the device drivers at boot time, this made it easy to add new functionality to SoundStorm. However, it also meant that it was not possible to create third-party device drivers for the SoundStorm, since they did not have access to the DSP code. Linux drivers for the SoundStorm actually talk directly to the audio codec (like a RealTek ALC650), bypassing the APU completely and doing all audio calculations on the CPU and leaving the SoundStorm DSP idle. History Video game consoles Reportedly 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 was hinted that 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. While there did appear to be plans for a discrete product at one point, this never materialised. Discontinuation Nvidia decided the cost of including the SoundStorm SIP block on the dies of their chipsets was too high and was not included in nForce3 and beyond. Alternatives Other manufacturers have since produced standalone sound cards based on C-Media chips such as the CMI8788 which also provide Dolby Digital and DTS encoding features. These manufacturers include Turtle Beach and Auzentech. A software alternative is redocneXk, which provides real-time AC3 encoding comparable to SoundStorm or Creative's Audigy2 and later sound cards. However, early versions of these alternatives may still be lagging behind the SoundStorm in terms of reliability, ease of use, and CPU usage. In October 2013 AMD presented products with AMD TrueAudio. A block of DSPs to be used to offload calculations for 3D sound. See also Comparison of Nvidia chipsets AMD TrueAudio References External links Nvidia: SoundStorm 3DsoundSurge Review: NVIDIA nForce APU Sensaura (now owned by Creative) Audio acceleration Sound cards Nvidia IP cores