SoundStorm
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SoundStorm was an advanced integrated 5.1 sound technology certification developed by nVidia for the nForce2 platform based on the nForce audio processing unit (APU).
To achieve SoundStorm certification, a motherboard manufacturer had to include the nForce APU and include the necessary discrete outputs. It was also necessary to meet certain sound quality levels as tested by Dolby Digital sound labs.
It is often referred to as an audio chip but this is a misconception. The audio 'chip' component of SoundStorm is the nForce APU, which is included in the MCP-D and MCP-T southbridges of the nForce and nForce2 chipsets respectively.
As the nForce APU had a large number of hardware accelerated functions, it allowed extremely low CPU usage. It was also capable of realtime Dolby Digital 5.1 encoding. Compared to other onboard audio solutions of the day, the difference in CPU usage when running popular multimedia applications was as much as 10-20%. While the Creative Audigy offers similar performance, it does so at a much higher price point, and only as a discrete add in solution.
The SoundStorm certification also ensured that many manufacturers solution with high quality sound output. It needs to be noted that the nForce2 APU was a purely digital component, motherboard manufacturers still used codec chips from RealTek and similar manufacturers (such as the RealTek 650) for the audio output functions including the necessary digital to analog conversion (DAC).
For this reason, SoundStorm achieved significant popularity in the hardware enthusiast community, offering high quality for a bargain price. Sadly, nVidia decided the cost of manufacturing SoundStorm as an integrated product was too high, and while it was retained on nForce2 Athlon XP boards, nForce3 and beyond dropped it.
Instead, only a codec chip such as the Realtek 850 is included so all audio processing functions rely on the host processor. As such, the quality of the drivers is very important to ensure resonably low host processor usage without an audio quality issues.
Furthermore, without any certification, there is little incentive for motherboards manufacturers to ensure their designs have a good quality level. It needs be considered that from a purely technical point of view, there is no reason why onboard sound from motherboard without the nForce APU and SoundStorm certification cannot reproduce non-processed sound such as a MP3 or CD without effects applied as well as can a SoundStorm certified nForce2 motherboard.
While there did appear to be plans for a discrete product at one point, this never in fact materialised.
SoundStorm development was originally funded by Microsoft for use in the Xbox gaming console. At time of writing reportedly a second generation chip has been developed, this time with funding from Sony, as part of the PlayStation 3 project. It is hinted SoundStorm may make return to the PC scene, possibly as part of a multimedia graphics card, along the lines of the original NV1 card, rather than as a discrete or onboard solution.
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