What to Look for in a Sound Card? on ShoppingSoLow.com

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Sound Card
A sound card is a computer expansion card that can input and output sound under control of computer programs. Typical uses of sound cards include providing the audio component for multimedia applications such as music composition, editing video or audio, presentation/education, and entertainment (games). Many computers have sound capabilities built in, while others require these expansion cards if audio capability is desired.

The Sound Card comes in many flavors for those who want quality sound or recording. Most of us just want a good Full Duplex sound card that can play music CD's or the common MIDI file over the internet. When looking for a sound card you can buy a 10.00 16 bit ISA card and have no problem playing most files.

But when you do this you will also run low on features and be more dependent on the software rather than the hardware of the sound card. The sound card is by no means required when building or upgrading a computer but the multimedia experience can’t be overlooked.

Some key components to look for in a new sound card should be at least:

Enhanced Wave Audio
Enhanced MIDI, 32 Voice Polyphony
3D Capabilities for games and other multimedia
Full Duplex operation for Video Conferencing and Telephony
Possibly studio functions for recording

Price ranges
Sound card prices range vary from as little as 450 INR to over 13500 INR. Of course price ranges for sound cards generally depend on the manufacturer.

Surround Sound
A critical factor to consider is to take a look at what sound standards your sound card supports. Most high-end sound cards in the market today have EAX and 5.1 surround sound support. You can connect up to five speakers to these cards to enjoy a surreal, 3D audio effects. Some cards even starting to provide 7.1 surround sound support.

Description of the parts: Sound Card and Interfaces

ROM includes the preset Wavetable syntetizer samples
RAM is for downloadable Wavetable instruments
Wavetable syntetizer makes sounds ouf of the samples in ROM and RAM
CODEC does the A/D and D/A conversion of the audio signals
FM syntetizer plays FM sounds (for original Sound Blaster/Adlib compatibility)
MIXER is an analogue mixer IC which mixes together the sound from the various inputs to (microphone, aux input, Wavetable syntetizer, FM syntetizer, CD-ROM audio,) to the final mix which is then sent to line level and speaker outputs.

Features

A digital-to-analog converter, that converts recorded or generated digital waveforms of sound into an analog format.
This signal is led to a (typically 1/8-inch earphone-type) connector where an amplifier, headphones, or similar sound destination can be plugged in.
More advanced designs usually include more than one sound chip to separate duties between digital sound production and synthesized sounds (usually for real-time generation of music and sound effects utilizing little data and CPU time).
Most sound cards have a line in connector where the sound signal from a cassette tape recorder or similar sound source can be input.
The sound card can digitize this signal and store it (controlled by the corresponding computer software) on the computer's hard disk for editing or further reproduction.