Getting surround sound from my PC to my HT reciever

[Regk]

Hey all,

I was wondering If i was to simply connect an optical cable from a motherboard to my reciever, would I be capable of outputting 5.1 dolby digital provided the source is encoded for it, or do i need some fancy soundcard to make this work?

Just trying to figure out if i need some fancy soundcard for a proposed new build or weather i can get by with mobo SPDIF

 

[corwin]

Does the mobo sound card say it's 5.1, 7.1, 9.1, etc? If so then yes provided the software you're using outputs it as well...seen some versions of powerDVD (usually the free version you get with a drive) that only did stereo and you had to buy an "upgraded version" to get surround