Audio Processing Unit (APU)|NVIDIA
 
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  • NVIDIA SoundStorm

    Combined with the APU, NVIDIA SoundStorm(TM) audio provides Dolby Digital 5.1 encoding and connections for headphones; front left and right, and rear left and right speakers; a center channel; and subwoofer connection.

  • SoundStorm Song Mixer

    Create your own SoundStorm song mix and email it to your friends!

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Audio Processing Unit (APU)

 
 
Today, the majority of homes are equipped with at least one PC, some of which are hooked up to home theater setups and cutting-edge sound systems. Hard-core gamers appreciate the thumping bass of a 5-speaker set-up and a 10-inch sub-woofer timed to accentuate in-game effects and ambience. From the cinematic sound quality of DVDs to the ambience of first-person shooters, 3D positional audio--including Dolby® Digital 5.1--is becoming an important ingredient for creating true-to-life entertainment experiences.

The NVIDIA® audio processing unit (APU) is primed to bridge the gap between games and reality by providing the world's most advanced 3D positional audio and DirectX 8.0 compatibility. The APU is an integral part of the first- and second-generation nForce™ media and communications processors, is the only one of its kind. The nForce APU, combined with NVIDIA's SoundStorm™ solutions, addresses the increasing appetite for full-featured, high-quality, real-time encoded Dolby Digital 3D audio, and greatly surpasses the audio capabilities of other sound cards and sound solutions.
An NVIDIA APU, combined with the optional SoundStorm, provides 5 channels of discrete surround sound for a truly cinematic experience.
Like its graphics counterpart, the GPU, the APU helps increase overall PC system performance by off-loading audio effects processing from the CPU. Unlike traditional sound cards with extremely limited function sets, an APU is defined by the following three parameters:
  • An advanced architecture featuring, at a minimum, support for hardware acceleration of 256 2D voices and 64 3D voices, and advanced 3D positional audio.
  • Full support for all DirectX 8.0 features and capabilities.
  • The ability to incorporate support for Dolby Digital 5.1 and a Dolby Digital encoder in hardware to deliver an uncompromised, cinematic-quality audio experience.
With features such as the most advanced 3D positional audio, a real-time Dolby Digital encoder, and full support for DirectX 8.0 audio, the NVIDIA nForce APU exceeds the features and performance of today's top-of-the-line sound cards and other integrated sound solutions. When incorporated into a PC distributed processing design, such as the NVIDIA nForce platform processing architecture, or a game consoles, the end result is an uncompromised 3D audio experience.


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