I can't be the only person who was shocked to find out..

[lawnmower38]

..Apple are using shoddy Realtek on-board sound cards. I mean really, in my experience with PC's if someone has a problem with sound you can almost guarantee every single time that Realtek is behind it. I must admit that it seems to be doing a very good job in Mac OS. In Windows XP however (which I regret still being tied to through various software) I can't get 5.1 sound to play through my amp via optical cable. Obviously this isn't a hardware issue, it's the shoddy software Realtek supply. I've searched forums for days now, no one seems to have an answer for this. Here is my solution (incase anyone else on here is in my situation):

Buy a USB Soundcard for use with Windows
Buy a toslink optical splitter (and an extra cable)

When Mac OS is awake, the Realtek card will output
After disabling Realtek in windows, the USB soundcard should run things. without conflicting optical signals travelling down the cable.

If anyone has a better way of doing this please let me know, otherwise I'm off to the shops tomorrow.

Just venting a little steam..

 

[D3v1L80Y]

..Apple are using shoddy Realtek on-board sound cards. ... I must admit that it seems to be doing a very good job in Mac OS.

If it is doing a good job under Mac OS, then how can it be a "shoddy" piece of equipment for a Mac?

 

[christm]

If it is doing a good job under Mac OS, then how can it be a "shoddy" piece of equipment for a Mac?

because the software that comes for windows with it is bad.

 

[D3v1L80Y]

because the software that comes for windows with it is bad.

Why should Apple care about software for Windows? The hardware and software they sell is designed for optimal performance under OS X. That (OS X) is Apple's primary concern when designing the hardware configurations.

Yes, you can run Windows on Apple's machines, but the perfomance of Windows on that hardware really isn't any major concern of Apple's. It isn't their OS and they have no cause or pressing, dire need to worry about how their configurations and hardware choices are affected under another OS.

 

[gilesjuk]

Realtek is behind many on chip solutions these days. The sound is good enough for most purposes. If you are a professional musician or sound engineer you will use an external audio device anyway.

 

[cjay]

Realtek is behind many on chip solutions these days. The sound is good enough for most purposes. If you are a professional musician or sound engineer you will use an external audio device anyway.

Exactly. I wouldn't use an internal soundcard for any serious work.