Hi, im a bit of a novice when it comes to PC audio (although i used to have a Gravis Ultrasound MAX card that was the best on the market in its day!), things have changed alot and stereo is no longer as good as it gets for pc audio.
Doom3 is just around the corner, and ive got a Pioneer DCS303 dolby digital/dts dvd player/receiver with 400watts output. It has 1 TOSLINK digital optical in on the back.
What i want to know is whether i can simply connect a pc to this receiver using a TOSLINK cable (as i do with my PS2) and get digital 5.1 sound out of it?
Ive seen id software post that the sound card is irrelevant in doom3 as the audio processing is all carried out by your pcs processor, which leaves me perplexed. How do you get 5.1, 6.1 or 7.1 audio out of a pc?
I dont want to have to 'invest' in some creative labs speakers as they wont match the quality of what i already have, so i need to know whether a sound card that has a TOSLINK optical digital out can output the signal i require to drive my receiver.
Could i use any sound card with a TOSLINK digital optical out as doom3 uses the processor to carry out the hard work?
Would i get true digital surround 5.1 sound with Doom3 if i connect a TOSLINK digital optical cable from whatever sound card to my Pioneer DCS303?
pc audio stuff is way more complicated than pc graphics (ive got a panasonic ptae500 lcd video projector that runs at 1280x720, and i know that to get the best image out of it i need to select 1280x720 desktop, and feed the projector through the DVI)
any and all help appreciated.
cheers
pez
Doom3 is just around the corner, and ive got a Pioneer DCS303 dolby digital/dts dvd player/receiver with 400watts output. It has 1 TOSLINK digital optical in on the back.
What i want to know is whether i can simply connect a pc to this receiver using a TOSLINK cable (as i do with my PS2) and get digital 5.1 sound out of it?
Ive seen id software post that the sound card is irrelevant in doom3 as the audio processing is all carried out by your pcs processor, which leaves me perplexed. How do you get 5.1, 6.1 or 7.1 audio out of a pc?
I dont want to have to 'invest' in some creative labs speakers as they wont match the quality of what i already have, so i need to know whether a sound card that has a TOSLINK optical digital out can output the signal i require to drive my receiver.
Could i use any sound card with a TOSLINK digital optical out as doom3 uses the processor to carry out the hard work?
Would i get true digital surround 5.1 sound with Doom3 if i connect a TOSLINK digital optical cable from whatever sound card to my Pioneer DCS303?
pc audio stuff is way more complicated than pc graphics (ive got a panasonic ptae500 lcd video projector that runs at 1280x720, and i know that to get the best image out of it i need to select 1280x720 desktop, and feed the projector through the DVI)
any and all help appreciated.
cheers
pez