Wanting to get a sound card

zxivate · 23-12-2007, 05:37 PM

I want to buy a nice sound card but I really don't know what specs I need to look at. So when buying a sound card what exactly do I need to look at?

zeus · 24-12-2007, 03:49 PM

What do you want from it? Surround sound is standard really but do you need any other stuff like asio or midi etc?

zxivate · 24-12-2007, 06:33 PM

ok, I'm not sure what asio and midi is. I will use it for gaming and music playing.

scorps65 · 29-12-2007, 05:12 AM

I'm not sure what ASIO is but MIDI is, in general, a system used to communicate between computers and electrical sound instruments(electrical piano keyboard for example)... it gets more complicated than this i assume.

Unless you need a good sound card for professional purposes, i would only really look at the amount of audio ports it has and the brand (Creative are pretty good). Things you may want to look at:

SPDIF: used to connect stereo systems, dvd players and such accessories...
Sample Rate: A lot of audio cards come with 48khz and 96khz, but again if you need to output audio or media at a higher rate for better quality go for the more expensive 192khz.
O/S: If your using a 64-bit system i'd check to see if that audio card has 64-bit support
Interface: Its up to you whether you'd like a PCI interface or a PCI-E. PCI-E's are a bit faster but PCI's are fine as well.

In general, if your going to use a card for surround and gaming... don't bother with SOME of the specs besides the ones i recommended you look at and get a cheap Creative card.

Hope i helped

zxivate · 29-12-2007, 05:34 AM

Thanks man... that clears up somethings. If anyone else has any more info that can add to my knowledge then let me know.

23-12-2007, 05:37 PM	#1 (permalink) Top
zxivate Big Geek Join Date: Nov 2007 Gender: Male Posts: 109 Times Helpful: 3 Status: Offline My Computer	Wanting to get a sound card I want to buy a nice sound card but I really don't know what specs I need to look at. So when buying a sound card what exactly do I need to look at?

29-12-2007, 05:12 AM	#4 (permalink) Top
scorps65 Mega Geek Join Date: Nov 2007 Age: 20 Male Posts: 375 Times Helpful: 22 My Mood: Psychadelic Status: Offline My Computer	I'm not sure what ASIO is but MIDI is, in general, a system used to communicate between computers and electrical sound instruments(electrical piano keyboard for example)... it gets more complicated than this i assume. Unless you need a good sound card for professional purposes, i would only really look at the amount of audio ports it has and the brand (Creative are pretty good). Things you may want to look at: SPDIF: used to connect stereo systems, dvd players and such accessories... Sample Rate: A lot of audio cards come with 48khz and 96khz, but again if you need to output audio or media at a higher rate for better quality go for the more expensive 192khz. O/S: If your using a 64-bit system i'd check to see if that audio card has 64-bit support Interface: Its up to you whether you'd like a PCI interface or a PCI-E. PCI-E's are a bit faster but PCI's are fine as well. In general, if your going to use a card for surround and gaming... don't bother with SOME of the specs besides the ones i recommended you look at and get a cheap Creative card. Hope i helped __________________

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24-12-2007, 03:49 PM	#2 (permalink) Top
zeus out of date Join Date: May 2003 Age: 27 Posts: 1,641 Times Helpful: 105 My Mood: Twisted Status: Offline My Computer	What do you want from it? Surround sound is standard really but do you need any other stuff like asio or midi etc?

24-12-2007, 06:33 PM	#3 (permalink) Top
zxivate Big Geek Join Date: Nov 2007 Gender: Male Posts: 109 Times Helpful: 3 Status: Offline My Computer	ok, I'm not sure what asio and midi is. I will use it for gaming and music playing.

29-12-2007, 05:34 AM	#5 (permalink) Top
zxivate Big Geek Join Date: Nov 2007 Gender: Male Posts: 109 Times Helpful: 3 Status: Offline My Computer	Thanks man... that clears up somethings. If anyone else has any more info that can add to my knowledge then let me know.

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