HDMI and Gaming Sound

[Tunnelcat]

I'm preparing to get a new gaming rig. The question I'd like to know concerns sound and using a TV with it's own internal speakers. Can sound be piped out through the HDMI cable connected from the graphics card (NVIDIA), or does one have to use a separate audio cable to get sound, specifically while game playing? This computer will probably have on-board sound, not a separate sound card. How about the sound output from the Blu-Ray drive? Does that go through the HDMI port too?

[Xamindar]

I don't have any HDMI equipment so someone else will have to say for sure, but I think you will connect an internal cable from your sound board (whether it be mainboard audio or an add-in card) to your graphics card. Then when you use hdmi the audio should also be piped through the hdmi signal as well. Should double-check but that would seem like the way to do it to me.

It is also possible the video card has it's own audio chip. I think that is more an ATI thing though. Just read the manual on your hdmi video card.

EDIT: http://www.brighthub.com/computing/hard ... 27727.aspx

[Heretic]

I'm preparing to get a new gaming rig. The question I'd like to know concerns sound and using a TV with it's own internal speakers. Can sound be piped out through the HDMI cable connected from the graphics card (NVIDIA), or does one have to use a separate audio cable to get sound, specifically while game playing? This computer will probably have on-board sound, not a separate sound card. How about the sound output from the Blu-Ray drive? Does that go through the HDMI port too?

I would have to say yes to all those except separate sound cable for sound. My Dell lap top has an ATI video card and the sound pipes through the HDMI cable just fine. I don't see a reason that Nvidia would be any different.

[Foil]

I don't see a reason that Nvidia would be any different.

Wrong. NVidia HDMI connections are VERY different.

Namely:
*ATI Cards with HDMI have a built-in RealTek audio chip.
*NVidia cards do not; their HDMI is provided as a pass-through for other audio only.

To run audio through an NVidia HDMI jack, you'll need an extra cable; I believe it's just standard SPDIF to a connector on the card, but I'd suggest looking it up to be sure.

[Heretic]

Wrong? The GTS 450 Has support for 7.1 digital surround sound added in a Release of the 260 driver. Hdmi Audio is internal to the video card.

http://www.nvidia.com/object/product-ge ... 50-us.html

I'm sure you could look up more of the Nvidia cards that have internal HDMI sound. Like the GT 240

http://www.nvidia.com/object/product_ge ... 40_us.html

Besides didn't both Nvidia and ATI do some conspiring to fix prices not to long ago so it just seemed that they would both do the same things with their cards.

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/Nvidia ... ,6421.html

Of course it hasn't always been this way with HDMI but both manufactures keep making new additions to their cards.

[Foil]

Ah, so NVidia has started to include on-board audio chips. Interesting, and I stand corrected.

Unfortunately, it's only in their newest boards. The last time I looked at their HDMI specs (e.g. the GTX 280), it was still SPDIF/passthrough.

----

To the OP:

I personally recommend an ATI card for a Blu-Ray HTPC doing HDMI, simply because ATI has been doing the onboard Realtek chip considerably longer (since their 3xxx series), and I've had no problems with their cards.

Setting my own HTPC to run audio through the HDMI was a breeze. The ATI CCC drivers include the audio driversets, so the only thing I had to do was set the Blu-Ray software to use the HDMI output, and I get full 5.1 surround.

[Krom]

My GTX 460 has several HD audio devices, but none of them are selectable as an output in windows (possibly because I don't have any HDMI displays / amplifiers connected though).

It is also worth noting that even the latest Intel video chips are able to bitstream the lossless audio formats from bluray sources these days, all nvidia 400 series cards with HDMI can bitstream bluray audio as well. HD audio bitstreaming has been fixed pretty much industry wide finally. What held it up so long was figuring out how to get the truly ridiculous protected audio path DRM from bluray to let it work, the actual bitstreaming part is painfully simple.

[Tunnelcat]

OK, after much researching, I've come up some information and maybe a gotcha. The card I'm getting is an Nvidia GTX 480. Apparently, the Geforce 400 series was the first time that Nvidia installed on-board sound that can be output through the HDMI port. Previously with older Nvidia cards, one had to connect an internal S/PDIF cable between the video card and motherboard.

So that answered the first question. But that may have created another problem. It turns out that there might be an IRQ conflict between the motherboard's on-board sound and the graphics card on-board sound. I found references to a black screen during log-in problem on EVGA's forum board. I guess I'll have to see what happens once I get the rig set up. One of the sound devices may have to be disabled, not something I want to deal with on a new rig.

I almost regret getting an Nvidia card instead of an ATI card if this is going to be a problem with HDMI and sound. Nvidia seems a little behind the times with HDMI implementation, but Nvidia's drivers are supposedly better written for Microsoft Flight Sim, a major reason for my rig upgrade. Besides, my 6 year old XP gaming rig is getting old and out of date.

[Foil]

It turns out that there might be an IRQ conflict between the motherboard's on-board sound and the graphics card on-board sound.

On my rig, I just disabled the on-motherboard audio. Worked like a charm.

Good luck, and let us know how it goes!

[Tunnelcat]

So do all your system sounds, especailly Direct X or OpenGL games for example, come through the HDMI to your TV speakers? This rig won't have a Blu-Ray drive because the HDMI output is going to another all-in-one computer that can also function as a separate monitor. Also, won't disabling the motherboard sound disable the front panel headphone and microphone jacks?

[Foil]

So do all your system sounds, especailly Direct X or OpenGL games for example, come through the HDMI to your TV speakers?

Yes. I have the HDMI audio (which shows as a separate audio device in Win7/Vista) set as the default.

Also, won't disabling the motherboard sound disable the front panel headphone and microphone jacks?

On my rig, it disables the front headphone jack. I'm not sure about the mic jack, though, as I don't use it.

Sounds like your best bet is to leave the on-motherboard audio active, set the HDMI as the default audio out, and hope the conflict you described above isn't a problem.

[Tunnelcat]

Thanks. I'll see what happens when I get the rig set up.