HDA Inbox vs Intel SST drivers on the same audio controller?  

I have a Dell Latitude 5591 and if I toggle the option to enable the Audio DSP and set it to non-UAA compliance for SST in BIOS, I can install Intel SST drivers. I kind of prefer this just to avoid Waves, but I'm wondering what technical differences there are? Windows says the device can use hardware-acceleration with SST which seems interesting.

I use setup_var_cv to enable the EFI var Audio DSP (0xF48 to 0x1) and Audio DSP Compliance Mode to Non-UAA (IntelSST) (0xF49 to 0x0). I don't believe this is specific to a Windows version but I'm on 10.0.22621.

The difference between the HDA Inbox (High Definition Audio) and Intel SST (Smart Sound Technology) drivers lies in the audio controller used on your Dell Latitude 5591.

The HDA Inbox driver is a generic driver provided by Microsoft that supports a wide range of audio controllers. It is a standard driver that offers basic functionality for audio playback and recording.

On the other hand, Intel SST is a specialized driver developed by Intel for their Smart Sound Technology audio controllers. SST provides additional features and optimizations specific to Intel audio hardware, such as hardware-acceleration capabilities. This allows certain audio processing tasks to be offloaded to the audio controller, reducing the CPU load and potentially improving performance.

By enabling the Audio DSP and setting it to non-UAA compliance in the BIOS, you are configuring your system to use the Intel SST driver specifically designed for your audio controller.

The decision between HDA Inbox and Intel SST drivers comes down to personal preference and requirements. If you prefer to avoid additional audio processing software like Waves, using the Intel SST driver can be a viable option as it provides hardware-acceleration capabilities. However, it's always recommended to use the drivers provided by your device manufacturer or official sources to ensure compatibility and stability.

I could have asked ChatGPT for that directly if I wanted something generic

I'm looking for technical details and developer feedback as to the differences. I want to know how SST offloads and how it differs from HDA inbox.

Espionage724 said:

I'm looking for technical details and developer feedback as to the differences. I want to know how SST offloads and how it differs from HDA inbox.

ask either Dell the pc manufacturer or Realtek by contacting either one of them about such matters

Intel SST does only 2 things --- it listens to "wake up cortana" when the laptop is asleep and offload waves audio processing to the DSP.

Cortana is dead and the OP is not using Waves --- so he is not going to benefit anything by doing what he did.