sound card help - s/pdif or optical outputs?

[Rubicante]

I'm not all that familiar with the various sound cards out there, but a brief look at Creative's lineup has left me wondering something. Are there any sound cards that support S/PDIF or optical outputs from the back of the computer? i.e. built into the main card, or on an extension card that mounts on the rear of the PC, instead of the front drive bays? I dont have a spare drive bay on the front of my case, and I also don't want my cables running from the front of the PC.

Any suggestions?

 

[arod]

My ASUS A7N8X Deluxe has it built in, use it to send 5.1 to my receiver for DVD's.

 

[Rubicante]

Originally posted by: arod
My ASUS A7N8X Deluxe has it built in, use it to send 5.1 to my receiver for DVD's.

That's what i'm trying to do with mine... and I wish I had the money to get a new motherboard, processor, RAM, case, PSU, etc... But I don't. Not yet. Even then, I would rather use a dedicated sound card... Thanks for that heads-up though, I had been wondering about that. If it comes to that, I suppose I can resort to going that route.

Any suggestions that don't involve a complete computer rebuild?

 

[lazybum131]

Creative's cards have S/PDIF at the back, but it's a mini-jack.
You need a mini-jack to RCA mono adapter and then just a coaxial cable to hook it up to a receiver.

The M-Audio Revolution has a Coaxial digital out built in.

 

[Rubicante]

Originally posted by: lazybum131
Creative's cards have S/PDIF at the back, but it's a mini-jack.
You need a mini-jack to RCA mono adapter and then just a coaxial cable to hook it up to a receiver.

aha! thanks a bunch... Should have thought of that myself.

 

[chocoruacal]

Chaintech sound cards at Newegg if you're looking for an inexpensive alternative.

 

[WobbleWobble]

Hercules Fortissimo 3 (2 is cheaper, almost the same card) and it has the optical outputs. I bought mine for $35 CAD (~$20 USD). Great card for the money. And it's not that cheap C-Media stuff either, it's based on a light version of the chipset that the Santa Cruz is based on.

 

[Rubicante]

So what's the better card... The Audigy 2, or the M-Audio Revolution? I've heard that the M-Audio card doesn't produce any 'hiss'... is this true? how does the Audigy 2 compare in that regard?