Connecting a PCI sound card. How to connect a sound card. Semi-professional and professional sound cards
- into a computer if there is no PCI slot on the motherboard? That's it, I bought it motherboard, I forgot to check when purchasing whether the motherboard has a PCI slot. I have a professional sound card Creative Sound Blaster, which is inserted into a PCI connector. So what's now? Alexander.
- Hello, please tell me, the built-in sound card on my laptop has failed, the service offers to replace the laptop’s motherboard. Is there any other solution to my problem. Nastya.
- The problem is this: I installed a discrete sound card in my system unit, installed the drivers from the included CD, but there is no sound. Interestingly, before purchasing the sound card, they checked the sound card and there was sound. Maybe I installed it incorrectly? My motherboard has one PCI slot and is located directly under the video card, covering half of the video card fan. Does this pose any threat to the video card?
By the way, many professional sound cards from Creative are installed in the connector PCI Express x1, which is present on many motherboards and is usually not occupied by anything.
You also need to remember that on some motherboards, after installing a discrete (separately installed) system unit sound card, the built-in sound card must be disabled in the BIOS.
However, you can install a discrete sound card not because your built-in sound card has burned out; maybe you are simply not satisfied with the quality of the built-in audio solution of your motherboard.
Let's install a sound card in our computer as an example. PCI interface.
With the computer turned off, open the side cover system unit and look carefully at our motherboard, it has two PCI connectors and two free PCI Express x1 slots, in any of which you can install a PCI Express x1 interface sound card. One PCI slot is not available, it is closed by the video card cooling system, which means another one remains.
We have two PCI sound cards, the first is a simple budget C-Media at a price of 250 rubles, the second is a professional Sound Blaster. They are equally easy to install.
First, remove the plug on the back wall of the system unit. On some cases, such plugs are held in place with mounting screws; unscrew the screw and remove the plug. On cheap cases, such plugs simply break off.
If the video card bothers you, you can remove it, install the sound card and put the video card back. Now we install the sound card in the PCI connector and attach it to the case with a mounting screw.
View of the rear wall of the system unit after installing the sound card.
As you can see, in my case, the Sound Blaster sound card also covers half of the video card fan, but my system unit has been working like this for a long time, the temperature of the video card remains normal, and there are no complaints about the sound card either.
If you install a budget sound card instead of a Sound Blaster, the video card cooler will remain almost uncovered.
After installing a discrete sound card, do I need to disable the built-in sound card in the BIOS?
It depends on the motherboard. For example, on old motherboards you need to go to the Advanced tab and select the option High Definition Audio Driver to the Disabled position, then save the changes and exit the BIOS.
Hello remoncompa.ru, I need your advice. There was no sound on my laptop, I contacted the service center, it turned out that the sound card integrated into the laptop’s motherboard had burned out, and now I have two options:
1. Repair the laptop, but the repair will cost more than three thousand rubles.
2. Buy external sound card for laptop, the cost is from 350 rubles to 5000 rubles, I think I don’t really need super sound for five thousand rubles, but I can buy within a thousand rubles, but again, which manufacturer should I prefer?
And I would like to know whether the sound with such a sound card in a laptop will be no worse than with a built-in one; if it’s worse, then maybe the sensible solution would be to repair the laptop?
Is it possible to have external sound USB card connect to a simple system unit?
Could you do it on your website? short review external sound cards for laptops, the information content of the resource is amazing, everything is always clear and with pictures!
Hello friends! In this article we will do full review external USB Creative SoundBlaster Play sound card. A review of an expensive external sound card is also being prepared.
Left click to enlarge image
Creative company is a leader in the production of sound cards different classes. I can say with confidence that even the budget models of this company are distinguished by their quality. The Price + Quality ratio in this model is very good, if our readers have other opinions, please speak up, the article will be supplemented. The price of our external sound card is a little less than a thousand rubles and its final rating is a solid four.
An external sound card for a laptop will come in handy if:
1. The sound card integrated into the laptop motherboard has failed and you do not want to repair it, the cost of such repairs is service center usually 2-3 thousand rubles.
2. You want top-notch sound from your laptop.
3. An external sound card can be easily connected to a simple system unit.
Laptops are designed primarily to allow users to access the power of a computer anywhere, under any circumstances, in any environment other than home or work. To reduce the final cost of laptop models, manufacturers, as a rule, focus on the mobility and functionality of the devices. Therefore, a laptop with an integrated high-quality sound card for impeccable sound is quite a rare occurrence. Because laptop speakers don't allow you to enjoy high-quality sound, there is no point in increasing the final cost of models with a high-quality sound card.
For an average user who uses a laptop for web surfing, playing multimedia, or working with specific programs, the capabilities of an integrated sound card will be sufficient. To improve sound, you can connect to your laptop good speakers. But is it possible to achieve truly high-quality sound using an integrated sound card if, for example, the question arises of using a laptop to output sound to professional acoustics? Or for high-quality sound recording? You can't do without an external sound card here. In what cases is an external sound card used, what you need to pay attention to when choosing it - we will look into all this below.
What is an external sound card?
An external sound card for a laptop is small device type of flash drive, equipped with a USB port for connecting to computer devices, audio output and microphone input. Some models may be equipped with volume control buttons. This is basic functionality, and some, naturally more expensive, models may provide other connectors and interfaces, for example, coaxial output, analog output channels, etc. But the sizes of such powerful sound cards will be larger, in the form of boxes dotted with various ports, inputs and outputs.
In what cases is an external sound card needed?
Cases for using an external sound card can be different - from the usual whim of the user to enjoy higher quality sound with an immersive effect when playing multimedia content from a laptop to using the latter as a mobile recording studio or player for outdoor discos. An external sound card for a laptop will definitely come in handy for professional musicians, avid music lovers, as well as gamers for whom the quality of sound effects in games is of no small importance.
Why an external sound card and not a discrete one?
As for sound quality, this can be provided by both external sound cards and discrete ones - hardware components built inside computer device. A discrete sound card is more suitable for PC builds. So, not every laptop model has the necessary space inside to install a discrete sound card inside. Take, for example, netbooks, ultrabooks, tablets. These are devices designed to provide the user with maximum mobility and light weight.
Installing a discrete sound card inside a laptop will disrupt the original assembly of the case, which may cause failure point of sale, where the device was purchased, from their own warranty obligations. An external sound card connects to the laptop's USB port and does not interfere with the original assembly of the case.
A huge advantage of an external sound card is its portability. After all, if the user has several devices - for example, a PC, laptop, tablet, an external sound card can be connected to any of these devices to provide high-quality sound.
External sound cards with volume, bass, and tone control buttons will allow you to flexible settings sound, since some laptop models do not even have a mechanical volume button, not to mention bass or tone.
Another advantage of external sound cards for owners of low-power laptops is the removal of load from their processors. Machining processes sound files pass inside an external sound card, which makes it easier to operate the processor of a computer device.
What should you pay attention to when choosing an external sound card?
Before we begin to consider the parameters of an external sound card, it’s worth starting with the fact that it makes sense to buy it only when you already have a high-quality one acoustic system. It is unlikely that you will notice a difference in sound quality if the sound is output to averagely lousy stereo speakers.
Let's look at the main nuances that should be taken into account when choosing an external sound card
4 audio inputs and 4 audio outputs, which will be provided by the sound card - this is more than enough even in some cases professional work with sound. Although in some cases, using a laptop at home, one pair will be enough, and the sound card will also cost less.
The sound card bit depth requirement for high-quality sound is 24 bits or higher.. A minimum requirement signal-to-noise ratio is about 100-114 dB and higher. The sampling frequency of a good quality sound card should be 44.1 – 96 kHz and higher.
To work with electronic musical instruments, you will need appropriate interfaces - to connect these electrical instruments, digital audio recording standards, etc.
Supports Dolby Digital or Digital Theater System (DTS) audio standard will be needed to read multi-channel audio and video tracks. This is especially useful when watching feature films.
ASIO support– a data transfer protocol that ensures faster transfer and low response time – almost all professional-level sound cards are equipped.
EAX technology support, providing sound effects environment, will be useful for gamers playing serious games with multi-channel sound.
Installing drivers for an external sound card
It is not a fact that Windows OS itself will find drivers for a particular model of external sound card in its database. Ideally, drivers, of course, should come with the sound card. But this rule is not always taken into account in cases with budget goods or used goods on the secondary market. In these cases, you can turn to driver packs for help - software that detects the hardware and external connected devices of the computer and installs drivers for them. Installation current version sound card drivers will provide high quality sound and the possibility of flexible settings.
Buying an external sound card
Full name of our external sound card Creative "SoundBlaster Play!" USB Retail. The presence in the name Retail means the presence of a nice box that cannot be thrown away until the warranty expires. The box contains instructions and a CD with drivers. Works with Windows 8 means compatibility with G8; with Windows 7, the external sound card also worked great.
Instructions
Drivers. I want to say that the drivers will be installed into your operating system automatically and without a CD, which contains several not very necessary programs to change the sound quality.
External Sound Card
Left click to enlarge image
Our external sound card has two outputs for speakers, headphones and a microphone.
We connect our external sound card to the laptop, then connect sound speakers or headphones to the output of the sound card, if you need to connect another microphone.
Drivers are installed automatically
Left-click on the "Speakers" icon in the tray and select "Playback Devices" from the menu that appears.
As you can see, our external sound card is already working and all that remains is to simply connect speakers or headphones to it.
Main characteristics
Connection interfaceUSB
Support for OpenAL, EAX 5.0 standards
Chipset - X-Fi
Playback
Number of playback channels - 2
DAC capacity - 16 bits
Maximum frequency DAC - 48 kHz
Record
Number of audio recording channels - 1
ADC capacity - 16 bits
Maximum ADC frequency - 48 kHz
Signal-to-noise ratio - 90 dB
Modern computers or laptops cannot be imagined without the presence of special devices, designed for outputting sound to or connecting to speakers additional equipment to play music or watch videos. But the matter does not stop there. In addition, depending on what actions are intended to be performed and what software will be used, you need to know which card to choose and how to connect the sound card to the computer. Let's look at a few typical situations which occur most often. We will build on this when describing the selection, installation and use sound devices several types.
Why do you need a sound card on a computer?
Most ordinary users somewhat incorrectly perceive the true purpose and capabilities of modern sound cards, believing that with their help you can only listen to music, watch videos, films or online television. In a sense, this can be called the direct responsibilities of this type of equipment. In fact, the capabilities of sound devices are much wider. As already mentioned, some models can connect all kinds of external sources(for example, players, music centers etc.), they are essential for the functioning of audio and video processing programs. In addition, any musician will tell you that professional cards can be used to record parts when playing live instruments (guitars, synthesizers, etc.) or vocals using a microphone. In this regard, many questions arise regarding the selection of appropriate equipment, its connection to the computer and preset.
Where is the sound card located on the computer?
The first step is to decide where exactly to look for built-in sound cards or where to install other types of audio equipment. Integrated cards are located directly on the motherboard and are, as it were, “sewn” into it in the form of a corresponding chip (microcircuit).
Removable devices (such as the popular ASUS card Xonar DGX) are connected to special connectors (slots) on the same motherboard, but the connection slot is selected based solely on the card model. External sound cards can be connected via USB connectors.
What is needed for the built-in sound card to work?
Before moving directly to the question of how to connect a sound card to a computer, it should be noted that simply connecting it to the corresponding connector or port makes absolutely no sense if drivers are not installed for the equipment. Like any other “hardware” devices, sound cards simply will not work, despite the fact that the operating system can automatically install for them, as it seems to itself, the most suitable driver. Typically, control and related software is supplied on removable media(for example, on optical disks) when purchasing equipment.
However, in the absence necessary drivers You can check their presence in the system, install them again or update them yourself. First you need to call the “Device Manager” (devmgmt.msc), select the section for audio gaming and video devices, and then make sure that next to the name installed card there is no yellow triangle with a question mark indicating absence, incorrect installation or driver obsolescence.
Please immediately note that there may be several devices. Thus, an integrated (internal) sound card for a computer may have a title like this: “Audio device supporting High Definition Audio.” Display drivers refer to software that is designed to control external monitors, including connected television panels. Removable cards like ASUS Xonar DGX will be displayed by their searched names. External cards are also displayed, but only when connected. To view the entire list of equipment, you must enable display hidden devices in the view menu. In some cases, you can find several virtual devices(as a rule, they can be installed during the installation of some specific software for working with sound). We'll look at them later.
How to connect a sound card to the motherboard and install the appropriate software?
If we're talking about on how to connect a sound card for a computer, which is of the type removable devices, first decide on its standard (usually PCI) and insert the device into the appropriate slot on the motherboard when the computer is de-energized. Then turn on your computer. After downloading operating system A message should appear in the system tray stating that a new device has been found, drivers have been installed for it, and it is ready for use. If you are informed that for some reason the driver could not be installed or the equipment is not recognized, use software from the disk (usually there is an installer in the form of an EXE file that launches a special “Installation Wizard”). If necessary, install additional software, and if necessary, reboot the system.
Installing external cards
The procedure for connecting a sound card to a computer, which applies to professional or semi-professional devices external type, is practically no different from the previous case, only the equipment is usually connected through USB port.
Depending on the card model, you must select the port itself (either 2.0 or 3.0). USB 3.0 ports inside are usually colored Blue colour, so it will be very difficult to make a mistake. Accordingly, the card will also require driver installation, and Special attention you need to look at the USB controller drivers (there may also be several devices, it is quite possible that the drivers will have to be updated).
What to do if there are no suitable drivers?
If there is no driver or installation software, simple case preference may be given automated programs like Driver Booster.
If a suitable driver is still not installed for a specific sound card, in the “Device Manager” you should go to the properties of the selected equipment, on the details tab, select display of equipment ID, copy the most long string with identifiers DEV and VEN, search for it on the Internet, download the found software and install the driver yourself.
The simplest sound test in Windows
How to install a sound card on a computer is a little clear. Now you need to check the settings.
To do this, it is best to use the “Sound” section in the “Control Panel” or use the item for showing playback devices, which is available in RMB menu on the volume icon in the system tray. Once you've selected your installed speakers, use either the setup button or the properties button to access options.
Note: when selecting the environment (Enhancements tab), initially disable all additional effects to get the sound, so to speak, in pure form.
Mandatory conditions for using equipment in sound recording
Finally, a few words about additional software. If you are going to use your computer as home studio sound recordings or write music in appropriate sequencer programs, pay special attention to the installation additional drivers ASIO.
When setting parameters on the ASIO panel, do not set the delay time too low. For MIDI keyboards, in order not to get too long a response time, you can set 512 samples (approximately 10-12 ms). If external tools are not used, set the buffer to maximum (this way you can unload the processor and RAM).
Bottom line
That, in fact, is all that concerns the question of how to connect a sound card to a computer. It is impossible to describe all possible situations. Here you should take into account the type of connected sound card, the model of the motherboard and quite a lot of other factors. But in general, the steps described above will help in any situation. A snag can only arise when installing some non-standard equipment.
Typically, the desire to change a sound card arises if the user is dissatisfied with the quality of audio playback or recording. Sometimes the culprit is a broken board. In any case, the new equipment must be connected correctly, and then the system must be configured accordingly.
The sound card is installed in a PCI or PCI Express slot. Therefore, before purchasing a device, make sure that the motherboard has a corresponding free slot. Another option is to connect via a USB interface. This method is relevant if you need to connect an external sound card to a laptop.
Installation
The connection process is the same, regardless of whether it is professional or budget model you install. First of all, you need to remove the plug on the system unit case in order to bring the board connectors out through the resulting hole. The equipment is attached to the housing using a screw, which is included in the kit. 
Disabling an integrated card
Some motherboard models require you to disable the integrated sound card in the BIOS. Without performing this procedure fixed fee refuses to work correctly.
Depending on the BIOS version Names of points and their locations may change. If you do not see the names listed below, then look for wording that is similar in meaning. 
- Go to BIOS.
- On the "Advanced" tab, find the "Integrated Peripherals" item.
- Find the line "Onboard Audio Controller".
- Go to its settings by pressing Enter and select “Disabled”.
If you need to enable the sound card integrated into the motherboard, select “Enabled” in the settings.
This is basic information that shows you how to connect a sound card and then configure your computer to work with it. Finally, a few important recommendations.
Make sure that the system supports the drivers for the selected hardware. Carefully study how to install the sound driver so that the installed board works correctly.
If the video card interferes with installation, it must be carefully removed from the slot. After connecting the sound card, do not forget to return the video card to its place.
Sound card, especially if it is different large size, may close the video card fan. There is nothing terrible here: practice shows that this does not affect the temperature of the equipment and its performance.
After completing the connection process, find out how to connect the speakers to your computer in order to use the functionality of the sound card to its full potential. Do you want to speak and record your voice, not just listen? Then find out how to connect a microphone to your computer.
to install additional cards(audio and video) watch the following video.
Not everyone is satisfied. There are especially many dissatisfied with the built-in sound among cheap users. Therefore, many users decide to install a discrete sound card. In this article we will tell you in as much detail as possible about how to install a sound card in a computer.
First, a little theory. Discrete sound cards can be external or internal. External sound cards are designed as separate device and connect to the computer using the interface. Internal sound cards are made in the form of a separate board and are installed inside the case. In this article we will talk about installing the internal sound card.
To connect the sound card to the motherboard, use a PCI or . You can easily distinguish a PCI sound card from a PCI Express x1 sound card. PCI boards have a long header with many pins, while PCI Express x1 has a much shorter header.
The connectors on the motherboard are also different. PCI slots are longer and are located at the very bottom of the motherboard. PCI Express x1 slots are more connectors that are located between full PCI Express x16 slots or between PCI Express x16 and PCI.
Before purchasing a sound card, make sure your motherboard has a PCI slot. Modern motherboards are not always equipped with this connector. If your board does not have PCI, then you need to choose a sound card with PCI Express x1.
So, now that we have studied the theoretical part, we can begin installing the sound card. The first thing you need to do is disconnect all cables from the system unit and open the side cover of the computer. In order to install the sound card, we only need to open the left side cover.
After you have opened the side cover of the computer, inspect the motherboard. You need to select the connector (PCI or PCI Express x1, depending on which sound card you purchased) that you will use to install the sound card. It is advisable to choose a connector that is located away from already occupied connectors. For example, if you have a video card installed, then try to choose a connector for the sound card in such a way that the sound card does not block the air supply to the video card fan.
On quality computer cases These plugs are secured with screws. On cheap cases you just need to break off the plug.
After this, you need to carefully install the sound card into the connector. When installing, you don't need to put a lot of effort, just apply a little pressure on the card.
When installing, make sure that back panel sound card has entered the gap between motherboard and the computer case. After the sound card is installed, you need to secure it with a screw.
This completes the process of installing a sound card into a computer. You can close the side cover, connect cables, and turn on the computer.
