How about GeForce 8200 and nVIDIA HDMI as an alternative? (Perhaps even new 9300 or something for Intel. Don't know much about that, sorry.) There is even one ITX (made by Jetway), and lots of mATX. Much cheaper than G45, and I believe that it supports 8ch LPCM. Not sure if it supports that on Linux, but there was a lot of work on that topic recently.
2008/11/2 Alexander Werner alexander.werner@lambda-audiosystems.de:
I'm pretty confident it doesn't work yet, but it's being developed as we speak. Look at threads:
- Intel dg45id motherboard - ICH10 HD audio issues --> mATX, but very
similar board
- [ANNOUNCE] patch for INTEL HDMI codec --> unfortunately, I don't
believe it was checked in yet
Oops, i missed these threads completely. Looks great, though :) I'll try to test the patch as soon as I can, what may take some time, as I bricked my board today and have to wait for a replacement :(
BTW, those G45 boards are sweet :) But way overpriced IMHO :(
Jepp, they are sweet and overpriced, but the alternative solution needs an external soundcard and/or graphics card. This would consume more space and money.