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Surround sound for gaming, both OS X and Windows?
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Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Apr 2001
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Does anyone know of a sound card that would work with a Mac Pro, and offer surround sound via 3 analog outputs and work in both Windows and OS X? I currently have a Firewave that works great for OS X, but Windows just looks at the firewire device and gives a very silent shrug. External or internal would be fine. One key thing, it should offer surround sound for both DVDs and games like World of Warcraft on the OS X side, and surround sound for PC games.
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<This space under renovation>
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Clinically Insane
Join Date: Dec 1999
Status:
Offline
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I'm fairly certain the Mac Pro's built in optical audio does multiple channels for movies, music, and games. You'll need some sort of amp or receiver that supports multiple channels and speakers. I know it does 5.1 (I've tested it on my MacBook) but I don't know about 7.1.
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"…I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than
you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods,
you will understand why I dismiss yours." - Stephen F. Roberts
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Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Apr 2001
Status:
Offline
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The optical port doesn't work with most games for surround, as it simply passes through Dolby encoded streams. World of Warcraft (and the majority of games) do not include a Dolby encoder, thus they only output 2 channel sound using the onboard optical out.
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Clinically Insane
Join Date: Dec 1999
Status:
Offline
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I think M-Audio is your best bet. They make sound cards that work in both OS X and Windows.
M-AUDIO
Edit: Hmm, nevermind. They don't seem to have any PCI Express cards. I really don't know.
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"…I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than
you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods,
you will understand why I dismiss yours." - Stephen F. Roberts
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Clinically Insane
Join Date: Dec 1999
Status:
Offline
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There's a company called RME that does PCI Express audio cards. They look very expensive, though.
Have you thought about buying USB speakers or a USB audio adapter? Something like this. I'm not recommending this brand, I don't know anything about them; just recommending a technology similar to it. I don't know if something like this will work for games.
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"…I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than
you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods,
you will understand why I dismiss yours." - Stephen F. Roberts
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Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Apr 2001
Status:
Offline
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A USB adaptor would work, if I could find one that supports surround sound in OS X. The one you linked to says "Under the Mac system, the volume buttons of the adapter are not functional and there is 2-channel playback only".
And yes, the RME products, along with M-AUDIO looks to be a bit out of my price range, as they are geared towards professional recording environments.
I guess I need to figure out exactly how the surround sound interface works on OS X to find products that support it. I'll poke over at the World of Warcraft forums to see if the devs respond with any newer info. The last thing I found over there was info about the Firewave.
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