Home Theater and DELL Optiplex 960

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hobejam

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Aug 26, 2013
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10,510
Greetings!

I apologize if this is a silly question, but I am trying to rig a home theater together with an HTPC built from an old DELL Optiplex 960. My question is in regards to a GPU and Audio routing.

I have HDMI in on my TV, but not my receiver. I have coax digital out on my TV. I have both optical and coax available for digital audio in on my receiver.

My thought was to run HDMI from the 960 to the TV for video and then the digital audio out of the TV to the receiver for audio.

My current setup (no HTPC) includes a BluRay with HDMI and digital audio outputs that works perfectly. My intention is to take the BluRay player out of the mix and substitute the HTPC. Can I replicate my current functionality without adding a sound card to my HTPC? If I add a sound card with optical or coax digital out, will I get what I need to the receiver for Dolby Digital and DTS?

I am comfortable with the signal routing and such, just unsure what I need to make sure I get great sound and picture from my setup while lacking an HDMI input on my receiver.


Any and all input is greatly appreciated. :)
 
Solution
Wolfshadw
No, I don't think you will need an internal cable run between the two cards. What cards you can get is going to depend on the layout of your motherboard; in particular where the PCI-Ex1 slot in relation to the PCI-Ex16 slot

If the PCI-Ex1 slot located directly below the PCI-Ex16 slot: You will need to use a single slot width graphics card if you want to use a PCI-Ex1 sound card. Otherwise, any combination of graphic/sound card should work for you. I'd probably look at:

Graphic Card: ASUS Radeon HD6450 - This gives you HDMI video output.
Sound Card: ASUS Xonar DGX - This gives you S/PDIF optical output.

Combined, they should not put any stress on your current power supply. You'll just need to make sure the default playback...
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Wolfshadw

Wolfshadw

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Aug 3, 2006
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Check your TV specs for the optical output to make sure it can handle DTS, Digital Dolby, etc... I don't think it's common for an HDTV to provide true surround sound even from the Optical output. I think your best bet would be to purchase a sound card with optical output and have that connect directly to your receiver.

-Wolf sends

P.S. It certainly won't hurt to test this out prior to actually purchasing a sound card.
 
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hobejam

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Aug 26, 2013
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10,510
Thanks for the response! I actually looked at the specs on the TV and have come to that exact conclusion. Not only will it not pass the DTS / Dolby signal, it explicitly won't pass audio from an HDMI source.

With that out of the way, is there a specific GPU / Sound card combo that will be most effective to achieve the results I am looking for with the Optiplex 960 as the base for the build? I need to keep power consumption in mind as I would like to do this without replacing the PSU.

Again, thanks for the input!

\m/ DS
 
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hobejam

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Aug 26, 2013
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10,510
Sorry, I should have noted that. I have the MT with Windows 7 64bit installed.

Specifically, will I need a set up with an internal physical link (cable) between the GPU and sound card to get the digital signal I need from the sound card and the HDMI video out from the GPU simultaneously?
 
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Wolfshadw

Wolfshadw

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No, I don't think you will need an internal cable run between the two cards. What cards you can get is going to depend on the layout of your motherboard; in particular where the PCI-Ex1 slot in relation to the PCI-Ex16 slot

If the PCI-Ex1 slot located directly below the PCI-Ex16 slot: You will need to use a single slot width graphics card if you want to use a PCI-Ex1 sound card. Otherwise, any combination of graphic/sound card should work for you. I'd probably look at:

Graphic Card: ASUS Radeon HD6450 - This gives you HDMI video output.
Sound Card: ASUS Xonar DGX - This gives you S/PDIF optical output.

Combined, they should not put any stress on your current power supply. You'll just need to make sure the default playback device is set to Speakers Xonar DGX as opposed to AMD High Definition (HDMI).

-Wolf sends
 
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Solution
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hobejam

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Aug 26, 2013
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10,510
Just wanted to post a follow up to thank you for your help.

My build came together as follows:

Dell Optiplex 960 MT
8GB G-Skill RAM
EVGA GT 630
Asus Xonar DGX 5.1
LG BD Burner / Player

Windows 7 Pro 64

Logitech Harmony 880 w/ Dell IR Receiver

I am running video from the GT630 via HDMI to my Mitsubishi TV and audio from the Xonar DGX via SPDIF to my Pioneer receiver.

I am currently using Windows Media Center w/ PowerDVD Ultra for movie playback and Netflix Streaming.

The video setup was easy and looks amazing!

The audio was a bit of a nightmare (having to configure Windows, Asus Control Panel, Windows Media Center, AND PowerDVD), but I now enjoy excellent Dolby Digital and DTS playback from my movies, as well as all audio sources from my PC. Incidentally, audio source has to be set to SPDIF, not speakers. :)

I went with the GT 630 to gain a little gaming performance. Half Life and Half Life 2 are phenomenal on a 74" screen with all video settings maxed out. :)

As mentioned before, HDMI audio from encoded sources will not pass through the TV as digital audio out. The TV has a digital coax out however and broadcast TV, as well as any unencoded audio, passes through to the Pioneer receiver without problems.

After a bit of a learning curve and programming my Logitech Harmony with the right codes, this is a perfect addition to our entertainment system and replaces an aging XP PC and non WiFi LG BD player.

Future plans include building a NAS to store ripped movies and our massive music collection.

Thanks again to Wolf and the other contributors to this forum!

\m/ DS
 
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