Mike, I think you are thinking of an ADC when you say READ 14 bits. As it is a DAC if the OP only wants to use 8 bits I think using the top 8 bits would best. If he was using the parallel load option then he could just connect the top 8 bits and ground the lower 6 bits. If he was loading it serially he would probably have to send all 14 bits and just make the lower 6 bits zeroes.
Mike, I think you are thinking of an ADC when you say READ 14 bits. As it is a DAC if the OP only wants to use 8 bits I think using the top 8 bits would best. If he was using the parallel load option then he could just connect the top 8 bits and ground the lower 6 bits. If he was loading it serially he would probably have to send all 14 bits and just make the lower 6 bits zeroes.
Hi Ian, I only skimmed through the data sheet to see how the DAC communicated with the micro. (I was expecting it to be I2C.) I can't understand why the OP is using such an expensive IC when only 8 bits is required. (I looked up the price as I thought it looked a useful device. It costs about £23 so I lost interest.) I think if I wanted an 8 bit DAC I would just use a R/2R network.