Two Basic Questions (1 Viewer)

[Mikey L]

I am in the process of building a new PC and have two questions:

1) I want the ability to connect my PC to my HT reciever (Yamaha RXV-620)....is that determined by the sound card I buy? I am currently looking at the Sound Blaster Live! series.

2) What is the best operating system out there right now for home use/gaming? I have heard that XP is faulty, and that Win 2000 is the way to go. I don't want any incompatibility problems with the latest games.

Thanks,

Mike

 

[Camp]

1. Make sure the sound card you select has the right outputs you require in your HT. Check out recent threads on this topic.

2. There's nothing 'faulty' with WinXP. I use them both and, if anything, WinXP is a bit better for gaming. Really, though you can't go wrong either way.

Good luck!

 

[Mikey L]

Are there certain cards that have optical out or even component out to connect to recievers?

 

[MichaelG]

I haven't heard of any Video cards (or Audio cards) with digital optical output. You can get them with digital coaxial output through a connection called S/PDIF. As far as Component output, you might be able to find a VGA->Component converter, but I don't think that you can find any Component output hardware (at least that anyone can afford). Most good video cards with TV out will have an S-Video output which might be good enough.

 

[Westly T]

I've heard that SB cards output overly high Coax outputs that have been known to damage some receivers and that the quality is not the best available. I ordered a Zoltrix Nightingale PRO 6 Sound Card because it can be had for around $40 and has both optical and coaxial inputs and outputs. I use it for DTS, DD, and PCM.

A Review can be viewed http://www.digit-life.com/articles/zoltrixpro6/