How would i connect my pc to a 5.1 receiver?

[JSantiago]

My motherboard supports Dts connect and dts ultra pc 2 which means it has 7.1 or 5.1 surround sound support. 

1. What is better to use S/PDIF or analog output? or should i go with hdmi? 

2. For this combination to work do my receiver have special features that i should have for my computer to pass it through s/pdif/analog or hdmi? 

3. Is it the receiver's job to give power to the passive speakers?

[SantiagoManager]

With the analog you would have to adjust the sound on your computer AND reciever, where as on the optical, it will give your reciever the sound input and let it control the sound independently.

[sdxadmin]

Thanks! We're glad you're our customer!2

[SantiagoManager]

I would use s/pdif, digital sound. then use dvi or HDMI for your display. That'd probably be the best way. With the analog you would have to adjust the sound on your computer AND reciever, where as on the optical, it will give your reciever the sound input and let it control the sound independently.

[SantiagoManager]

Using an s/pdif would be your best bet for the most true sound. s/pdif is sometimes referred to as a TOSLINK cable. I recommend buying a couple because the cable inside is glass and if jerked like a regular cable then you can damage the cord. Your PC will need to have an output source of 5.1 to send 5.1 to a receiver. Often times bluray/DVDs will be authored with 5.1/7.1. 

I used to work tech support for a major player in home audio. It is basically all the same for the big ones YAMAHA, DENON etc... if you make sure your source is outputting the 5.1 and the correct drivers are installed then the receiver will process the signal and amplify it to your system. If you dont have a 5.1 feed and its a video game that is only broadcasting stereo then you will need to simulate the 5 channel audio from the receiver. 

I have included a link to buy spdif cables they are reasonably priced 
when you sign up for free trial of prime (second link) then you get free 2 day shipping on them too. Its pretty neat.

[sdxadmin]

Thanks! We're glad you're our customer!

[SantiagoManager]

- 0. With a HDMI cable. You can buy cheap good HDMI (or S/PDIF) cables at monoprice or amazon or newegg or tigerdirect. 
- First hdmi cable to hdmi output on computer or Blu-ray player or DVD player or game console to hdmi input on receiver for HD audio, then second hdmi cable to hdmi output on receiver to hdmi input on tv for HD video. 
- Receiver menu -> manual setup -> hdmi setup -> hdmi audio setup -> send audio to amp (not passthrough to tv). (hdmi video passthroughs to tv untouched). Compatible passive speakers hook up to the receiver (amplifier) with red and black speaker wire. (You can find good cheap cables at monoprice or amazon). 

- 1. HDMI is best if you want if you take advantage of the 7.1 and high quality surround sound formats on Blu-ray movies. 
= (Audio cables: DisplayPort, HDMI, S/PDIF Optical, or S/PDIF Coxial carry digital audio). (Red/White or Headphone jack only carry stereo/2.0 analog audio). 
- DisplayPort to Displayport cable (v1.0 to v1.2) or HDMI to HDMI cable (v1.3 to v1.4) cable: Up to 7.1/24bit/96khz or 5.1/24bit/192khz with formats such as (uncompressed, PCM) or (loseless, DTS-HD-MA or Dolby TrueHD) or (lossy, DTS-HD-HR or Dolby Digital Plus). Up to 5.1/24bit/48khz with formats such as (lossy, DTS or Dolby Digital). (6.1/24bit/48khz with lossy DTS-ES Discrete). (5.1/24bit/96khz with lossy DTS 96/24). 
- S/PDIF Optical to S/PDIF Optical cable or S/PDIF Coxial to S/PDIF Coxial cable: Up to 5.1/24bit/48khz with formats such as (lossy, DTS or Dolby Digital). (6.1/24bit/48khz with lossy DTS-ES Discrete). (5.1/24bit/96khz with lossy DTS 96/24). (2.0/24bit/192khz with uncompressed PCM). 
= Tip: If you have a receiver (input deveice) and/or output device that does not support DTS-HD-MA, Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD-HR, or Dolby Digital Plus bitstreams, you can tell your output device to decode it into PCM and then send it over the hdmi cable to the receiver (receiver has to support multi-channel PCM). 

- 2. With HDMI your graphics card has to support HDMI audio output and you have to enable it and any additional settings. Same applies to S/PDIF Optical or S/PDIF Coxial. 
- VLC Media Player -> tools tab -> preferences -> show settings to all -> audio -> output modules -> directX -> speaker configuration -> 5.1 or 7.1. (You could have go to the audio tab instead of tools tab and do it there). If your on audio tab you can also check use s/pdif when available if that helps. 
or 
- K-Lite codec pack for Media Player Classic Home Cinema -> play tab -> filters -> ffdashow audio decoder (unless it's using a different audio decoder codec) -> output tab -> select surround sound formats your receiver supports to passthrough S/PDIF or HDMI. You can also select other audio quality settings too and if your using a HDMI cable and receiver does not support higher quality surround sound formats you can select LPCM output. 
- Also if your using windows 7 or 8, it should have a audio effect you can use instead. 


- 3. Yes, the receiver's main job is to be the amplifier for your passive/unpowered 5 (or 7) speakers. Most subwoofers will be powered (active) (built in amplifier) and needs to be connected the receiver to get audio and connected to a power outlet. 

EDIT: 
You could try to your soundcards DTS connect .ect for video games if they don't have a surround sound option. 
I provided the video players as a insured way to make it work.