Decisions decisions.. Hdmi audio?

Hey guys.. I have a few questions I'm hoping someone can answer.

I am deciding on the f8vm and m50vm for a laptop to fit my university aswell as home entertainment needs.

I want the f8 because of the smaller size aka better portability aswell as the HD3650 which I know for sure passes 5.1 surround sound off to a reciever so I can watch some HD movies with 5.1 that I have.

However, I also want the m50Vm for it's functionality like numberic keys... better speakers... and better gaming performance with the 9600gs.

Now I ask.. which one would you guys go for? I REALLY want 5.1 surround sound but I also hear the m50vm has Audio from hdmi.. but I am assuming it only passes 2 channels? Is this correct?

Thanks in advance!

 

hmm... well most soundcards have 5.1 support via digital/optical out from the toslink connector. So even if you go with the M50Vm it's not much of a downgrade, all you need is an extra cable to get the 5.1 support.

Personally I think for what you would want, the M50Vm might be a better candidate. The 9600gs is much faster than the HD3650 .

 

I wonder how true that 5.1 is, I have a strong feeling its just upmixed stereo and not true 5.1. You should so a speaker by speaker sound test to confirm. I know even the high end x-fi cards have been confirmed to not have real 5.1 so seems hard to swallow that a cheap on board solution would.

Im not saying I know this for sure mind you just that I have a hunch, average joe would plug it in, hear sound on 5 speakers and then swear on his first 2 kids lives that he has 5.1 surround, it takes somebody with more knowledge on the subject to do a real test.

Now I do think the desktop ATI cards have real 5.1 but again not sure, but who is to say that the laptop versions carry the same function and they did not just patch the onboard into the hdmi like they do with all of the nvidia laptops.

 

hmm interesting approach there. Yeah you are right, true 5.1 is a question mark. I'm not so sure about our onboard sound cards, ie; Realtek Digital HD Audio or C-Media 5.1 Audio that comes with our laptops whether they support true 5.1.

And even if they do support true 5.1, you also need media (ie; movies) that have 5.1 source to get true 5.1 sound. So in other words, you can't expect to play a stereo source and expect 5.1 audio unless you use a software like SRS that up mix that source to 5.1(but still faux).

What I'm trying to say is that even if the ATI card supports true 5.1 through HDMI, you can still get by with onboard sound with the right cables unless you are an audiophile.

 

I think the realtek HD audio is quite nice, its on par with the notebook x-fi if you ask me. Since its just a rebadged audigy 2 anyways.

 

Thanks for the awsum replies guys!

I never knew the m50vm has optical out? or is it digital out via an adapter cable where it goes from 3.5mm to the rca type plugin?

Also.. You guys are correct.. in order to see if it's really putting out 5.1 surround you will need to hook it up to a reciever where it can recognise 3/2+SW sources. My Harmon Kardon reciever for example displays this when it is getting a true 5.1 surround sound source.

I have googled around and have yet to find a solid answer. Sighh decisions decisions!