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Topic: Review: Is a Nvidia GTX970 a good solution for Home Audio ? (Read 2168 times) previous topic - next topic
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Review: Is a Nvidia GTX970 a good solution for Home Audio ?

The short answer is yes ....  If you have one and a good AMP that has a HDMI input where really isn't much need for anything else.

Setup:  GTX970 installed properly with the Nvidia HD Audio not disabled and set as the default audio device.
Your dedicated audio player needs to be set up to WASAPI Exclusive Mode 96000 24bit 6 channel or higher of if you want Dolby DIGITAL plus / ex or whatever you call the only Dolby that actually sounds good.

If your PC is for gaming you probably don't want to use the passthrough HDMI on your receiver if your primary monitor isn't HDMI.

Since this is a WASAPI pass though the sound is as good as your receiver and encoding.

Drawbacks:

Windows 7 and Nvidia do not handle power management well  ..... when your primary monitor shuts off so does audio.  The simplest solution is to set you monitors to shut off after a few hours or have them always on and use the power button on the non-primary monitor.

Exclusive WASAPI mode has no volume control and blocks other audio by design.  This can be inconvenient for casual listening. If you don't want Dolby Digital plus / ex don't use exclusive mode and WASAPI.  You will be stuck with 2 channel or the horrible pre plus dolby modes.

Re: Review: Is a Nvidia GTX970 a good solution for Home Audio ?

Reply #1 –
There are way cheaper video cards you could use (or even just the onboard) if you just want HDMI + audio pass through.
 

Re: Review: Is a Nvidia GTX970 a good solution for Home Audio ?

Reply #2 –
Pretty sure all NV cards have the same HDMI audio capabilities, and the 970 is a previous generation. The current ones (10 series "Pascal") are more power efficient, so you can get away potentially with a quieter system for the same or more power. Plus, if you're running an HTPC, these newer cards are the only ones that will be able to play 4K Netflix, and probably other formats too, due to PlayReady DRM. Intel's Kaby Lake already does, but not the previous Skylake gen.

If all you care about is audio though, AMD may be technically better (probably not practically) since it allows for 88.2 and 176.4 sampling rates.