# Realtek ALC 889 or ALC892



## happy (Dec 29, 2011)

I am debating on which one of these Realtek audio chip are better.  I am going to buy a motherboard that I will use to connect to my receiver via HDMI.  Which one of the audio chip will produce the loudest and clearest sound?  I want to be able to get the latest DTS-HD and DB-HD and all the other hd audio codecs.  Which one is better.  I don't plan to buy a ati gpu so I will only rely on the cpu's dedicated graphics and the motherboards audio chip.  I plan only to watch movies which are super high quality rips (25GB).  

Which one is best for my situation?

THANK YOU.


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## Mussels (Dec 29, 2011)

if you're using HDMI, you wont be using the realtek onboard. HDMI is a digital signal which bypasses the soundcards completely.


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## micropage7 (Dec 29, 2011)

the newer one usually offer better features than the other 
889
892


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## happy (Dec 29, 2011)

Mussels said:


> if you're using HDMI, you wont be using the realtek onboard. HDMI is a digital signal which bypasses the soundcards completely.



Does that mean if I am using HDMI whether from GPU or motherboard both will not have any difference?  Is digital sound better than the realtek alc 892 and 889?  889 has 108dB which is pretty loud.

If I am basically watching movies (high quality rips 25GB) does getting a graphic card rather than utilize the dedicated gpu make a difference in the movie?


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## Mussels (Dec 29, 2011)

happy said:


> Does that mean if I am using HDMI whether from GPU or motherboard both will not have any difference?  Is digital sound better than the realtek alc 892 and 889?  889 has 108dB which is pretty loud.
> 
> If I am basically watching movies (high quality rips 25GB) does getting a graphic card rather than utilize the dedicated gpu make a difference in the movie?



if you're using digital audio, the sound card doesnt touch it. so they make no difference at all, apart from features (for example, older HDMI audio devices only did 5.1, while the latest do 7.1)


volume is a terrible way to measure sound quality.

graphics cards arent relevant to your audio questions, if you mean video they make no difference. any video card with 256MB (integrated/onboard can handle it fine, since they use system ram) of ram can handle 1080p playback flawlessly, as ripped copies are decoded and played back via the CPU.


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## CJCerny (Dec 29, 2011)

happy said:


> Does that mean if I am using HDMI whether from GPU or motherboard both will not have any difference?  Is digital sound better than the realtek alc 892 and 889?  889 has 108dB which is pretty loud.
> 
> If I am basically watching movies (high quality rips 25GB) does getting a graphic card rather than utilize the dedicated gpu make a difference in the movie?



The 108db number you are quoting for the 889 is not a measurement of how loud the output is. That is the signal to noise number, which is totally different. The volume of any sound chip is not a function of the chip itself, but of how it is implemented and amped on the motherboard or sound card in question.


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## Deleted member 24505 (Dec 29, 2011)

The 889 is better, it has a better s/n of 108db, vs 95 on the 892.


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## happy (Dec 30, 2011)

Thank You. I now have a better knowledge before building my HTPC.


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## Artas1984 (Jan 30, 2012)

I am picking a 990X motherboard.

Which chip do you suggest for Logitech Z-2300 - ALC889 or ALC892 and why?


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## btarunr (Jan 30, 2012)

Hands down ALC889. It has a rated SnR of 110 dBA, while ALC892 is 90~99 dBA.


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## Artas1984 (Jan 30, 2012)

The Gigabyte 990X motherboard is cheaper than Asus and MSI 990X motherboards and has ALC889 instead of ALC892. The choice is clear.


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## entropy13 (Jan 30, 2012)

If the ALC 889 is the only advantage that Gigabyte board has over the others, then it won't be a good choice at all (talking about features/specifications only).


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## Yo_Wattup (Jan 30, 2012)

In the Digital Audio Production world, Realtek is the little fat loner kid that everyone likes to tease...


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## Artas1984 (Jan 30, 2012)

entropy13 said:


> If the ALC 889 is the only advantage that Gigabyte board has over the others, then it won't be a good choice at all (talking about features/specifications only).



Wrong, double wrong. First off, even though technically ALC889 is superior, the ALC892 is considered more advanced having more features. So that is one of the reasons the Gigabyte is cheaper.

Next, Gigabyte is cheaper, since it uses default 6X sata3 south bridge controllers,while other boards have additional sata ports and controllers.

Before opening mouth, at least care understand what is going on, you absolutely made it the other way around - the other boards have advantage over Gigabyte, not Gigabyte over the other boards! Those advantaged make no importance to me, so that is why i am choosing the cheaper Gigabyte.

I know this was of topic, but sometimes can't let pass when one does talk the absolute reverse.


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## btarunr (Jan 31, 2012)

Artas1984 said:


> Wrong, double wrong. First off, even though technically ALC889 is superior, the ALC892 is considered more advanced having more features. So that is one of the reasons the Gigabyte is cheaper.



ALC889 is costlier than ALC892. ALC892 is basically the same piece of silicon as ALC888D (~90 dBA) with Dolby Home Theater and Dolby Headphone to its software feature-set. Both features are already there with the 110 dBA ALC889 and ALC889A.


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