DD 5.1 and Games PC

Hi all

I mostly use my PC for games, but it does have a DVD Drive (an old Toshiba) and I've been known to use it to watch DVD's when the wife is using the downstairs set to catch up on Neighbours.

In the past this has always been in stereo as my sound card was naff. I have recently acquired both a Sound Blaster Live card and a cheap (damaged) Panasonic SA-HE7 AV receiver. I've hooked up 5 speakers to the Pana but I have noticed that the receiver has only optical and co-axial outs.

So, two questions:

1): What's a good cheap card with optical outs on; and

2): Does anybody know of any PC games that use DD 5.1 either out or coming out.

Thanks

Chris 'kiwiranger' Parke

[zoolap]

Doom 3 will support 5.1 sound. I would recommend at least a Geforce 3 graphics card and 1ghz+ processor.

The only way to get dynamic Dolby digital 5.1 sound in your games is from an X-box, or Pc using a motherboard that has the nvidia nforce or nforce 2 chipset (do a search for nforce on google). The nforce audio is only possible if you get an nforce based motherboard. If you plan to get a pc together in future and nforce 2 may be a good bet (we're still waiting for them to be released).
Philips acoustic edge is meant to be a good soundcard. Go to

http://www.3dsoundsurge.com/

for soundcard reviews.

[AMDClocker]

there also is a daughter board for the SB Live that costs about 50

It give digital and optical out for your PC ( and its great im using it now )


http://www.soundblaster.com/accessories/optical-io/

[rob_w]

is it a soundblaster live 5.1 card? - if yes then you can use the top (yellow) output with a stereo to phono lead - try left and right - think its the left one. - you must set card to digital out only in the surround mixer bit of the software...

hth

rob

Thanks for the idea's guys.

Questions:

robwells, I'm a bit puzzled by this. The receiver does have 6 channel inputs or I'd have used the 6 out channels on the SB card to hook it up that way.

AMDClocker, was that price in pounds? (Might be a bit expensive for a NZ budget). It does look like it would be the way to go for me though.



Thanks again

Chris 'kiwiranger' Parke

[rob_w]

the live 5.1 can either output 6 analogue channels or digital ones...... if you go digital, im pretty sure the top output gives you spdif on left, and pcm (front left/right) on the other.......

i dont quite understand your post " The receiver does have 6 channel inputs or I'd have used the 6 out channels on the SB card to hook it up that way."

do you mean the receiver doesn't have 6 channel input?

rob

Yep, she's the cheapest Pana receiver. Only has optical and co-axial digital inputs. Or left and right analog DVD channel inputs.

More than adequate for a PC receiver though.

Thanks for the info about the spdif output. I'll have a play when I get home from work tonight.

Chris 'kiwiranger' Parke

[AMDClocker]

its about 35 pounds i think ..... it has all the optical out puts and inputs too its nice

Sweet As.

Thanks all. I'm going to go and hunt me down one of them daughter boards.

Cheers


Chris 'kiwiranger' Parke

[AMDClocker]

hey, as far as i know you HAVE to order it from SB.com i tried to find it here in the states but no dice. I forgot tomention that earlier.



AMD

[plop211]

you might want to check out the 3rd part daughter board from hoontech

Hoontech

the distributor for auz/nz would be

www.sound-music.com

but they don't seem to sell the cards direct, i guess you could email em and find a local store they supply though.

Col H.