What is the best cable option for connecting a desktop with discrete GPU to a soundbar?

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gin613

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Hi there,

I'm looking for the best solution to connect my PC with discrete GPU to a monitor and a soundbar.

As the quantity and type of connections available on a soundbar is determined by price and I don't want to spend any more than is necessary, I'd like a solution that would provide the maximum sound quality for the best value.

I know very little about audio, but here are the ideas I've come up with so far.

a. GPU to monitor via DVI and GPU to soundbar via HDMI
b. GPU to soundbar via HDMI and soundbar to monitor via HDMI
c. GPU to monitor via HDMI and optical cable from motherboard to soundbar

I have my concerns about each of these ideas:
a. Can I use the HDMI and DVI port of my GPU at once?
b. Will a "passthrough" through the soundbar work?
c. Will the quality be affected by using optical cables from the motherboard?

If anyone out there has any advice on my ideas above or could suggest something else that would work, I'd appreciate the help.

Thanks for your help!
 
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imrazor

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Most of the soundbars I'm familiar with actually connect via USB and effectively function as a sound card. In that particular case, you don't need to worry about HDMI or other audio cables - everything is carried over USB. Other soundbars I've worked with have standard stereo minijacks. In both cases, however, sound quality typically is not that great. Regular stereo speakers are usually recommended if you want good sound quality.

Perhaps you could post some links to the soundbars you've been considering.

EDIT: To clarify things a bit, you cannot send video to your monitor over one DVI/HDMI connection and then direct audio to a seperate device over HDMI. The best you could probably do is send audio and video over HDMI to your monitor, then if the monitor has an audio out port (probably analog stereo mini-jack) connect that to the soundbar.
 
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gin613

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Dec 11, 2015
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Thanks for the reply. I had a feeling that two cable set up didn't sound possible.

I should say I'm aware that speakers will have better sound quality, but the combination of better than current sound quality and convenience (lots of moving in rented accommodation) is why I'm after a soundbar.

I haven't been particularly looking at any soundbars; a selection of the kind of price range I'm interested in below:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bose-Solo-TV-Sound-System/dp/B0117RGXC8/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1459719670&sr=1-2&keywords=sound+bar
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Yamaha-YAS-93-Surround-Soundbar-subwoofers/dp/B00KBVVEGW/ref=sr_1_10?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1459719670&sr=1-10&keywords=sound+bar
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sony-HT-CT60BT-Soundbar-Discontinued-Manufacturer/dp/B00I98DHW8/ref=sr_1_8?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1459719670&sr=1-8&keywords=sound+bar

For reference -- all three above soundbars connect via optical cable. If I connect soundbar to motherboard via optical, and GPU to monitor via HDMI/DVI, is that a setup that will work and provide the best sound quality possible for the equipment?
 
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imrazor

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An optical audio cable to the soundbar and a separate DVI/HDMI cable to the monitor is definitely doable. But to be clear, the optical cable will run from your sound card or motherboard to the sound bar, NOT from your GPU. It doesn't look like any of the models you're considering have HDMI connections anyway.

And, yes, you'll get the best sound quality with the optical cable. However, don't forget to pay attention to your sound card. Motherboard audio generally stinks, but with optical it may not make a difference.
 
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gin613

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Thanks again. Maybe I'm just making this a bit harder than it is but I want to be absolutely sure on one point before I take the plunge: sending video with the GPU while sending audio with the motherboard is not going to cause any difficulties? I'm thinking with regards to audio/video synchronisation or BIOS changes to use onboard audio.

If it's the case that there's no major hassle, I'd go with HDMI from GPU to monitor along with optical from motherboard to sound bar. Then I'd consider adding in a sound card in future; it's a new rig so I'm still testing and seeing how much more I'm going to spend.

Edit: I'm guessing another option would be to get a soundbar with HDMI in and out, connect the GPU to the soundbar via HDMI, and then the soundbar to the monitor via HDMI? This would avoid the motherboard audio which might be nice.
 
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imrazor

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No, sending audio from your motherboard/sound card over optical and sending video over HDMI won't cause any problems. I send video over DVI/HDMI to my monitors and audio over analog cable to my speakers all the time. Are you worried about sync problems or something? No such issues here...

As an additional note, I've done a bit more research and it seems that optical audio is really a passthru situation. That means that with optical audio, the sound quality depends entirely on the sound bar; it doesn't matter whether the audio signal comes through the sound card or the motherboard. Sound cards do make a big difference though for analog audio, which matters if you'll ever listen to headphones or use analog speakers.
 
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gin613

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The reason I would worry about sync issues is the fact that the GPU would be outputting the video while the motherboard would be handling the sound and something just doesn't sit right with me there.

Your point about the sound quality being the same makes sense--if I'm using an optical cable then the only scope for better/worse quality is in the sound bar. I wouldn't have thought of that though.
 
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