5.1 onboard versus 7.1 added

ngrome · 02-07-2009, 06:18 PM

My brother-in-law is considering getting a replacement motherboard and the one I spec'd for him has 5.1 channel surround sound. He wants 7.1 channel surround sound, so can he buy a 7.1 card and install it on a motherboard which can process 5.1 channel sound onboard?

I imagine he would be able to do so because it's an added card (7.1), versus the limitation of the onboard sound card (5.1), right? Or are you limited to the limitations of what's on the motherboard and what it can process?

Thanks in advance.

**Pauldo** · 02-07-2009, 06:49 PM

When you get a dedicated soundcard the onboard is turned off. Most of the time this happens automatically. If you run into problems just check the BIOS to make sure that onboard audio is disabled.

So the answer to your question is, yes.

Pauldo

02-07-2009, 06:18 PM	#1 (permalink)
ngrome Registered User Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 130 OS: XP SP2	5.1 onboard versus 7.1 added My brother-in-law is considering getting a replacement motherboard and the one I spec'd for him has 5.1 channel surround sound. He wants 7.1 channel surround sound, so can he buy a 7.1 card and install it on a motherboard which can process 5.1 channel sound onboard? I imagine he would be able to do so because it's an added card (7.1), versus the limitation of the onboard sound card (5.1), right? Or are you limited to the limitations of what's on the motherboard and what it can process? Thanks in advance.

02-07-2009, 06:49 PM	#2 (permalink)
Pauldo Enthusiast Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Seattle, Washington Posts: 1,444 OS: winXP Pro sp3 My System	Re: 5.1 onboard versus 7.1 added When you get a dedicated soundcard the onboard is turned off. Most of the time this happens automatically. If you run into problems just check the BIOS to make sure that onboard audio is disabled. So the answer to your question is, yes. Pauldo __________________ SystemSpec \| Power Supply Info \| How to Post a Screen shot \| Speedfan[/center]