Onboard sound chip of Asrock Extreme4 Gen3 Z68

[Akagi]

i am confused about the sound chip of this motherboard.

apparently it is realtek audio, but there is also mention of THX audio, and THX is printed on the motherboard.

What onboard audio does this motherboard have? and can someone clear up for me why both names are mentioned?

thanks a lot

*also i forgot the main question , what is the quality like? e.g, how would it compare with the IDT HD audio in my laptop?*

 

[Akagi]

IT has the Realtek ALC892. The THX stuff is some bundled Creative software that does a decent enough 3D positional audio for gaming and movies, but nowhere near as good as a dedicated soundcard. I think saying that the chip supports THX is just a way of saying they pay Creative to bundle the software, because I doubt any of the THX effects are hardware accelerated.

It seems strange for THX to be printed on the motherboard if it is only referring to bundled software :l

 

[Akagi]

I get what you're saying but it's more than just bundled software - it also has a license that's tied to the board. I think the effects all run in software, but since Vista most game effects run in software so it's not that much different in that respect. The positional audio quality is decent, but not as good as a dedicated card. Music quality is also not bad, but more 'decent for an onboard chip' than good in its own right. It's one of the best onboard solutions that I've heard, but that isn't saying much.

I would recommend a cheap soundcard - loads of people around here recommend this one http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=SC-012-AS and at the price you can't really lose.

as long as its better than or at least as good as the IDT sound chip on my lappy, then its fine by me