What are Computer
Sound Cards?

Computer sound cards (also called audio cards) are expansion cards that output audio to your speaker system and also record audio to your hard drive.

They play back audio and have input and output ports for connecting microphones, stereo speakers and line input.

Computerized audio goes through three stages:

1.  Conversion of the input sound from analog to digital performed by the Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC).

2.  Storing of the digital audio in a compressed file.

3.  Reproduction of the audio which is achieved by re-converting the digital audio to analog audio done by the Digital-to-Analog Converter (DAC).

Computer audio adapters/sound cards exist in the following forms:

• An audio adapter on a PCI expansion card that you install in the PCI slot on your motherboard.
• A sound chip on the motherboard produced by companies such as Crystal, Analog Devices, Sigmatel and ESS, etc.
• Integrated into the motherboard's main chipset such as from Intel, SiS and VIA Technologies.

The most important component of computer sound cards are the analog-to-digital converter (ADC) which converts the audio into digital data for storage on the hard drive.

Most sound cards are accompanied with a device driver and software needed, such as applications software, to play audio CDs. After they are physically installed, the device driver must be installed for it to function properly.

Also, ensure that the audio cable is connected to the CD/DVD ROM drive and the sound card; otherwise, there will be no audio whenever you attempt to play a music CD.

You have a choice between the two most common types of audio available today. There's integrated or onboard audio which means the audio card is built into the motherboard or PCI sound cards which are installed in the PCI slots on the motherboard.

Almost all audio adapters provide dedicated jacks/connectors for analog joysticks and MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) hardware. This feature, however, was only used in very specialized recording operatings but, today, it has become a common feature for PCs.

In the late '80s, several manufacturers such as AdLiB, Roland and Creative Labs designed computer sound cards but they were used mostly for gaming.

In 1989, Creative Labs introduced the Game Blaster which provided FM-synthesized sound for computer games. The Game Blaster eventually gave way to the Sound Blaster Pro which became the de facto standard because of its widespread usage. This standard gave way to the Creative Labs Soundblaster Audigy series and then to the present Soundblaster X-Fi series.

Most present day computers come with onboard/integrated audio so unless you're an 'audio buff' or a serious gamer, there's no need to upgrade to a PCI card.

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Final Thoughts

You should ensure that the card has at least 5.1 support since this makes the audio sound great if accompanied by a good speaker system.

Click here to learn how to install sound cards