Sound
Sound Adapter
The basic purpose of sound cards
is to allow the user to hear sounds played by the OS and programs, along with
music from audio CDs and other audio files, plus sound from DVD and other types
of videos. In addition, these allow for voice communication using software such
as Yahoo Messenger and Windows Messenger.
Sound Adapter Overview
The sound card is an essential
component in the PC, since it translates digital signals into analog audio for
your listening pleasure. Well, that's true, if you want to play games or run
multimedia applications in your PC. Otherwise, it may not be necessary,
especially in business environments.
With a sound adapter and
appropriate software, a PC can perform various tasks, including:
Playing audio CDs, either directly
or from compressed digital copies of the CD soundtracks stored as MP3 or Ogg
Vorbis files on your hard disk
Playing stereo music, sound
effects, and/or voice prompts in games, education, training, and presentation
software, as well as for operating system prompts, warnings, and other events
Capturing dictation to a document
file, adding voice annotations to documents, or controlling applications using
voice/speech recognition software
Supporting audio conferencing and
telephony across a LAN or the Internet
Supporting text-to-speech software
that allows the PC to "read" text aloud, aiding children who cannot
read and people who are visually impaired
Creating and playing back music
using MIDI software and hardware
Sound Card Ports
A computer sound card is used by a
computer for music, sounds during applications and entertainment (TV, movies
and games). A typical sound card usually has four ports. The largest port is
the Midi/Game port , which is used for connecting a joystick or gaming
controller to. The other three ports look similar and are generally green, pink
and blue.
Underneath each port will be a
small engraving of what each port does. The pink port is for a microphone which
can record sound to the computer. The green port is line out and this is where
the speakers are connected to produce sound from the computer. The blue port is
line in and this is for connecting a CD-player or cassette tape to the
computer.
Remember a sound card by itself is
not enough to hear sound. You will still need to purchase some computer
speakers or a headphone set. If you want to make use of the microphone feature
then you will need to buy a computer microphone and you should then be able to
record sound to your computer.
How to Choose a Sound Card
A basic sound card is good for
most people. High-end models are good for gamers and musicians. Some people
like to have surround sound with their computers, so surround sound models are
common.
When you are choosing one Sound
Card you have to consider:
First thing to consider here is
your intended usage of the sound card. If all you want is basic sound support
and not spectacular 3D surround sound, I'd say go buy a cheap, simple card or
even rely on your motherboard's on-board sound.
If you want great surround sound
and better speaker connectivity options, then you'll want to consider a
dedicated sound card.
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