SoundStorm
SoundStorm is a certification for integrated 5.1 audio technologies designed by Nvidia for the nForce2 platform. SoundStorm uses the audio processor of the nForce chipset.
Certification
To get SoundStorm certification, a motherboard manufacturer had to use the nForce audio processor and its outputs on their boards. In addition, it was necessary not to go below the audio quality tested by Dolby Laboratories .
Certification ensures that nForce boards provide high quality audio output. For this reason SoundStorm enjoyed great popularity, as it offers high quality for a comparatively low price. In addition, it was the only PC technology of the time that could produce true Dolby Digital 5.1, which was particularly important for home theater PCs.
hardware
SoundStorm is often, but incorrectly, called a chip. The chip used by SoundStorm is an nForce audio processor (APU) built into the MCP-D and MCP-T southbridges of the nForce and nForce2 chipsets. A number of processor units, which perform both generic and specific functions, offer a measured amount totaling 4 billion operations per second. Fully programmable digital signal processing based on the Motorola 56300 is provided for effects processing, but DirectX on the PC does not support it very well. Xbox developers, on the other hand, have much better access to the functionality of the individual processor units.
The APU's digital signal processor (DSP) is usually controlled by code from the middleware company Sensaura, which specializes in 3D audio . Almost every sound hardware and software that does not come from Creative uses the Sensaura code under Windows. Unlike most other solutions, SoundStorm implements the execution of the code in hardware, which results in little CPU usage. Real-time coding in Dolby Digital 5.1 is also possible. The difference to other onboard audio solutions of this time could be up to 20% of the CPU load. SoundStorm thus came close to the much more expensive Audigy system from Creative.
driver
Since the SoundStorm technology is a generic DSP that receives code from the drivers during the boot process, it is comparatively easy to expand the functionality. On the other hand, this also means that other manufacturers cannot develop drivers for SoundStorm as they are denied access to the DSP code. Linux drivers for SoundStorm access the audio codec directly and thereby bypass the APU.
The nForce2-APU is a purely digital component, and the mainboard manufacturers still had to use codec chips such as the Realtek ALC650 for output, which among other things requires conversion from digital to analog signals. After the fall of the SoundStorm technology, codec chips such as the Realtek 850 have become standard solutions that leave the audio functions mostly to the processor. The quality of the drivers is very important here in order to ensure that the audio properties are particularly good under load.
cancellation
Unfortunately, the complexity of the hardware and the high licensing fees for Dolby certification were a huge cost that was disproportionate to performance. So nVidia dropped the technology with the introduction of the nForce3 chipset.
In addition, due to the lack of formal certification, there was little incentive for mainboard manufacturers to use the components required for high-quality audio solutions. From a purely cost-oriented point of view, there is no reason why a motherboard without nForce APU and SoundStorm DSP should not come close to the quality of a SoundStorm-certified nForce2 board with unchanged playback. The speed advantages of a digital signal processor certainly did not play a major role for customers of a mainboard equipped with SoundStorm, and real gamers usually turned to other sound cards.
Xbox
The SoundStorm development was originally supported by Microsoft , who wanted to use the technology in the Xbox game console. Allegedly Sony has funded the development of a successor to the PlayStation 3 so that SoundStorm could return to the PC as part of a multimedia graphics card.