SoundStorm
Sound Storm is a certification for integrated 5.1 audio technology, which was designed by Nvidia for the nForce2 platform. Sound Storm uses the audio processor of the nForce chipset.
Certification
To get the SoundStorm certification, had a motherboard manufacturers use on his boards the nForce audio processor and its outputs. In addition, it was necessary not to fall below a tested by Dolby Laboratories audio quality.
The certification ensures that nForce boards offer a high quality audio output. For this reason, enjoyed SoundStorm great popularity, since it offers high quality for a relatively low price. In addition, it was the only PC technology this time that could produce real Dolby Digital 5.1, which was important especially for home theater PCs.
Hardware
Sound Storm is frequently, but erroneously, called a chip. The chip used by Sound Storm is a nForce Audio Processing Unit (APU ), which is integrated into the MCP -D and MCP -T Southbridge nForce and nForce2 chipsets. A number of processor units, which take both generic and specific functions, provides a measured amount of a total of 4 billion operations per second. A fully programmable, based on the Motorola 56300 digital signal processing is provided for effects processing, but inadequately supported by DirectX on the PC. The other hand, Xbox developers is a much better access to the functionality of the individual processor units.
The digital signal processor (DSP ) of the APU is usually driven by code, which specializes in 3D audio middleware company Sensaura. Almost any sound hardware and software that is not from Creative, Windows uses the Sensaura code. In contrast to most other solutions SoundStorm implements the execution of the code in hardware, which has a low CPU utilization result. Furthermore, a real-time encoding in Dolby Digital 5.1 is possible. The difference to other onboard audio solutions this time could be up to 20 % of the CPU load. This ranged Sound Storm approached the unequal expensive Audigy system from Creative.
Driver
Since the SoundStorm technology is a generic DSP, the code receives during the boot process of the drivers, enhancements to the functionality are comparatively simple. On the other hand, this also means that other manufacturers can not develop drivers for Sound Storm because they are deprived of the DSP code access. Linux driver for Sound Storm have direct access to the audio codec and circumvent the APU.
The nForce2 APU is a purely digital component, and the motherboard manufacturers still had to use for the output codec chips like the ALC650 from Realtek, which requires, among other things, a conversion of digital to analog signals. After the demise of the SoundStorm technology codec chip such as the Realtek 850 are advanced to standard solutions, which left mainly to the audio functions to the processor. Here, the quality of the drivers of high importance to ensure particular good under load audio performance.
Demolition
Unfortunately, the complexity of the hardware and the high license fees for the Dolby certification were a major cost factor which was not proportional to the power. So nVidia dropped the technology with the introduction of the nForce3 chipset.
There was also by a lack of formal certification is little incentive for motherboard manufacturers to use the necessary for high-quality audio solutions components. From a purely technical standpoint, cost, there is no reason why an unchanged reproduction of a motherboard without nForce APU and Sound Storm DSP should not come close to the quality of a SoundStorm -certified nForce2 boards. The speed benefits of a digital signal processor played safe for customers equipped with a Sound Storm motherboards no major role, and true gamers resorted mostly to other sound cards.
Xbox
The Sound Storm Development was originally supported by Microsoft, which wanted to use the technology in the Xbox game console. Supposedly Sony has funded the development of a successor to the PlayStation 3, so that Sound Storm could return to the PC as part of a multimedia video card.