Audio quality between Abit NF7 v2.0 MCP2 and NF7-S MCP2-T SoundStorm?

Birger

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Jun 24, 2000
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Hello, I?ve just bought an Abit NF7 v2.0 MCP2 motherboard and I would like to know if there are any differences between these to motherboards when it comes to sound quality and CPU utilization.

I know that the NF7-S has Real-time Dolby Digital 5.1 audio encoding but that's not important for me, since I'm only gonna use 2 speakers (left/right) to my computer. I will not use my computers sound to a home theatre either.

I've noticed that they both have an Optical S/PDIF Digital output.

So, are there any difference between my Abit NF7 v2.0 MCP2 and the NF7-S MCP2-T SoundStorm when it comes to sound quality and CPU utilization?
 

DAPUNISHER

Super Moderator CPU Forum Mod and Elite Member
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Aug 22, 2001
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The MCP-T is hardware so it uses less CPU cycles, but for analog output they both use the realtek codec and crappy DACs so probably not much to choose between for audio quality. I should think the APU sounds better than the realtek when using S/PDIF but haven't listened to the realtek digital to form a subjective opinion, and haven't looked up the Realtek's specs for it either.
 

Odeen

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Aug 4, 2000
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There are three things you can be doing that involve sound on a PC:
Playing one sound (i.e. an MP3 song, or having Windows ding at you for doing something wrong)
Playing several sounds at once (MP3 + ding, multichannel audio work)
Generating and playing 3D audio (most likely playing a video game)

Note: 3D audio does NOT mean audio that comes through 4 or more channels. As long as you're rendering audio from a 3d world, even if you're mapping it onto two channel speakers, you're doing 3d audio.

Most PCI soundcards can mix 2d audio streams, and generate 3d audio with little help from CPU. The two notable exceptions are the Via Envy series and the C-Media-based PCI cards. These can only mix 2d audio streams in hardware, relying on the CPU to generate 3D audio. Why you'd spend an extra $100 for a CPU grade and then use the CPU grade to do the work of a $50 sound card is beyond me.

All onboard audio chips, with the exception of the Soundstorm, rely on the CPU to mix together 2d sound streams, and to generate 3d audio. This is where the nForce2 MCP-T southbridge with Soundstorm really shines, as it's pretty close to having a hardware sound card in terms of quality of 3D audio rendering and the low CPU utilization.

However, all MCP-T boards use the Realtek codec chips ANYWAY for the actual sound output, and the sound QUALITY is horrible. No bass, washed out highs, hollow midrange. Digital out is fine, though - hook it up to an external DAC, or to a home theater receiver.


Both your Abit boards output audio through a Realtek chip of some sort. Therefore, expect the analog output to suck. The CPU hit depends on the complexity of the game's sound algorithms. The more complex things (in terms of EAX effects, sounds played at once, etc) demanded by a game will naturally eat more CPU. Call of Duty with onboard audio is asking for trouble :)
 

Birger

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Jun 24, 2000
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Thanks a lot for your explanation, Odeen

It seems that I have made a bad choice then when I took the NF7 without SoundStorm then what I would have done if I had chosen the NF7-S, that HAS SoundStorm. Hmm, pity.