Re: A7N8X Deluxe not on 'the list': Maybe it has something to do with the fact that the A7N8X Deluxe uses a different hardware ID for it's MCP-T chip than other nForce2 boards. really though, this only meant that the first nF2 driver set didn't update the audio drivers on the board, although a manual update worked fine. The Asus driver set detected the MCP-T chip properly and updated it, though.
Re: nforce2 sound quality you can get digital out, but not dolby digital out. what's the dif? dolby digital encodes 5.1 discrete channels on one pipe (coax or fiber). every other sound card out there (all of them) that has a digital out only puts out 2 channels per output. i don't know if any of them supports using 3 digital outputs (front l/r, rear l/r, center/sub), but i've never seen a receiver that would let you input 6 digital channels that way anyway. it's the reason i bought the a7n8x - one coax cable goes to my new logitech 680s, and i get full digital 5.1 discrete channels.
Nope! The A7N8X Deluxe passed all hardware tests. And using similar hardware IDs is not part of the certification requirements. I would say that luma's closer to the fact, although not quite exactly there! Hehe...
Re: nforce2 sound quality welcome to ARP forums gizzlon. so you're saying that i'm better off with my SB LIVE 5.1 DE if i'm analog user?? looks like i have to use SPDIF for the nF2 board.
Re: nforce2 sound quality EDIT: Thanx Yeah, probably, its not the nforce2 that has a bad dac, its the motherboard. So if u have to use analog, dont use the nforce2 onboard sound But if your reciver can handle digital in, I think you would be better of with that, so the mobos dac dont get used at all. (as far as I know).
Adrian: Why don't you just come out and say it? Since you are the one who started this whole fiasco. Why beat around the bush?
Sorry to say you got it all wrong, MD! I did NOT start this fiasco, as you call it. ASUS, NVIDIA and Dolby did that. NVIDIA brought it up inadvertently and I just happened to notice and report it. And why a fiasco? Let's not argue semantics but I'm interested to know why you call this a fiasco? To tell you the truth, the nitty-gritty details of this "fiasco" are not really important. Granted, it would be nice to know. BUT I didn't make the rules. When someone who gives you information requests that you do NOT let anyone else know about it, the polite thing to do would be to comply with his/her wishes, don't you think? That's what I'm doing. Writing up the whole story (irrespective of his/her wishes) would probably made this "fiasco" more exciting, I suppose. But that's NOT what we do here in ARP. I think the important thing to note here is that as far as NVIDIA is concerned, the A7N8X Deluxe passed the SoundStorm certification. That's the message that I'm trying to get out and I think that's what most ASUS A7N8X Deluxe users would like to know. I hope that helps you some!
Ok guys Hello again. finally I got my Asus A7N8X Deluxe Version 2.0 board with A1 and A4 stepping, the new and latest stepping. By the way Abit NF7-S version 2.0 got A1 and A3 stepping so Asus is still the leader in supporting Nvidia Nforce2 board. So back to the soundstorm DD5.1 support. As Adrian already clarified earlier about the SoundStorm not supporting software decoding. But that is with WinDVD 3.0 that cums with the board. what I have not try yet is WinDVD Platinum version. I got a report claming that soundstorm did support Software decoding of DD5.1 thru your analog out speaker output at the back of the board with the help of WinDVD Platinum it can ran DD5.1 software decoding. So Adrian if you can get hold of WinDVD Platinum version of the software, you can try it out except that you have to use the NVswap to swap off the sub and centre output. Good luck Finally maybe I can say bye bye to my SBLive5.1 card.
The super mega platinum plus versions of PowerDVD and WinDVD both support software decoding of DD and DTS, as far as I know independent of hardware (as long as its fast enough) ... They’re kind of expensive though (relative) -- ø . s a k a g i z z l o n
So where's Adrian read my reply yet. If somebody here can share of their WinDVD platinum I would gladly pay off the share of it. I just could not reveal my Credit card number on the internet, dont trust it enough.
Hello zeppelin, I think practically any computer can do software decoding, provided you have the software, of course! BUT that's not the point, I think. The SoundStorm solution doesn't provide a hardware decoding capability so you have to pay for a software solution or channel it to an external decoder. Either way, Dolby earns the licensing fee.
Ok I've got my WINDVD Platinum at last after fishing somewhere. Load it and Voila DD5.1 supported on the analog out, but 1 thing to comment the gaming sound on the Sounstorm really SUX big time, I got some distortion in the middle of a game. Without doubt Creative is still the best!
could be drivers related... note that this is Nvidia's new venture into anything other than gpu but then agian... the sound is bloody good on the X-BOX... so i don't think it's a problem with the hardware.. maybe just drivers
Ya , I think so too its driver problem I guess. Hope in the furture they can support EAX or Aureal3D in the gaming section for the Soundstorm
False Advertising? I have another related issue you may be able to shed some light on. On the box, and in all the reviewes of this board, it states 6 USB 2.0 ports. However, on my post screen (as well as those of others with this board) it shows 2 USB 1.0/1.1 devices and 1 USB 2.0 device. More details are available at the following links: http://forums.gideontech.com/viewtopic.php?t=13412&highlight= http://xtremods.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1151
It is not a question of working, it is that the box says 6 2.0 ports and the post screen shows only 2! Unless you have a way of testing if all 6 are running at 2.0 compliance, and can prove otherwise, I tend to trust my post screen.
Hello Im_Gumby, I believe the POST screen is just showing the USB devices that are connected. NOT the number of available USB ports. The NF7-S supports a maximum of 6 USB 2.0 devices. Two of them are available directly via the rear panel. Another 4 is available via headers on the motherboard. The NF7-S comes with a rear panel bracket which allows you to add two USB ports to the rear panel. As for the remaining two USB headers, you can attach your case's front panel USB ports to those headers. When you do all of that, you will have 6 USB ports running at USB 2.0. Note that the POST is NOT a diagnostic test. What's printed on the screen must always be taken into context. Hope that helps you some!
NF7-S? We're talking about AsusTek A7N8X Deluxe. (4 ports on the back panel directly on the mobo, 2 on a pci-slot filler) I do understand that the post screen shows the devices connected, but the description of those devices is what has me confused. If all six ports are 2.0 compliant, why doesn't the post screen show that? My other context is the drivers listed on the device manage showing 2 Standard USB drivers and 1 NVIDIA 2.0 USB driver. Please see the links I posted above.
