Soundstorm "Certified" boards

[Bob43]

I'm in the market for an NForce2, and was leaning toward the Epox 8RDA+. It has the MCP-T Southbridge, but I read in a review that it is not "SoundStorm Certified" and hence the audio quality won't be up to par with boards that are.

Can anybody verify this, and give me some Brand/Model Nforce2 boards that are "SoundStorm Certified"

[Rocketmech]

Got to have SPDIF to be certified! and Epox doesn't ship it with the mobo, its an add-on. Otherwise you get the same quality hardware and sound.

http://www.nvidia.com/view.asp?IO=motherboards

* As you can see , only 3 mobo's are Certified:
Abit NF7-S
MSI K7N2G-ILSR
Shuttle SN-41G2

[$1500-P4 gamer]

Ahhh but you forgot the older rev. 1.4 asus A7n8x Deluxe IS certified. right on my box. Soundstorm audio.

[Bigjakkstaffa]

was leaning toward the Epox 8RDA+. It has the MCP-T Southbridge, but I read in a review that it is not "SoundStorm Certified" and hence the audio quality won't be up to par with boards that are.

The audio quality on he 8rda+ is the exact same as the certified 'Soundstorm's, just no spdif as standard, thats the only thing keeping it from certification and if you weally need one they can be picked up from Epox rather cheaply

--Jakk

[Rocketmech]

gamer,
I don't see it in the current list . Wasn't it removed from the list? Thought I read somewhere Asus really pissed someone off at Nvidia and removed the Deluxe, and still hasn't put it back on the list. What gives? Who's being stubborn?

[$1500-P4 gamer]

Dunno whats up with that. I just know it was listed-and my retail box has the soundstorm logo on it with EAX1 and 2 support and everyother feature INCLUDING the spidf on mobo (not bracket). Prob. just some typical corp. BS is the real problem. Wont surprise me to see it re-listed soon.

[Rocketmech]

Check this out
http://www.rojakpot.com/default.aspx...var1=20&var2=0
, note the date. My guess its the Asus driver thing. Regardless , the DLX still meets the spec.

[$1500-P4 gamer]

"Whatever caused the A7N8X Deluxe to be dropped from the list was totally unrelated to the quality or performance of the audio subsystem of the motherboard. Again, I cannot tell you what it was. Just that it had nothing to do with the hardware! The A7N8X Deluxe did and still meets the requirements of the SoundStorm program. So, there's absolutely no need to worry about getting a substandard product when you buy the A7N8X Deluxe. In fact, I expect this matter to be cleared up soon and the A7N8X Deluxe to return to the list very soon!"

Spooky-I said similar.


" Dunno whats up with that. I just know it was listed-and my retail box has the soundstorm logo on it with EAX1 and 2 support and everyother feature INCLUDING the spidf on mobo (not bracket). Prob. just some typical corp. BS is the real problem. Wont surprise me to see it re-listed soon."

It is! Its corporate BS is what it is. They passed with flying colors he said. Yea I noticed asus had their own sound drivers at first. Asus said on one site I read they weren't trusting sound drivers to nvidia after the sound support was so bad on Nforce1. which was fixed by " a driver patch' so Asus was right, nvidia killed the first nforce audio with bad drivers. Now though-asus is supported by the official nforce2 drivers and then next thing, dropped from the list. Little bickering there I think over driver issues. Good info thanks. Should post that link- "sticky" for all the nforce2 audio questions!

[Strawbs]

That is the most thorough ed i've seen on the issue and it still doesn't give a reason, I wish someone in the know would put the rumours to bed with a real informed and complete explanation. That aside; I can vouch for the quality of the Asus boards sound as being better than that of my old Creative Live 5.1, Admittedly it is in need of better drivers tho'.