[mythtv-users] optical SPDIF output on nforce4 mobo: possible?

[Adam Hirsch]

Greg Woods (greg at gregandeva.net) wrote:

> The question I have is, where does the name "nforce" come from? This
> page appears to imply that "nforce" is the same as the ALC850, but how
> do I know if I've got "nforce", "nforce2", or "nforce4", or something
> else altogether?

They're two different things, but they're often referred to in the same
breath.  My ASUS A8N-E mobo, for example, has the same audio chipset as you
describe, the "Realtek ALC850 rev 0".  The nForce4 is what's called the
"northbridge" chip, and it acts as something of a traffic cop on one's
motherboard.

For more details (and some very helpful diagrams for those new to
hardware), check out this article on PCIx, which explains northbridges and
southbridges along the way.

http://arstechnica.com/articles/paedia/hardware/pcie.ars/1

Adam

-- 
People wish to be settled;                           http://web.baz.org/~adam/
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