A7N8X-DX [Internal] SND/VID Q

[Ron]

Greetings. Would it be fair to say that the AUD output connector on a CD-ROM drive is a 'legacy' device? Because a standard IDE I/F cable will carry sound as well as data from a CD-ROM to the mobo. (i.e., a separate AUD cable is no longer necessary for playing music CD's...regardless of whether there is a PCI sound card installed.) And, apparently, a 40-wire ribbon is satisfactory for this. So far so good?

But what about a DVD-ROM drive? Do they *also* have AUD outputs? And if so, can they also be considered 'legacy' devices? (ergo; is the situation exactly the same as for a CD drive?)

What if the mobo supports Dolby surround? Still the same? Is a 40-wire I/F cable still satisfactory? Or does it need an 80-wire cable?

I ask because the A7N8X-DX will be up and running before too long, and I plan to install a DVD drive for the first time. I also intend to retire the SB_Live 5.1 card and use the inbuilt sound on the board. I'm therefore wondering about the ideal way to connect the DVD to the mobo...in order to realize the full features of the discs.

Additionally, does the DVD attach to the AGP vidcard for *video*? Or does the I/F cable carry that as well?

Thanks for your thoughts!
Ron

 

[Ben Pope]

Ron wrote:


First off, most people don't appreciate html messages, especially when plain
text will do. You'll get a better response if yuo post in plain text only.

Greetings. Would it be fair to say that the AUD output connector on
a CD-ROM drive is a 'legacy' device? Because a standard IDE I/F
cable will carry sound as well as data from a CD-ROM to the mobo.
(i.e., a separate AUD cable is no longer necessary for playing music
CD's...regardless of whether there is a PCI sound card installed.)
And, apparently, a 40-wire ribbon is satisfactory for this. So far
so good?

Er... The IDE cable will not carry "sound". It will carry audio data which
may be decoded, but not really "sound". The audio cable isn't really
legacy, but a digital cable or other digital connection is preferable as the
internal DAC of the CD won't be great.

But what about a DVD-ROM drive? Do they *also* have AUD outputs?
And if so, can they also be considered 'legacy' devices? (ergo; is
the situation exactly the same as for a CD drive?)

Exactly the same. But only if you're playing CDs. Since DVDs generally
have more audio channels (DTS, 5.1 or whatver) the data will be decoded on a
remote component after being transferred across the IDE interface.

What if the mobo supports Dolby surround? Still the same? Is a
40-wire I/F cable still satisfactory? Or does it need an 80-wire
cable?

An 80 conductor cable is *required* for ATA100 and above and recommended for
ATA66. (I think thats right). Basically if you can get data down it, you
can get data down it. Thats whether it's video data or sound data or
"computer data".

I ask because the A7N8X-DX will be up and running before too long,
and I plan to install a DVD drive for the first time. I also intend
to retire the SB_Live 5.1 card and use the inbuilt sound on the
board. I'm therefore wondering about the ideal way to connect the
DVD to the mobo...in order to realize the full features of the discs.

You won't require the audio connector unless you wish to use the front
controls of the drive to play CDs.

Additionally, does the DVD attach to the AGP vidcard for *video*? Or
does the I/F cable carry that as well?

OK. Basically a DVD contains data. The DVD drive transfers that data
across the IDE cable. The CPU and/or sound chipset and/or video GPU will
decode that data into video and sound and deal with it appropriately.

The DVD drive is generally not clever enough to seperate the video and audio
channels, let alone decode them - it just chucks the data out and the other
components sort it.

Of course, I could be wrong, but my A7N8X Deluxe is turning up tomorrow.


Ben