uses system RAM. Just about any samples can be used by the PCI 128's MIDI engine. The instrument set isn't half bad but doesn't reach the same level as say the Ensoniq Soundscape Elite. The PCI 128 can use 2, 4 or 8Mb of samples
Here's a small .mp3 sample I recorded just for fun (257Kb).
One would have expected that Creative Labs, the creators of the original SoundBlaster would have flawless DOS support, and as far as I can tell they do. However unlike what some might expect the, PCI 128 isn't DOS compatible with the SoundBlaster 16 but rather with the older SoundBlaster Pro board (which means no 16bit playback). Still for those interested in Legacy DOS titles the PCI 128 will suffice, of course most games today rely upon DirectSound where basically any soundboard will do.
The PCI 128 comes in a neat box with a CD cable and a single CD-ROM disc containing the drivers and some nice software tools like:
Creative Multimedia Deck™
Control playback of multimedia audio types: MIDI music, .WAV files, and CD audio. Control playback through a software remote control. Six channel mixer control for access to CD/Auxiliary, Microphone/Line, Music Synthesizer, and Digital Audio. Reverb and Chorus control for Music Synthesizer.
Creative WaveStudio®
A .wav file editing program that is powerful and easy to use. Record and edit digital audio files.
Creative Soundo'LE®
Object-linking and embedding software which allows recording and playback of sound files that can be placed in any Windows application which supports OLE. Record from multiple sources in 8-bit or 16-bit format, then select from a number of audio compression standards to minimize usage of disk space
Nothing that'll blow your mind away but it's something..
The PCI 128 isn't half bad, but compared to similarly priced A3D boards on the market it doesn't have much going for it. The best thing about the card is its near perfect SoundBlaster emulation for DOS and the EAX support. This makes the PCI128 an interesting board if you're still stuck playing games like LucasArts' Full Throttle and want to benefit from some of the kewl features a PCI board can offer without having to shovel out that much cash.
Otherwise your best bet is to opt for one of the two current $99 PCI audio titans: the Diamond MX300 or the Creative SoundBlaster Live Value. Both offer tremendous advantages over the PCI128, and are worth the extra cost.
