News No 7.1 LPCM audio for AMD 785G boards

http://www.bit-tech.net/news/hardware/2009/08/06/no-7-1-lpcm-audio-for-amd-785g-boards/1

 

There's been a lot of confusion about this issue. There have been plenty of other websites (eg Anandtech) that initially reported that this chipset would have 7.1 LPCM audio. A very poor bit of PR from AMD here.

 

i heard that 785G boards with ALC889A audio codec from realtek will support LPCM 7.1
http://www.realtek.com.tw/products/productsView.aspx?Langid=1&PFid=28&Level=5&Conn=4&ProdID=173
so its more like some motherboard manufacturers messed up

btw i will take a 785G board over G45 anyday, why? dont need LPCM 7.1 but i do want dual stream decoding aka picture in picture, better quality on DVDs, better deinterlacing, and superior 3D performace, and superior 3D drivers

 

since most of the users are going to be using it as a HTPC setup, won't they stream out the audio via optical out to their Über AV amp anyway?

 

I'm not sure why you would bother with integrated sound these days. It has been and still is rather ****, even though it has improved in recent years. Even without the benefit of hardware acceleration, modern sound cards really do sound much better, and get way better signal-to-noise ratios than on-board. I've used integrated stuff before with my Sennheiser monitors and found them unusable because of how much feedback they picked up; I expect there are similar issues when plugging in and cranking up a huge surround system as well.

 

The thing here is that the chipset apparently is incapable of handing over the 7.1 audio bitstream found on e.g. blu-ray discs via HDMI. Since 785G-based motherboards primarily will be used for HTPCs that's a pretty big feature missing.

 

Because an additional add-on cards will take at least 1 slot? ;-)

IMO, it depends. If you're an audiophile, sure the sound cards will win, but if you're just an average billy kid joe, I don't think it's matter. An onboard sound will satisfy most peoples. To spot the difference in quality between a good sound cards & an onboard audio, you need to have the right equipments, in this case, a good speakers. And since most peoples won't bother with it, especially if they're not a computer enthusiast, it will not make any differences.

// Just my 0.02 bucks

 

Or good ears. And lets not go there on the Verizon Math.

 

We're talking about hdmi audio here. Bluray HTPC users want to stream pcm audio to their reciever. So long as the OS and onboard sound processor do not molest the stream, then you SHOULD be getting perfect Lossless audio to your reciever. As long as it passes the stream unmolested via hdmi, then the quality of onboard audio is completely irrelevant. If this chipset is not capable of that, then it is an automatic NO for most HTPC users.

 

So when does BT get the upgraded equip to test such claims? Or will future reviews simply have warnings of "Mfgr claim of ** untested"?
Would like to see a cubicle converted to a one or two person theater room. Would give those of us that have, (or still are), had cubicle dreams of greatness an idea as to how such dreams would be brought to fruition.
Although, a nice HD projector, and a 4 sided cubicle, with the fabric walls might not make such a bad testing platform for speaker setups, projectors, wire management and other htpc related peripherals. Late night reviews of home theater equipment could help motivate certain journalists to "Go the extra mile/kilometer" to get to that deadline ontime.

 

I have a 7.1 capable sound card, but honestly would have a hard time finding a place to mount the side channel speakers. If I had a nice home theatre setup it would be cool, but I really don't watch movies on my computer.

Funny thing though, I have a 5.1 speaker setup on my computer for gaming, but only a 2.1 setup for my 40" LCD TV right now. Then again, I spend much more time gaming than I do watching tv or movies.