theInq: R600 a soundcard too?

[ZimZum]

Originally posted by: vhx

Originally posted by: keysplayr2003

Originally posted by: Pugnate
Yea how good will a sound card shoved into a video card be?

Have you ever seen how small an AC97(Not saying this is what AMD is using, but just for size comparison) audio chip is embedded on a mobo? Very small, maybe 1 sq. cm. And it sounds great IMHO. No need for X-FI or Audigy's. I use my onboard Cmedia and it kicks just fine. And I don't think this sound capability is built into the R600's core, just on the PCB probably.

Lol AC97 over X-fi or Audigy? Uhh... yeah... I've seen some fanboy posts before but, jeez. Most motherboards ALREADY come with AC97 atleast. The article is INQ, so probably fake.

When youre outputting bitstream all the soundcards/chipsets are pretty much equal. And show me a motherboard with HDMI audio outputs.

 

[bunnyfubbles]

Originally posted by: ZimZum

Originally posted by: vhx

Originally posted by: keysplayr2003

Originally posted by: Pugnate
Yea how good will a sound card shoved into a video card be?

Have you ever seen how small an AC97(Not saying this is what AMD is using, but just for size comparison) audio chip is embedded on a mobo? Very small, maybe 1 sq. cm. And it sounds great IMHO. No need for X-FI or Audigy's. I use my onboard Cmedia and it kicks just fine. And I don't think this sound capability is built into the R600's core, just on the PCB probably.

Lol AC97 over X-fi or Audigy? Uhh... yeah... I've seen some fanboy posts before but, jeez. Most motherboards ALREADY come with AC97 atleast. The article is INQ, so probably fake.

When youre outputting bitstream all the soundcards/chipsets are pretty much equal. And show me a motherboard with HDMI audio outputs.

I think the point is that most computer users are going to be using PC speakers or headphones. For such things a dedicated sound card is clearly superior. If you're taking the audio from the source and sending it to an HT receiver to deal with, then that's great, pipe it along with the video through the video card over an HDMI cable.

 

[liquid51]

This would definately be a purely HTPC feature. I know a lot of people are using 32"-46" lcd tvs as monitors these days, but please tell me no one is using the onboard speakers. And I'm not sure how many pc gamers are running pc sound through an HT receiver. The only impact I could see this having on the gaming enthusiasts is price. If this utterly worthless feature (IMO) drives the price even higher, I will not be a happy camper.

 

[imported_dongle]

If it's bit-perfect low-latency audio output and ATI gets their linux drivers in shape, I'll bite.

 

[sandorski]

A full Audio, Video, Physics capable Multimedia Card would be kinda cool though. As long as it was Top Notch in all 3 areas and reasonably priced(say no more than current Vidcard Prices). Just musing/wishing here.

 

[fierydemise]

Part of me thinks this is just standard inq BS but unlike most of their crap this feels legitimate and if true (and well implemented) I'll bite.

 

[Kromis]

Originally posted by: MrWizzard
Secret weapon huh.....

Well Germany had the Jet as their secret weapon in WW2 but they released it too late for it to make a difference.

Weren't jets used in the Battle of Britain (by Germany)? Or was that with Russia? I think Russia had jets too! I was reading this one book about the secrets of World War II and stuff.

 

[sandorski]

Originally posted by: Kromis

Originally posted by: MrWizzard
Secret weapon huh.....

Well Germany had the Jet as their secret weapon in WW2 but they released it too late for it to make a difference.

Weren't jets used in the Battle of Britain (by Germany)? Or was that with Russia? I think Russia had jets too! I was reading this one book about the secrets of World War II and stuff.

Not in the Battle of Britain, but later in the War. Yes, Russia had some too.

 

[Ichigo]

Not that X-Fi is a bad card, but it's given me too many troubles in the past to be worth it. If competition can give Creative a kick in the rear, why complain?

 

[sandorski]

Originally posted by: Ichigo
Not that X-Fi is a bad card, but it's given me too many troubles in the past to be worth it. If competition can give Creative a kick in the rear, why complain?

Creative's Drivers suck! That has always been their weak point.

 

[LOUISSSSS]

sounds like BS but would like to see ATi pull it off

 

[videopho]

Originally posted by: Mem
More competition for Creative,good in my books,lets hope its a decent competitor.

Who knows? It may be a long shot but AMD may eventually acquire Creative Lab in order to eliminate the competition all together.

 

[tuteja1986]

Originally posted by: videopho

Originally posted by: Mem
More competition for Creative,good in my books,lets hope its a decent competitor.

Who knows? It may be a long shot but AMD may eventually acquire Creative Lab in order to eliminate the competition all together.

Now that is just stupid ... That is just asking for asking for trouble.

 

[ZimZum]

Originally posted by: bunnyfubbles

Originally posted by: ZimZum

Originally posted by: vhx

Originally posted by: keysplayr2003

Originally posted by: Pugnate
Yea how good will a sound card shoved into a video card be?

Have you ever seen how small an AC97(Not saying this is what AMD is using, but just for size comparison) audio chip is embedded on a mobo? Very small, maybe 1 sq. cm. And it sounds great IMHO. No need for X-FI or Audigy's. I use my onboard Cmedia and it kicks just fine. And I don't think this sound capability is built into the R600's core, just on the PCB probably.

Lol AC97 over X-fi or Audigy? Uhh... yeah... I've seen some fanboy posts before but, jeez. Most motherboards ALREADY come with AC97 atleast. The article is INQ, so probably fake.

When youre outputting bitstream all the soundcards/chipsets are pretty much equal. And show me a motherboard with HDMI audio outputs.

I think the point is that most computer users are going to be using PC speakers or headphones. For such things a dedicated sound card is clearly superior. If you're taking the audio from the source and sending it to an HT receiver to deal with, then that's great, pipe it along with the video through the video card over an HDMI cable.

I have a HTPC and I would love to have the flexibility of having HDMI output to my Receiver & Display. Plus it will be a requirement with much of the DRM protected content in vista, no HD audio or Video will be output to non HDCP compliant devices. Of course this is a niche market. Its all niche market. The vast majority of PC users aren't going to be spending upwards of $500 on a video card either. And if you're using PC speakers with a high end sound card its a waste. I have yet to hear a set of PC speakers that didn't make me want to set them on fire.

 

[GTaudiophile]

More news on this?

http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=38738

 

[nrb]

Anyone who was paying attention (i.e. anyone who is not on the staff of The Inquirer ) has known about this "story" for weeks.

As a couple of other people have said, the main application for this is in the HTPC market. Forthcoming HD-DVD and BluRay movies will be using new and superior sound-track formats, such as Dolby TrueHD. Digital sound in these formats cannot be fed through S/PDIF (the standard digital audio connector) because the bandwidth required is simply too high. Thus, if you want to listen to the highest-quality soundtrack on discs like this, and you want to use an external surround-sound processor to do the decoding (and bass management, etc.), the only way the signal can get from the player to the processor is via the audio section of an HDMI 1.3 connection.

R6xx and RV6xx chips will have HDMI outputs (and be fully HDCP compliant! ). This facility will allow people to use a PC as a high-end BluRay/HD-DVD player, with no loss of audio quality.

It remains to be seen whether the cards are capable of actually generating sound rather than merely passing through a signal read off a disc. Even if they can, it's probably not a very nice solution; the card won't have any analogue audio outputs, only digital, and then only via HDMI. This isn't practical in most situations.

But for HTPC users this is a godsend. (ATI has also made a big song and dance about the quality of the high-def video processing on the new chips, so they're obviously targeting the HTPC market this time round).

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: nrb
Anyone who was paying attention (i.e. anyone who is not on the staff of The Inquirer ) has known about this "story" for weeks.

As a couple of other people have said, the main application for this is in the HTPC market. Forthcoming HD-DVD and BluRay movies will be using new and superior sound-track formats, such as Dolby TrueHD. Digital sound in these formats cannot be fed through S/PDIF (the standard digital audio connector) because the bandwidth required is simply too high. Thus, if you want to listen to the highest-quality soundtrack on discs like this, and you want to use an external surround-sound processor to do the decoding (and bass management, etc.), the only way the signal can get from the player to the processor is via the audio section of an HDMI 1.3 connection.

R6xx and RV6xx chips will have HDMI outputs (and be fully HDCP compliant! ). This facility will allow people to use a PC as a high-end BluRay/HD-DVD player, with no loss of audio quality.

It remains to be seen whether the cards are capable of actually generating sound rather than merely passing through a signal read off a disc. Even if they can, it's probably not a very nice solution; the card won't have any analogue audio outputs, only digital, and then only via HDMI. This isn't practical in most situations.

But for HTPC users this is a godsend. (ATI has also made a big song and dance about the quality of the high-def video processing on the new chips, so they're obviously targeting the HTPC market this time round).

very true

and now it looks like a Realtek chip according to theInq
http://www.realtek.com.tw/downloads/dow...lse#High%20Definition%20Audio%20Codecs

will gamers generally even care?


the former ATi *AiW guys* with HTPC will love it ... that's all, i guess

 

[zephyrprime]

Seems like its real.

 

[liquid51]

So will this mean that by disabling the onboard sound processor we can eliminate some power usage (what small amount it may be)?

I'm using a pc power & cooling 510 SLI, and while I'm confident that it will be sufficient for one of these, it is still a concern. I don't want to have to tack an additional $100 onto an already expensive video card.

 

[Corporate Thug]

Originally posted by: Modular
I heard that the R600 wont even need a CPU or MOBO. It's going to be a standalone Personal SuperComputer.

They just have to push back the release date a few more months to work out all the kinks..

ROFL

 

[Steve]

So this solution can passthru sound from played content or media? I wonder if it can passthru a system's existing audio solution - I have an nForce2 HTPC and when I'm not watching Blu-ray/HD DVD I would like to see if it'll passthru the Dolby Digital/DTS audio. I don't know why I want to do this, guess I'm just curious EDIT: I suppose I'd need an AGP version too.

 

[yacoub]

passthru is fine, but full soundcard function would be a wasted gimmick as there are soundcard companies out there who do a much better job (like Auzentech).

 

[Schadenfroh]

Originally posted by: videopho

Originally posted by: Mem
More competition for Creative,good in my books,lets hope its a decent competitor.

Who knows? It may be a long shot but AMD may eventually acquire Creative Lab in order to eliminate the competition all together.

Not likely, AMD is already in significant debt after building new fab plants and acquiring ATI. Although an Nvidia purchase of Creative Labs semiconductor business would be interesting.

 

[Steve]

Originally posted by: Schadenfroh

Originally posted by: videopho

Originally posted by: Mem
More competition for Creative,good in my books,lets hope its a decent competitor.

Who knows? It may be a long shot but AMD may eventually acquire Creative Lab in order to eliminate the competition all together.

Not likely, AMD is already in significant debt after building new fab plants and acquiring ATI. Although an Nvidia purchase of Creative Labs semiconductor business would be interesting.

I wonder what would happen to 3Dlabs then.

 

[liquid51]

If this is just a passthrough, why the realtek chip? I don't claim to know what I'm talking about , but would that be necessary if it's just piggybacking an audio feed onto hdmi? The signal has already been processed at that point. Where does the realtek chip come in?