Do I need an upgarde? Ca't connect to 5.1 tuner

[travisblyth]

Hi everyone,

Having some drama. I built my media centre with the following motherboard:

Intel i945G BLKD945GTPLKR LGA775 DDR2 Micro ATX MB (socket 775)(all in one)

which has: Audio: Intel� High Definition Audio: Flexible 6-channel audio with jack sensing

I am trying to connect my Media Centre to a surround sound system that accepts optical.

As I have no optical output I was wondering if there is some trick to getting it hooked up.

I know there is an add on for the Asus mobo's for optical out but I can't find a similar add on for the intel ones.

Do I need to get a new mobo?

(I know I should have looked into it before buying a $500 surround sound system)

Regards,
Trav

[AdrianW]

Usually the best option is to have a mobo with optical out (so you're sending a pristine digital signal to the receiver).

Does your receiver have analogue inputs? If it does, all you'll need is some mini-jack to RCA cables to connect the 3 outputs from the mobo to your receiver.

[travisblyth]

sorry no analogue in the surround sound system. Just optical in. It is a Home Theatre DVD system so not many options for input.

Can anyone recommend a mobo that will be support my system

SilverStone SG01 Silver MicroATX Desktop Case
Gigabyte GV-NX66256DP GF6600 256M PCI-EX16TV-OUT/DVI
2x Maxtor 300G SATAII (16MB cache)
Power Supply SkyHawk GM-520SC(true 520W) Max peak 590W (ATX) with Audio
Intel Socket 775 Pentium D930 3.0Ghz 800Mhz FSB 2x2MB Cache Dual Core
Intel i945G BLKD945GTPLKR LGA775 DDR2 Micro ATX MB (socket 775)(all in one)
2x DDR2 1G(1024MB) PC4200 RAM(single stick)
Hauppauge Nova-T-500 MCE Dual-Digital TV Tuner PCI card OEM

Any suggestions would be good as I am not all that conversed in the language of motherboards.

[CraigMBecket]

Rather than buying a new Mobo have you thought of using a sound card? There are a number around with optical out.

Craig.

[travisblyth]

I tried a sound card. Looked everywhere for a sound card with optical out for a cheep price. Got a 5.1 card with optical out but the optical was only stereo (i have no idea why they would do that).

Also I am a bit short on PCI slots in my case so a new mobo with both on-board video and on board optical would suit best. I have found an intel mobo:

Intel DG33TLM LGA775/ mATX MB(OEM) - from what I can tell this will slide into my system no probs.

It is $154, so in the end about the same as a new sound card anyhow, and this way I can move my video card (and if the boss lets me get a new processor, the mobo as well) from my Medica Centre to my desktop PC and run MC on that too.

Thanks for the help guys.