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nVIDIA SoundStorm

Googer

Googer

Lifer
I have had this idea in my head and I do know it is 100% technicly possible. Why not add nVIDIA SoundStorm to new graphics cards, so you get Harware Video as well as Hardware Audio processing on one card. nVIDIA could add such features to existing products. By doing so, they would provide an alternative to Creative Labs, save customers money, save some system PCIe Slots and system resources, and would force
creative labs to get off their lazy arse and do some thing wtih both their audigy and 3d-labs products. Instead of Calling them graphics cards we would then refer to it as Multimedia Boards or Media Processing Units (MPU?)

Don't forget it would also prevent soundstorm from becoming extinct and could give nVIDIA a Comptetive edge.

Leave your ideas and suggestions here and Thanks!

If I edit this it is for Grammer and Spelling.
 
SoundStorm is avalable on nFORCE 2 chipsets and the few boards out there with it implemented have a Cult Following.
Similar features have been added before to graphics cards. I rember seeing some time ago, (I think it was gainward or leadtech) ieee1394a controllers intergrated on to AGP graphics cards.
 
I'm no type of engineer but wouldn't that be taking a step backwards. I mean even if it were possible why would we want to share the bus that video runs on with sound... though I'm sure no card out today can saturate a x16 PCI bus with data.

Still it doesn't even sound like a good idea for someone who wants the fastest of the fastest.

EDIT: Sound Storm is very good.

Another EDIT: What I would like to see is a PCI Sound Storm card.
 
I've been saying this ever since they announced they were pulling SS. I saw on slashdot(?) some time ago a thing about someone getting to get the actual GPU to do hardware sound. The problem was that it was AGP and weren't really designed to send data back to the northbridge.
 
current DX9 software can barely saturate AGP 4x and PCI EXPRESS 8x is way more than we need for any game in the next 2 years.

Yes, you are right there is no way 7.1 192k 32bit sound could even begin to Flood OLD PCI bus and it would be Childs play for PCIe x1.
it would require no more than 5-13 mb/s (not exact math).

One possiblity is use one shared lane for video/sound and the other 15 dedicated to video.
 
Originally posted by: rotarychainsaw
I've been saying this ever since they announced they were pulling SS. I saw on slashdot(?) some time ago a thing about someone getting to get the actual GPU to do hardware sound. The problem was that it was AGP and weren't really designed to send data back to the northbridge.
Click to expand...

Yes, you can get the GPU to process sound. A 3rd party company has written software to do it, but you cannot
play games at the same time. What I propose is a Sound Processor next to the GPU. The software soloution is not the same as my idea.
 
Originally posted by: thecrecarc
how good is soundstorm? after all it is onboard.......
Click to expand...


It has a cult following and some say it beats Creative and M-Audio.
Never mind the fact that it is intergrated since it is DSP/Hardware Based. nVIDIA networking is intergrated but
it kicks ass. I would not say it sucks.

My Two Cents about nVIDIA.
nVIDIA is a company that designs standards based products but takes a differant approch to it. Take Dual Channel Memory that intel now uses; It was an nVIDIA creation with the original nFORCE chipset and was called Twin Bank. Now all computers (almost) sold today use it. nVIDIA also created the worlds first GPU*, they are a very innovative company and I wonder if they will ever challange Intel for the CPU market one day....

*GeForce3

I am not any companies fanboy.
 
Hints dropped by Jen-Hsun Huang seem to suggest that SS may indeed show up on a nV Graphics card, believe it or not.
 
Hints dropped by Jen-Hsun Huang seem to suggest that SS may indeed show up on a nV Graphics card, believe it or not
Click to expand...
Creative have a PCI Express soundcard on the way,my bet is SoundStorm 2 will also be a PCI Express card.
 
Originally posted by: Mem
Hints dropped by Jen-Hsun Huang seem to suggest that SS may indeed show up on a nV Graphics card, believe it or not
Click to expand...
Creative have a PCI Express soundcard on the way,my bet is SoundStorm 2 will also be a PCI Express card.
Click to expand...
That makes the most sense. I'm just wondering if with nV's continously adding to their cards functionality, if they are planning to offer a product that packs 2D/3D/video&audio encoding&decoding into one powerhouse multimedia solution as well? Have a stand alone version of course, but it might make sense to also integrate it along with a new gen PVP on the line of Personal Cinema and compete against the AIW 😉 The SS on a new gen higher functioning Personal Cinema card could be a hell of a selling point if they find the right pricepoint don't you think? Especially in the growing SFF market where space and free slots are at a premium :light:
 
Originally posted by: Googer
Originally posted by: thecrecarc
how good is soundstorm? after all it is onboard.......
Click to expand...


It has a cult following and some say it beats Creative and M-Audio.
Never mind the fact that it is intergrated since it is DSP/Hardware Based. nVIDIA networking is intergrated but
it kicks ass. I would not say it sucks.

My Two Cents about nVIDIA.
nVIDIA is a company that designs standards based products but takes a differant approch to it. Take Dual Channel Memory that intel now uses; It was an nVIDIA creation with the original nFORCE chipset and was called Twin Bank. Now all computers (almost) sold today use it. nVIDIA also created the worlds first GPU*, they are a very innovative company and I wonder if they will ever challange Intel for the CPU market one day....

*GeForce3

I am not any companies fanboy.
Click to expand...

uhm, didn't nVidia and AMD just merge, or a buyout happened or something along those lines?

 
Originally posted by: Gothgar
uhm, didn't nVidia and AMD just merge, or a buyout happened or something along those lines?
Click to expand...
Nope. Intel in fact is warming up to nV lately. It is in both nV and ATi's favor to play for both teams.

 
The SS on a new gen higher functioning Personal Cinema card could be a hell of a selling point if they find the right pricepoint don't you think? Especially in the growing SFF market where space and free slots are at a premium
Click to expand...

Where Nvidia is concerned anything is possible,but having a stand alone PCI Express version makes sense since it has the required bandwidth needed that Nvidia were talking about awhile back(that`s why they never made a PCI version to compete with the Audigy cards),also it would give Creative more competition.

You know if Nvidia play their cards right they could really make an awesome gaming/multimedia soundcard with SoundStorm 2,having their own gaming API to take on EAX as well would really open up the competition.

I just feel it`s time we had a company that could offer something to compete with Creative`s EAX,Nvidia have the chance to do this.
 
I'm with ya Mem 🙂 I just think offering the new version of SS in as many flavors as possible=strength through diversity. Stand-alone, on Personal Cinema *break-out version maybe?*, and getting a few board makers to use it with decent DACs on their high-end models could help their cause. Heck, may as well go USB and PCICMA too 😛
 
I was just reading the new article on the AT front page about the eventual conversion of the graphics interface from DVI to HDMI. Apparently the HDMI interface can send not only video information down the cable, but also audio as well. This bit of info seems to make a soundstorm solution integrated into the video card a lot more likely. NVidia could offer a nice, tidy integrated solution that sent everything to yout home theater via one single cable and Creative would be put at a huge disadvantage in the HTPC market.
 
I remember reading somewhere that SoundStorm was going to be released in a way that no one would expect.

With many people saying that hardware-based sound accelerators are dead, and with many new games coming out with software-based sound, and with all the extra computing power out there, it is my guess that the next version of SoundStorm would be in software form.

I mean, there are already some software hacks out there that try to emulate Dolby Digital in music and (I think) games.

If nVidia came out with it in drivers--that would kill CL. Also, many motherboards out there already have digital audio output (SPDIF or TOSLINK).

Also, if it came out as a purchase (like the DVD decoder), they could make money off it.

What do you guys think?
 
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