A sound card is an essential component of a multimedia PC that allows the computer to play sounds through built in or external speakers.
The quality of your sound card in turn affects the quality of any sound emitted from your computer, be it a simple beep or a piece of music you play on the CD ROM drive.
Make sure you read the tips below on how to go about choosing a good sound card for a perfect movie, music or gaming experience!
Your usage preferences
Before any other criterion, it is essential to understand the purpose you want your sound card to fulfill.
If you are looking to playing and burning CDs and MP3s or duplicating surround sound on DVDs and games, most of the available cards can realize your purpose. If your intention is to create music, you should at least start with inexpensive cards that offer 24 bit 48 Hz or 96 Hz sampling quality.
A sound card coupled with music software can be a little on the expensive side but definitely a good buy!
Choice of quality
Entry-level sound cards support CD quality sound i.e. 16 bit quality sound recorded and played back at 44.1 KHz. The next level of 24-bit sound at higher sampling rate of 48 KHz or 96 KHz is apt for creating your own music and also to play DVD movies with THX surround or Dolby Digital EX 6.1 or 7.1 sound formats.
When checking for quality, it is equally essential to look for an appropriate signal-to-noise ratio, which is measured in decibels (dB).
This ratio compares the extent to which you expect sound (signal) with the extent to which you do not (noise) when playing an audio or video file. Higher the dB ratio, the better it is.
Decibel ratings can range from 60 dB with entry-level cards to over 100 dB for the next level ones.
Type of sound card desired
1. Internal PCI cards: Cheapest option available and some brands offer it with 5.1-surround sound. However, bigger brands like Creative offer you more for a marginal price increase.
2. External sound cards: With the diverse utility that USB interface offers, external sound cards are also in use. Many of these match the quality of internal cards. However, a drawback with these is that they possess fewer features than internal cards and are expensive.
Despite this, people using notebooks do find it a viable option.
Gaming preferences
Majority of the popular sound cards support surround sound formats like A3D, Direct Sound 3D and EAX, all of which are made use of in games.
Connectivity options
A good sound card possesses multiple ins and outs that allow you to attach microphones, multiple sets of speakers, digital audio devices, and other home electronic equipment.
The connectivity options of microphone in, line in/line out (for front speakers), line out (rear speakers), MIDI/joystick port, CD-in and headphone connectors are common to and catered by most of the available sound cards.
If you are looking for a sound card for connecting to digital camcorders, you should go in for one that possesses high-speed Firewire ports.
Music lovers looking for a higher quality digital sound should choose among the growing number of cards with S/PDIF in and out format.
S/PDIF stands for Sony/Philips Digital Interface, an audio transfer format that helps you connect speakers via a single optical cable.
A careful co-relation of the points above with what you are looking for in your sound card will help you make the right pick at GetPrice!
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