Upgrading mobo & finding one that supports DTS Connect

[snake2332]

I have been reading around the forum here and wished to post in a couple threads but they were closed my moderators.

Just to get a few things straight before I begin:
1) I have been using DTS Connect on my computer since 2006
2) I know how to connect my PC to my receiver with optical connection
3) I understand that it might be lossy or not optimal to have the mobo encode everything into DDL or DTS, but my receiver is old so I need the computer to encode stuff to DTS, especially 2ch music (by the way, xbox360 fails at playing music, as it does 2.0 only, no subwoofer). I tried to upgrade my receiver to one that does something like Denon's 5ch stereo, but couldn't find a decent one in my price range
4) I don't really want to get a sound card to encode DTS because of tight budget and the fact that some motherboards will do it, like my old Gigabyte one from 2006


I am wondering a couple things:

1) If the motherboard has a soundchip that supports DTS:Connect, does that mean I'm guaranteed to be able to get drivers for Win7 and/or WinXP that support the feature?

I'm mostly seeing Realtek chips like the ALC889 & 892. I read on the forum here that the motherboard manufacturer has to support the function, too. It seems like you would be able to get Realtek drivers and make it work regardless of the motherboard.

2) Does anyone know of the existence of a list of motherboards that support DTS:Connect and DD:Live?

This really only applies if the motherboard manufacturer does in fact have to provide drivers/software to enable DTS:Connect. If the onboard sound chip is all that really matters, I will just look for that.

If anyone cares what I am looking for specifically, I need a mobo that supports AM3, [strike]SLI[/strike], RAID, & DTS:Connect for (hopefully) around $120. I don't care too much about USB3.0, 2000mhz ram support, etc. I guess I don't need SLI (or CF) really, just two full size PCI-E slots, preferably both x16 but I don't know if I need them both to be x16 (that's another topic that I need to research. I'm going to use my 8800gts as a PhysX card and I am guessing that would work fine in a x4 slot).

I will continue hunting for mobo's. I wish they would just come out and say DTS:Connect, but I'm not seeing that yet.

Thanks for reading!

 

[rolli59]

This is the only AM3 SLI board in stock at newegg at the moment http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130235 Unfortunately it does not have a digital sound connection. If you take out the SLI requirement then there is plenty of AM3 Crossfire boards on the market. If you still want to go SLI there is a better selection of Intel boards.

 

[snake2332]

Oh ya, I was wrong when I said SLI. I just need two pci-e full size slots - one for a gtx460, one for 8800gts running physX. I forgot that AMD and ATI are partners or whatever.

 

[rolli59]

AMD=ATI their new cards are now AMD! This one has optical out and 8 channel HD audio and the slots http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157188
Then there is this Gigabyte if you can live with the physX card in a slot at x4 speed http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128443
(just sticking with the $120)

 

[snake2332]

Thanks for helping me look, rolli. Wow I didn't even know ATI = AMD. I've been out of the game for a few years. I'll have to do a little more research. Looks like both those boards have one 16x pci-e bus and one 4x. The Assrock splits that 16x between two physical slots. I think I'm going to have to spend more than $120 to get exactly what I want.

Thanks again.

 

[rolli59]

Look at the AMD 8xx series chipset boards the 890FX boards are the best boards but as well the most expensive!

 

[snake2332]

I'm not necessarily going with AMD after looking at some more stuff. I'm trying to be cheap, but on 2nd thought... Just don't tell my wife

I need other parts too and am liking the looks of this combo:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.611170

That mobo does DTS according to:
http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=414&Itemid=69&limit=1&limitstart=18

I might leave my current system mostly intact and sell it.

Now I need to research if I should avoid that CPU in favor of SandyBridge, but I am still trying to be a cheapass, so whatever.

Sorry for wasting people's time with my rambling.

 

[snake2332]

I think the i5-2400 is cheaper by $20 and faster. Nay to the combo!

 

[rolli59]

I'm not necessarily going with AMD after looking at some more stuff. I'm trying to be cheap, but on 2nd thought... Just don't tell my wife

I need other parts too and am liking the looks of this combo:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.611170

That mobo does DTS according to:
http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=414&Itemid=69&limit=1&limitstart=18

I might leave my current system mostly intact and sell it.

Now I need to research if I should avoid that CPU in favor of SandyBridge, but I am still trying to be a cheapass, so whatever.

Sorry for wasting people's time with my rambling.

It is at a good price no question! I do not think you could build an I5 2400 rig for that price. The motherboards second PCIe16 slot runs at x4speed.

 

[snake2332]

This is a good page for the type of mobo I was looking for:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/p67-motherboard-roundup-lga-1155-sandy-bridge,2837.html

Luckily, trusty ol' Tom's Hardware including a DDL/DTS field for each board, and the Gigabyte is the only one that supports either one and it says DDL only, though I have a suspicion that it does DTS, too.

I'm gonna pull the trigger on the Gigabyte UD4, I believe. $190 on newegg & it's pretty sweet. The only other board I'd consider is the Asus P8P67. I've read that it does DTS Connect, though Tom's Hardware said it doesn't do DDL or DTS. Plus, the Asus still isn't available from Newegg.

Thanks THW!