Building new desktop (1 Viewer)

[SethH]

Ok, I'm building my computer and just ran into a problem, so I've got a quick question:

I've got a DVD+/-RW drive that is the sole optical drive (for now). I got the drive OEM from NewEgg so it came with no cables. I picked up a cheap digital cable from a local computer shop today, but now I find that my motherboard doesn't appear to have a digital connection on it. I'm using the Intel HD Audio built into the chipset. The motherboard offers 7.1 surround sound and has two optical connections on the back panel. But on the inside it only offers the analog connection to an optical drive. Will using the connection still provide the 7.1 surround when using CD's? Please let me know what you guys think. Thanks!

 

[Jerry Klawiter]

NEC 8x Dual-layer DVD burner

Did you see that new NEC 16x or Pioneer 16x burner at newegg for under $100 shipped?
I'm sure it would only be about $30 more in cost.

NEC 3500A 16x Double Layer DVD±RW $89.99 + $4 s/h
BEIGE for $87.99 + FedEx Saver Shipping $4.00
Model#: ND-3500A BG
Item#: N82E16827152031

BLACK for $89.99 + FedEx Saver Shipping $4.00
Model#: ND-3500A BK
Item#: N82E16827152032

pioneer
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...129-156&depa=1

 

[Jerry Klawiter]

SethH
The digital audio is transported within the data stream from the data cable to your mother board.
no connection needed for that part of the audio to the dvd drive.
Just set your cd/dvd software player to output via SPDIF and you good to go.

 

[SethH]

Jerry:

Are you sure? There are two outputs on the back of the DVD drive. One is analog and one is digital. I hope what you say is true, but if it is true, why is there a digital output on the DVD drive?

For more info, go here and scroll down to the chart and it says this about the audio connections on the drive:

 

[Jerry Klawiter]

Seth,
Computer CD & DVD drives have had that digital output for years and for the most part it has gone unused.
The digital sound in 2 channel & 5.1/7.1 DD & dts you seek will be provided via the data interface cable directly to your onboard sound.
Just install any sound drivers supplied by the mother board company if XP did not already do so.
Then set it as SPDIF, sit back and enjoy.

 

[SethH]

Thanks for the great info, I really appreciate it!

 

[Drew Bethel]

Seth, how's that new setup working out for ya? How do you like the Truepower case?

 

[SethH]

Hi Drew, thanks for asking! The setup is awesome. I'm just now finishing installing everything (Office 2003, Norton AV, wireless stuff, random utilities, etc) and everything's running great. The wireless crap gave me some trouble, but that's to be expected. It didn't take up too much of my time. The case is incredible. Is it dead silent? Nope. But it's really quiet and looks sweet.

Also, I mentioned early in this thread that I was concerned about only having Max 18Amps on the +12v rail. Well, the picture on Newegg.com shows that to be the case, but when I received this case the actual power supply says it is Max 24Amps on the +12v rail. This made me very happy.

The only thing I'd change is I would probably ditch the second HD for another 512MB RAM. I got 2 HD's so I could use the new Matrix RAID feature which is very cool (and very easy to setup), but I honestly don't think it's helping out my performance all that much. I only got 512MB of RAM because this MB requires DDR2 RAM which is rather expensive right now. Additionally, it offers support for DualChannel so I need to buy two modules at a time (so I got 2x256MB). I plan to upgrade to another 512MB in the next few months, but as it stands I'm thrilled with my new system.

Also, if you're thinking about building an intel system, I really like this MB. It's the Abit AA8-DuraMaxx. It's a great board and comes with great utilities for monitoring, configuring, and overclocking.

If you have any specific questions, please feel free to post them here.

 

[Chris]

For people still using Windows 98SE, NT4, and Windows 2000 pre-SP3. For everything else, it's almost always digital audio all the time