Surround sound in Vista

I'm having problems with surround sound in games with Vista 64 bit. I just got a new computer with a Core i7 on an Asus P6T motherboard. I don't have a sound card, just the onboard sound. I have a Logitech 5.1 speaker setup which I used with my old XP machine, which game me 5.1 sound in games just using the onboard sound. The first 2 games I've tried are Far Cry and F.E.A.R., and they both just give me stereo sound on Vista instead of 5.1 sound like I had on XP. My sound software (Realtek) is working in all 6 channels and DVDs are playing in 5.1 surround, it's just games that don't work.

I've read about this online and I understand that the root of the problem is that Microsoft removed support for DirectSound in DirectX 10. However, there is a lot of conflicting information out there and I still have a few questions. Also, I don't care about EAX effects at this point, I just want surround sound.

1: Is there any way to get surround sound in these games using my onboard sound?

2: If the answer to #1 is no, then would getting a sound card work? If yes, does it have to be a Creative X Fi card running Alchemy drivers?

3: In a few weeks I'm planning to move my computer to another room where I have a Dolby Digital 5.1 stereo receiver and some good speakers. If I run my sound from the P6T's S/PDIF jack to my receiver will I get 5.1 sound from these games? If it won't work for these older games will that setup work for new games?

It seems to me that if Microsoft removed support for DirectSound in Vista, and these games are using DirectSound for their surround sound, then there should be no way to get surround sound in Vista, aside from using the Alchemy hack. It sounds like some people are getting it to work though, and I'd just like to know if it's possible before I waste any more time and money on this.

Thanks for any help you can give me!

Tony.

By doing this you are/would be bypassing whatever sound processing the computer has, and instead using your receiver's D/A converters to do the job for you. As long as your computer is sending a signal the DAC on your Receiver understands (Dolby, DTS, etc), then you shouldn't have a problem.

In Vista: Control Panel => Sound Select your intended output and configure it in the Properties menu for 5.1, (Dolby, DTS, whatever), and intended quality. From there, you should be GTG.