spdif

[Federalli]

can someone please explain spdif? i have an optical port in my headphone socket. is it better quality?

[RecT]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spdif

[Federalli]

but when i use it, there is always a delay between the sound starting and it coming on my speakers

[Chris]

You can change the settings from in windows between 'digital out' and 'analog out'. The difference is that dig out will only output when there is sound and so gives a slight delay. Ana out will always output whats going through the sound card. If your card is poorly insulated, then this can result in other noises coming over the speakers.