Many need nforce2 south bridge clarifications.

[bupkus]

This is an area that is getting so confusing that we really need some good explanations.

Soon the Epox 8RDA3+ will be available, but it's unclear that it's the board some have been waiting for.

THW began the discussion with it's article on how audio can effect total mainboard performance, but stopped way short of discussing how the various nforce2 boards have implemented these additional south bridge features.

Various individual postings have talked about MCP-T features either not utilized or augmented by other audio chips incorporated into the mainboard without drivers installed. Amplifiers? What does that mean?

This is an area of considerable confusion for so many folks who are either eager to order or waiting for the nforce2 board that will have everything they want without the "cost" in performance of an audio subsystem poorly implemented.

Personally, I don't need EEE1394 or even SATA, let alone RAID, but I want my best performance possible and damn good sound for when I frag your XXX. Yes, Soundstorm good but is it one of those audio implementations that THW was trying to warn me against?

SH1T! My head just exploded. 😀

 

[bupkus]

Oh, yah, and I wanna overclock my brains out, so I got (2)PC3500 sticks and a 2100+ TBred 'B' with an Thermalright SLK-900 saddle with the bolt down stirups. Yahoo! 😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀

 

[mechBgon]

The onboard audio processor puts out a digital signal that would probably sound like a modem screEEEeEEeeEEching if you listened to it directly, and your face would look like this ---> 😕🙁 To convert it to an analog signal, it's run through a coder/decoder chip (CODEC) so that your face looks like this when you listen to it ---> 😎😀 (at least until you hear my salvo of rockets coming from behind, at which point your face will look more like this ---> :Q)

😀

So the typical CODEC is a Realtek chip that converts the digital APU output to 5.1 audio (or whatever mode works for your speaker system). If you hook up a digital speaker system directly to the APU's digital-output S/PDIF jack, then you bypass the CODEC on the motherboard and use the CODEC in the speakers instead.

 

[Megatomic]

Originally posted by: mechBgon
The onboard audio processor puts out a digital signal that would probably sound like a modem screEEEeEEeeEEching if you listened to it directly, and your face would look like this ---> 😕🙁 To convert it to an analog signal, it's run through a coder/decoder chip (CODEC) so that your face looks like this when you listen to it ---> 😎😀 (at least until you hear my salvo of rockets coming from behind, at which point your face will look more like this ---> :Q)

😀

So the typical CODEC is a Realtek chip that converts the digital APU output to 5.1 audio (or whatever mode works for your speaker system). If you hook up a digital speaker system directly to the APU's digital-output S/PDIF jack, then you bypass the CODEC on the motherboard and use the CODEC in the speakers instead.

😀 Nice usage of smilies. 🙂

 

[floccus]

The nForce2 has two flavors of Southbridge. You have the MCP that doesn't support the second NIC, there is no IEEE1394, only 4 USB 2.0, and no Soundstorm. The MCP-T includes everything jsut mentioned.

Now what Tom's (THG btw) was saying is that the MCP-T southbridge is able to create a purer signal than an Audigy 2 card. The problem is that the signal needs to be processed into analog signals or a usable digital signal. Because of this fact, board manufacturers are forced to send the signal through a Realtek of C-Media converter that deteriorates the sound quality. This means that you would want to get a board with the MCP Southbridge and spend the $$ you save on an Audigy 2 or the like.

The one thing I'm interested in, is how would you need to have an implementation so that the signal from the MCP-T wouldn't be muddled by converter. Either you'd have to use a better chip to handle codec, or something. But the fact that the MCP-T is able to produce a superior signal is a good thing 🙂

 

[bupkus]

The one thing I'm interested in, is how would you need to have an implementation so that the signal from the MCP-T wouldn't be muddled by converter. Either you'd have to use a better chip to handle codec, or something. But the fact that the MCP-T is able to produce a superior signal is a good thing 🙂

I would be a good thing if it wasn't so useless. Maybe I didn't read your explanation right but if I buy an Audigy 2 would I even need the audio part of the MCP-T? Sounds like an idea that starts great but the mobo makers dropped the ball.

 

[mrman3k]

I am considering buying an nForce2 mobo, probably the Asus A7N8X Deluxe. Now currently I have a Creative Audigy card, the original. So would there be any noticable reduction in sound quality if I were to use the MCP-T rather than the Audigy? I have Klipsch Promedia 4.1 speakers btw. Also, what I am figuring is that since I mainly play MP3s, they are not that great of quality to start out with in comparison to what the Audigy and Klipsches are able to reproduce, so would there be any noticable loss in sound quality or performance?

 

[bupkus]

As quoted from THW:For AMD fans, we can only recommend the excellent nForce 2, provided it is implemented on the motherboard with the APU. But be warned, a lot of manufacturers don't actually use this part of nForce 2, going instead for the slower, conventional audio chips.

So which nforce2 mobo actually uses the APU?

 

[mechBgon]

All the MCP-T boards I know of are utilizing the onboard APU except for the Chaintech.

 

[qquizz]

The only board that I know for sure that uses APU with the nvidia SoundStorm is Asus Deluxe. I'm sure others do but is standard on the Deluxe. Everyone that has it says its at least as good as SB 5.1