What monitor input are you using HDMI or DVI?

[taltamir]

wait... im confused, are you disagreeing with me on anything or just adding some points?

I am disagreeing with
1. Digitral audio = Digital audio.
2. Only difference between audio cards is the format/bitstreaming support.

The reasons all basically amount to:
1. There are things that need to be done to the raw digital audio before transmission in many scenarios.
2. Bitstreaming music or movies is the only case where you don't and it is merely moving the onus of doing those things from the video card to the receiver.
3. Digital audio must be converted to analog at some point as we cannot simply download the sound file to our brains.

 

[iCyborg]

I went through that dilemma when i had to decide to use my X-fi vs onboard audio for better airflow when trying to squeeze a soundcard between my two video cards.
And the conclusion i came to after reading a LOT was right in line with what Fallengod stated, that it has virtually no performance hit with modern cpu's.

I guess the same could be asked for GPU integrated sound , does it use GPU/CPU resources?
And how much?

I doubt this has any meaningful difference in this day and age. Some onboard audio chips are more powerful than some low-end soundcards, it's not like onboard is mainly software solution. It's a full-blown audio chip, just put on MB. GPU ones are the same thing, minus DAC.

 

[hyrule4927]

Using HDMI, although I'm tempted to try VGA and Display Port to see if some weird issues I'm having with overscan are related to HDMI or Catalyst options.

 

[serpretetsky]

ok then

Several issues.
1. In movies and music you have a prerendered track for a specific amount of speakers. This needs to be processed to match the amount of speakers you actually have (usually different then what it was designed for).
Even if your CPU is massively overpowered and can easily handle it, there is still a different in quality of the algorithms used by different companies.
2. Video games need to mix in multiple sounds together on demand (based on player's actions) and take the directionality and hopefully terrain into account. A non trivial task (and one that is usually done wrong).
3. The second most common digital audio link after HDMI is optical audio out. I will forgive you if you never heard of it. People typically run their PC speakers on analog.
4. There is no such thing as a digital speaker. Speakers are made by running an electric current through a magnet which causes it to vibrate and produce sound. Take a speaker apart and you would find a round magnet with an electrical wire soldered unto to it. Analog audio is the raw electrical current that runs, unmodified, through the magnet to produce sound. Your TV has a digital to analog converter and there is a very good chance it is lower quality then a good stand alone audio card. Best is to get a good amp.

1. Whether your output digital or analog from you pc, this process has to occur regardless. Are you saying different digital encoders do this process differently and that it creates a noticeable negative impact from cheap ones? Interesting, i have never heard of this claim.
2. I'm not very knowledgable on this subject, as far as i knew, the video game sound engine and audio api accomplish this before it ever even hits the sound card.
3. I dont know how this disagrees with anything i said
4. I dont know how this disagrees with anything i said

 

[VirtualLarry]

I use the DVI output on my GTX460, because the HDMI output is flaky. I have to use a HDMI to mini-HDMI adaptor, to get it to plug into my card. It barely fits.

Worse yet, I was having issues like black screens, even when I pulled the tower out and wiggled the connection, and slid it back where it belongs, sometimes I would get a few black screens, and then extended black screens, and then rebooting the computer, I would be able to see the BIOS, but then I would just get a black screen when booting into Windows.

I dunno, maybe my card is at fault.

Edit: I decided to give HDMI a shot again. Well, I just got my first flash of Black Screen for a moment, just a little bit ago. I do NOT think that the cable is loose. I think that NV cards just suck for HDMI.

There is further evidence to that effect, in this thread:
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2232374

NV drivers don't seem to be able to handle 1920x1200 screens with HDMI and audio.

 

[lamedude]

HDMI when using the TV or want to play audio from AVR (SNESamp@ 192KHZ 24bit with surround sound FTW).
DVI when want to monitor
I think AMD's is just a Realtek chip minus the DAC (Realtek has drivers for it on their website). Its no frills so if you like "enhancements" you might not like it but if whatever is decoding the audio has better DACs than your soundcard it will be better.

1. In movies and music you have a prerendered track for a specific amount of speakers. This needs to be processed to match the amount of speakers you actually have (usually different then what it was designed for).

There's probably a Dolby standard for it somewhere that says fold rears into fronts for LCR and fold center into fronts for LRS/stereo in scientific terms. If you're using stereo it doesn't matter if Lt/Rt or Lo/Ro is used.

 

[taltamir]

1. Whether your output digital or analog from you pc, this process has to occur regardless.

Yes, that is my point. This process is not unique to analog audio, it occurs in digital audio and is a place for the quality to degrade based on how good your audio processor is.

2. I'm not very knowledgable on this subject, as far as i knew, the video game sound engine and audio api accomplish this before it ever even hits the sound card.

Games actually offload it via DirectSound (part of direct X), OpenAL, or EAX1 through 5 (only v1 and 2 are open licensed. V3 through 5 are closed and limited to Creative Labs sound cards; used to dominate old games but haven't been ported to win vista/7 so it kinda died out in modern games)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenAL
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_Audio_Extensions
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DirectSound

DirectSound provides other essential capabilities such as recording and mixing sound, adding effects to sound (e.g., reverb, echo, or flange), using hardware accelerated buffers, and positioning sounds in 3D space.

Positioning sounds in 3D space is a non trivial task and its easier to just use a premade system... same reason so many game makers are using the free version of physX. Why write a physics engine when you can just use the one made by someone else.

3. I dont know how this disagrees with anything i said
4. I dont know how this disagrees with anything i said

Your claim was that there is no difference between sound cards as long as you are outputting "digital audio". These were both arguments as to why "digital audio" doesn't just magically equalize all sound cards.

Now, all of the above being said, cheap mobo sound cards today are good enough and you should really upgrade your speakers before upgrading your sound card...

 

[ljtatej]

I use dual-link DVI for my 24" 120hz monitor and hdmi for my 47" Vizio but sound is run through sound card optical.

 

[N2gaming]

I'm using my on-board video pumping a color output to my 14" Comp-USA monitor which happens to have a res at 800X600 WOOT-WOOt-WOOT!!

 

[serpretetsky]

Yes, that is my point. This process is not unique to analog audio, it occurs in digital audio and is a place for the quality to degrade based on how good your audio processor is.

Games actually offload it via DirectSound (part of direct X) or EAX1 through 5 (only v1 and 2 are open licensed. V3 through 5 are closed and limited to Creative Labs sound cards)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_Audio_Extensions
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DirectSound

Positioning sounds in 3D space is a non trivial task and its easier to just use a premade system... same reason so many game makers are using the free version of physX. Why write a physics engine when you can just use the one made by someone else.

Your claim was that there is no difference between sound cards as long as you are outputting "digital audio". These were both arguments as to why "digital audio" doesn't just magically equalize all sound cards.

Now, all of the above being said, cheap mobo sound cards today are good enough and you should really upgrade your speakers before upgrading your sound card...

i see, good to know. I still have some hesitations from this information, because i've never heard anybody say they can hear a percievable difference from digital on one sound card to another, wheras i've heard plenty people say they couldn't hear any difference.

 

[Fallengod]

I use dual-link DVI for my 24" 120hz monitor and hdmi for my 47" Vizio but sound is run through sound card optical.

I am just wondering, what is the reason you run sound through the sound card optical? Why not just avoid that extra cable and hassle and use the sound from the hdmi port.

 

[MrK6]

Dual-link DVI since it's the only thing my 3007WFP-HC supports .

 

[dennilfloss]

I'm on DVI. I have no HDMI cable at the moment. May need to buy one someday as my laptop doesn't have a DVI output and I'll probably want to connect it to the monitor some time.

 

[ljtatej]

I am just wondering, what is the reason you run sound through the sound card optical? Why not just avoid that extra cable and hassle and use the sound from the hdmi port.

Sometimes I love to blast my music through the house in 5.1 upmix without having to push an extra remote button...call me lazy :biggrin: HDMI just doesn't sound as good as optical to me either( I've tried both).

 

[allenk09]

VGA :'(

I had HDMI working but it broke and was never fixed so I just went back to VGA since I don't have a DVI cable.

 

[cantholdanymore]

i see, good to know. I still have some hesitations from this information, because i've never heard anybody say they can hear a percievable difference from digital on one sound card to another, wheras i've heard plenty people say they couldn't hear any difference.

That's a can of worm. Thread lightly

 

[taltamir]

i see, good to know. I still have some hesitations from this information, because i've never heard anybody say they can hear a percievable difference from digital on one sound card to another, wheras i've heard plenty people say they couldn't hear any difference.

well, I did say

Now, all of the above being said, cheap mobo sound cards today are good enough and you should really upgrade your speakers before upgrading your sound card...

It is a good thing that sound technology got so good that most people can't even tell the difference. It wasn't always that way, and its not the result of digital output.

 

[Subyman]

I use two DVI for my monitors and one HDMI when I connect to my TV. I only use HDMI for the TV because it feeds audio as well. I'll probably move to DisplayPort when I upgrade.