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[H1616]How To Sound Card

by Otis Cooper -, Oti

Why you ask? Many new computers come with an integrated sound card.This means that the sound card is really a chip mounted right onto the motherboard.This type of sound card is of poor quality and sound.

Installing a new dedicated sound card in an empty expansion bay will greatly improve the quality and sound of anything you listen to on your computer,especially those awesome in depth games you play.

Before deciding to upgrade your sound card, you should know the type of sound card you have and its capability. You should know if your current sound card is integrated or if its inserted into a adapter slot in the system unit.

Its rather easy to find this information from your PC by clicking on Start,Control Panel,click on Sounds, Speech, and Audio Devices. Now Click on Sounds and Audio Devices and click on the Hardware Tab.Whew,that's a lot of clicking isn't it.

But you can find this information without going through the hassle of opening your computer or its owner's manual.If you see a device with the phrase "Integrated Digital Audio" then you have an integrated sound chip on your motherboard.

Games are no doubt the first reason for sound card upgrades.Nearly all games support 3D audio APIs or Application Program Interface.This technology use surround sound through your sound card.

Two of the most popular APIs are Microsoft's DirectX and Creative Lab's EAX.When upgrading don't overlook the type of speakers you have.You will cripple that awesome new sound card if your speakers are the pits.

The Second thing you need to do in upgrading is to remove any and all software concerning your current card. And you need to disable your old card if it is intgrated onto the motherboard.

To perform this task,boot up your computer and as it goes through the POST or Power On Self Test,press the key combination that will allow you to access your BIOS.

Your BIOS is your Basic Input Output System which tells the computer to check itself for operation.There are various key combinations and sometimes just one key such as F1 to access the BIOS.Check your owner's manual to be sure of the right key.

Once inside the BIOS,look for references such as "Onboard" or "Integrated" devices.Click this reference and find the "Sound Device.Next change the settings to off or disabled.The Integrated sound chip is now off.

To remove any software and device drivers related to the old card,Click on Start,Control Panel,and click the System Icon.Then click the Hardware tab of the System properties windows.

Now click on the Device Manager button and click the plus sign next to Sound,Video,and Game Controllers.Now you will need to Right-click on the entry for your sound card or chip.

Choose Uninstall from the drop-down menu to complete the software removal task.This procedure must not be overlooked since the computer uses device drivers to talk to the components inside the pc.

Now you are ready to remove the old card if it is in a expansion slot and install the new card.Turn off the PC and unplug it.Remove static charge from yourself by touching a doorknob or using a wrist strap.

Open the case and locate the sound card in one of the adapter slots.Remove the retaining screw and carefully pull the old card out.Take note of the cable coming from the cdrom and dvd drive.

Disconnect this cable,remove the old card and push the new card in its place.Re-connect the dvd drive cable and secure the card to the system unit using the old retaining screw.

Now you can replace the system unit cover,plug all the peripherals into the computer and plug the PC back into its power source.Plug the speakers into the line level output of the sound card.

Start the computer and when Windows detect the new card,follow the instructions to install the manufacturer supplied software with the device drivers.

Even though the sound card is new,visit the card's support web site and check to be certain you have the most recent device drivers.If not,you can easily download and install them from the support site.

And there you have it.Its that simple to upgrade your crappy old sound card to a powerful high quality sound card capable of producing bone shaddering noises in conjunction with the awesome graphics in your favorite game.

The motherboard of a computer comes with a basic sound component but because of the nature of the tasks involved these computers need higher quality components when it comes to sound and video cards.

Digital format

Before the eighties all audio was analog but with the advent of CDs on the market, the digital format began to take over. All information from a computer is digital including the audio. In order to hear a song it must be changed into an analog signal. Although there are attempts to improve the quality, the digital format has gaps in its information due to conversion.

An average CD contains 44.1 KHZ per 16 bits. That is every analog signal makes up one step and there are 44100 steps every second. The steps are given a number. This number ranges up to 16 bits (65536). A DVD has about 96khz at 16 bits and a DVD audio has 192 khz at 24 bits.

The digital audio is changed into analog using the Digital Audio Converter or DAC

The quality of the DAC is one of the determining factors when buying a sound card.

Types of Audio Cards

The motherboard has a sound processor called the AC 97. It can support a DVD at 96 kHz, 16 bits six channels but the quality is lacking. The sound is noisy and cannot support more complex applications.

It is better to get an external sound card that can be inserted into a PCI slot on the motherboard. The card you select will depend on the function it serves. If you want to watch DVD's a basic card will suffice. If you are looking for something that will help you record music, or add a microphone you will probably need something more sophisticated and if you are a professional musician or video editor it would be best to get a card with multitrack recording and high sound quality.

What to look for

Take a look at the specifications of a sound card to find more about its quality. One number to take not of is the S/N or signal to noise ratio. This is the ratio between the audio sounds versus the background noise in a room. The higher this ratio is, the better the sound card quality. This number is measured in decibels (db). A db of 90 is good and for the professional it should be more than 100db.

The number of channels a sound card supports can be important. They can come in configurations of 5.1, 6.1, and 7.1. The first number indicates the number of satellite speakers you can place near the computer and the .1 is the subwoofer channel which is for low frequency sounds.

For those who are looking at professional grade sound cards, the input amount is important. A basic sound card has one for each stereo pair but a professional sound card will allow for ten.

Prices vary; you can get a poor quality basic card for ten dollars. Most of the better cards are at least fifty dollars and if you are a professional the cards you are looking for can be four hundred dollars or more.

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Both Otis Cooper - & Daniel Travers are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

Otis Cooper - has sinced written about articles on various topics from . Otis F. Cooper is solely dedicated to boosting the knowledge and confidence of every computer user. Sign up to receive his informative articles every month and learn PC Repair absolutely free.Sign upnow at http://www.ultimatepcrepair.com. Otis Cooper -'s top article . to your Favourites.

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