Digital 5.1 Or Not?

[t_revz]

hey fellow geeks, so ive built plenty of computers over the years but never worried much about sound. i have a sound question i cant find the answer for in the book or online.

so i used a Ga-78lmt-usb3 motherboard last year and i want to know if i can get 5.1 digital.

it has HDMI out but it only supports digital stereo.

i can use the 3 rear jacks and the front 2 jacks to get 5.1 or 7.1 but its analogue

the motherboard has spdif but its only 2 pins and can only get stereo.

is the motherboard the limiting factor or can a sound card get 5.1 out from a DVD or saved file with surround? the board has 1 spare PCI slot but no PCI/e

thanks for your help

[Leroy Peterson]

curious: why do you need digital specifically?

I guess most people would use optical output if that was the case, but the motherboard doesnt have it.

Note: I have a Soundblaster sound card you can have if you like...

[t_revz]

Going from stereo analogue to digital 5.1 on my Xbox is day and night.

Not just the sound but the volume and clarity difference.

Assumed the digital is helping there and analogue surround would sound average too.

I have a spdif output card with optical out but the board only has 2 pins therefore it's not going to give me 5.1