A Realtek AC97 does what?

  • Thread starter Thread starter nassa
  • Start date Start date
N

nassa

New member
Hi.
I have a Realtek AC97 soundcard that came with my PC. Can someone please tell me a little bit about this as I know Jack about soundcards. I am using an external mixer with cubase vst 32.
Cheers, Nassa
 
Really isn't a whole lot to say. It's a common soundcard chipset found integrated with many motherboards.

It isn't a spectacular soundcard, more meant for windows sounds and perhaps gaming.

Not to discourage though. Use it, if it works for you go for it. If you find it lacking in fidelity / functionality, consider upgrading to something by Aaardvark, Maudio, Lynx, Echo etc.
 
Not to discourage though. Use it, if it works for you go for it. If you find it lacking in fidelity / functionality, consider upgrading to something by Aaardvark, Maudio, Lynx, Echo etc. [/B][/QUOTE]

Thanx for your reply there, Emeric. I am willing to learn as much as I need to know.....I'm presuming that will take a lifetime at least !!
Please excuse my ignorance...but what do you mean exactly by fidelity/functionality?

Nassa
 
Nassa,

Fidelity: The quality of the sound, i.e. does the audio playback sound clear, noisefree, an accurate representation of the source that was recorded?

Functionality: Does it have enough Inputs and Outputs for the task. I record a lot of drums so I need a soundcard that has at least 8 inputs and 8 outputs. Other specs, does it record 24bit, 96KHz? Is wordclock a function needed, Midi I/O?

What options and capabilties required come down to what the user needs it to do.
 
I've actually recorded some stuff with the built in AC97 on my mainboard. It actually didn't turn out too bad. I used an old Tascam 488 as a mic pre of sorts. The prob I had was increasing latency as I added more tracks. To me that wasn't a huge deal, cause I'd just take a couple minutes to line the track it back up when I was happy with a performance. It will work good enough to figure out some DAW software, but I wouldn't try to make that grammy winning CD with it... :D
 
It's a decent basic onboard soundcard. It allows a single mono or stereo i/o signal. Even when you step up to a better sounding/better functioning soundcard, it still can be used as a quick and dirty recording solution. If I come up with a cool riff that needs to be quickly recorded, it's much simpler to plug straight into the card than to go through my RME. Plus if I am having trouble getting a signal from playback or recording, having another channel to check the source of the problem can save time and frustration.

Cy
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top