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Nrrve OP t1_jdoua5y wrote

Reply to comment by mistersprinkles1983 in What digital connection from PC to DAC? by Nrrve

No worries. And thank you for the suggestions.

A DAC out USB port is made especially for that purpose? Interesting. I’ll look into that.

Does the output option affect CPU usage? I assume it’s minimal if any.

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mistersprinkles1983 t1_jdowrft wrote

Yes. It affects CPU usage but that hasn't mattered since like the 486 days. If you are using the line out 3.5mm jack on your motherboard, your CPU is doing some of the processing, but we're talking like less than 1% usage hit on a midrange modern CPU like a 13600K. If you are using digital out, the processinmg is done entirely outside the computer. It's sending a raw digital signal to your DAC and your DAC does all the work. DAC out USB ports are regular USB ports but there is filtering on the motherboard to prevent some of the noise issues that can sometimes arise with USB. It's a good feature to have on a mobo if you like audio more than the avg PC user.

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Nrrve OP t1_jdoxjzo wrote

That’s very helpful to know. Thank you. I assume they are labeled or advertised as much?

If you don’t use it for DAC out, can it be used for normal USB purposes?

Speaking of which, does it matter what USB port version is used for a output to a DAC, as in 2.0, 3.0 etc?

I guess that depends on what the DAC USB input is spec’d to?

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