Which Audio Driver is Better?

[Musafir_86]

Hi everybody,

-Here I've a question; which driver is best for onboard (integrated) audio device (AC'97), whether from the Southbridge maker (eg. SiS, VIA, ULi, etc.) or from the CODEC chip maker (eg. Realtek, C-Media, Analog Devices, etc.)?

-I ask this because both party (S/Bridge Mfgr & CODEC Mfgr) always update their driver at a frequently basis. So, which is better in terms of :-
->Performance/Features
->CPU/Resource Usage
->Compatibility/Stability

-I hope somebody does have the answer, thank you.

Regards,
-Musafir_86.

 

[Jeff7]

What is the motherboard, brand and model?

 

[FlyingPenguin]

I would use the one supplied by the mobo manufacturer. There can be different implementations of the AC'97 chipset.

 

[Musafir_86]

Originally posted by: Jeff7
What is the motherboard, brand and model?

-FYI, this is a general question; I'm referring to common motherboards with AC'97 audio, because most of them using Chipset/Southbridge from either SiS, VIA, ULi, etc., while the AC'97 CoDec Chip come from either Avance Logic(Realtek), C-Media Inc., Analog Devices, etc. Because both party always update their driver sets, I wonder which will give the best performance/features/CPU utilization/stability/compatibility, etc.?

-Regarding you question, are there any specific mobo models that perform better with driver from chipset maker, while others favour driver from CoDec maker?

 

[Jeff7]

In my experience, it depends on the motherboard. Some boards won't do a thing without both, some need only one but not the other, possibly because Windows is so good as to automatically install drivers, probably for the codec.

 

[Musafir_86]

Originally posted by: Jeff7
In my experience, it depends on the motherboard. Some boards won't do a thing without both, some need only one but not the other, possibly because Windows is so good as to automatically install drivers, probably for the codec.

-AFAIK (& my experience too), only one of them can be installed at one time. Yeah, there are no device that can be run with two drivers at the same time. Eg., if you updated your 3D Card/Display driver with the latest one, old version (the current in your system) will be removed.

-When I said CoDec, I'm referring to AC'97 chip on the motherboard, not any audio (eg. Vorbis) or video (eg. XviD) codecs.

Musafir_86.