No internal SPDIF - GPU HDMI audio help please

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forkedt

Limp Gawd
Joined
Mar 4, 2009
Messages
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My mobo has no internal SPDIF (does have a coaxial and optical external built in though) for me to connect my 9800GX2 audio to. I'm running the video through the HMDI so without the SPDIF to the mobo I have no audio at the moment.

Does anyone know how I can solve this? Everything I found online points to building a special cable and soldering it to the board which is a bit over the top to me... I was hoping there was a simpler solution? I'm not opposed to spending the money to run SLI if it would be possible to run sound through another GPU without needing to connect an SPDIF to the mobo??

Thanks for your advice,
Forkedt
 
Which motherboard do you have? Did you check the manual and confirm that you do not have an SPDIF out?

You mentioned spending money to run SLI; how much would you be willing to spend on a new video card?

When the 9800GX2 came out it was a top performer, but these days a relatively low-end card such as a single 460 GTX would more than compete with it.

If this is really bugging you, it may be worth upgrading the card instead of spending money on an adapter?

Alternatively, it may be worth buying a cheap sound card that has an internal SPDIF connector?
 
TESLA said:
Which motherboard do you have? Did you check the manual and confirm that you do not have an SPDIF out?

You mentioned spending money to run SLI; how much would you be willing to spend on a new video card?

When the 9800GX2 came out it was a top performer, but these days a relatively low-end card such as a single 460 GTX would more than compete with it.

If this is really bugging you, it may be worth upgrading the card instead of spending money on an adapter?

Alternatively, it may be worth buying a cheap sound card that has an internal SPDIF connector?
Click to expand...

Its a DFI Infinity 975x. I've been through the manual many times and the only SPDIF references are to the external connections.

Running SLI has obvious benefits so I dont mind spending the money to pick up a newer card and running it with the 9800gx2 but I'm still faced with the issue of whether or not the newer card would need an internal SPDIF connection for sound?

I'm strongly considering the sound card route but its been years since I've build a desktop so I'm rusty on some points such as those. Can you run them directly to an HDTV?

Thanks again,
Forkedt
 
You can not mix and match video cards with different chipsets in SLI, as such your 9800GX2 can not be used in an SLI configuration with a newly purchased video card.

The current generation of video cards, however, act like a video card AND a sound card under HDMI output. (All you need to do is connect the HDMI output of the card to the TV/receiver and set windows to use the HDMI output for sound; you do not need the internal SPDIF cable required by the older 9800GX2.)

Most HDTVs and receivers accept both HDMI and Coax/Optical for digital audio. So you can connect just about any sound card digitally to your HDTV using Coax/Optical (or via analog, of course), but if you want to use Coax/Optical, your onboard sound card is more than likely sufficient.

I suggested a sound card assuming that you wanted to connect using HDMI and only HDMI. In which case the cheapest method for getting an internal SPDIF connector for use with your 9800GX2 would likely be to purchase a very cheap internal sound card that has an SPDIF header.

My recommendation, however, would be to purchase a current generation video card which will natively support audio over HDMI, including true Blu-ray audio should you ever want to purchase a Blu-ray drive for your PC.

For around $150 to $200 you can get a low-end current generation video card which will equal or surpass your 9800GX2 in performance. For ATI this would be the HD 6850 and up (possibly the HD 5770 as well) and the NVIDIA GTX 460 and up. You could then either upgrade to an SLI or CFX solution in the future or purchase an HD 6950/6970 (the better option in terms of pricing) or a GTX 570/580 right from the start.
 
Thanks. I'm going to go ahead and upgrade my card in that case. I appreciate your help. :)
 
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