Member Avatar for BullHorn

Hey guys, just a quick question.

I got the Asus A8N-SLI motherboard and it's got the AC97 soundcard (or something like that).

What I want to know is does it fully support 5.1 speakers or at least so I could hear "where the people are coming from" in America's Army.

Heh, yeah, I'm a worried gamer. :p

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by nizzy1115

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A short, practical follow-up that builds on ’s suggestion and gives steps to get the best positional audio from that board (and what to expect if you keep the onboard sound).

The A8N‑SLI’s onboard audio uses a Realtek ALC850 codec (analog multichannel outputs plus S/PDIF). It’s an AC97‑era implementation with the usual sample‑rate and DSP limitations compared with later HD‑Audio or modern dedicated cards, so don’t expect hardware EAX/advanced DSP from the codec itself. (pugetsystems.com)

Wiring and jack mapping to check first: PC99 color conventions are commonly used—lime/green = front, black = rear, orange = center + sub, blue = line‑in, pink = mic. Confirm the case’s front‑panel audio header is connected if your speaker kit uses a front-panel jack. If you have a receiver, the board’s coax/optical S/PDIF is usually the cleaner route for digital multichannel. (manualzilla.com)

In‑OS and in‑game setup: use the driver/Realtek control panel to select the correct speaker configuration and use Windows’ Speaker Setup test tones to verify each channel. America’s Army has a Software / Hardware / Hardware+EAX option—Hardware+EAX only gives the advertised extra positional/occlusion cues when the sound card supports EAX (Audigy/X‑Fi era cards do). If you pursue a Creative card for gaming, enable H/W or H/W+EAX in the game and check the EAX control panel (some guides recommend “All Effects Off” for accurate positional cues). (vandalfsen.me)

Quick troubleshooting checklist: update the Realtek AC97 drivers if channels are missing, run Windows’ channel test, verify front‑panel wiring, and try the game’s different audio modes to compare “software” vs “hardware” rendering. If pinpoint positional audio (and hardware EAX) is critical for competitive play, a dedicated EAX‑capable PCI card will generally give clearer results than an AC97 onboard codec.

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Member Avatar for nizzy1115

yes it does providing that you have a 5.1 speaker setup and they are all plugged into the motherboard (should be 3 audio jacks plugged into the motherboard from the speakers). It will also then need to be configured in the controll pannel most likely to tell it to use 5.1.

Actually though, your motherboard supports upto 8 channels so that you can have a 7.1 system. But honestly, if you are a gamer, i would buy a soundblaster audigy pci card. You will notice a huge difference in sound quality and will notice where the guys are coming from much easier.

Member Avatar for BullHorn

Thanks for the answer.

I saw a Creative Sound Blaster Live 7.1 - 24 BIT - RETAIL soundcard somewhere around for like $40. Is it good?

Member Avatar for nizzy1115

$33 @newegg.com

The soundblaster live series is alright, but the audigy is much better, and the xfi is the best. If you have a bit more money i would suggest an audigy card especially if you have a decent speaker system, otherwise that live card should be just fine.

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