Sound Card for Compaq 4540

  • Thread starter Thread starter Hungries
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Hungries

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I'm would like to get started recording digital audio on my computer. The problem is that the compaq 4540(233mz K-6) has the sound card built into the motherboard and it has no line input, only the computer mic input. I've been told that compaq sound cards are notorious for not working with other sound cards. I've been looking into the D-man 2044, the Lexicon core 2 the ISIS and the Aardvark 24/96. Does anyone have experience with this. I don't want to invest if it will not work.
 
You'll want to check Compaq's website and try to find a motherboard manual or something similar. There might be a chance that there'll be a jumper that will disable onboard sound. Also (FIRST) check the BIOS setup and see if you can disable it there.

Be warned, however, that Comaq machines, especially that model, are bunk. We have a 4505 here at work and I've had nothing but trouble trying to support it. I even had to completely wipe the machine and reinstall a fresh version of windows to solve an odd problem a while back. It still has problems every now and then...in fact just yesterday I had to reinstall the network drivers. Fun stuff!

Not to mention dirt shit performance. AND I also think that they're limited to 1 PCI/ISA shared and 1 ISA slot if I remember correctly. You better make sure that a big sound card will fit in there.

Sorry to be so negative but of the 15 or so machines that I've bought for this place, the name brand computers are the worst. The HP sucks, the Compaq sucks, and the PB sucks. They were purchased when I was young and stupid :)

Just don't expect much. The cards you are looking at are nice, though, and can be used in your next machine. I would consider building yourself a decent workstation. This can be done for around 500 dollars and up. (minus the fancy soundcard) I know that you don't want to hear that....but what's the point of sticking a wonderful soundcard into a machine that's going to give you nothing but headaches? (And you will have them)

Case, ps, keyboard, mouse - $100
Mobo w/ ATA66 support - $130
PII-450 CPU w/fan - $120
4MB cheap video - $30
13GB ATA/66 7200RPM HD - $130
64MB PC100 (generic) - $65
Floppy & CDROM - $70
17" Monitor - $230

= $875. Just add your favorite soundcard.

Note that you don't want to keep your existing machine you can use the floppy drive, the CDROM, the mouse/keyboard, and the monitor...so your new price would be:

$535. Roughly of course. It's not that expensive to build a machine for recording. In fact it's much less than the adds you read in the paper for multimedia PC's. Remember, buy cheap upgradable components, then upgrade when it's cheap. The PII-450 is cheap now, and if you buy the right mobo, you can upgrade to a PIII-800 or so when they're cheap! Consider it.

Slackmaster 2000
 
Slackmaster,
Thanks for your quick reply. I've been thinking that a new box is probably the best way to go. I'll start shopping for a barebones tower and motherboard. Thanks again
 
Hey Slack,

Isn't it true also that Compaq uses proprietary components also? That would mean that installing other things on it is impossible. Just something I heard through the grapevine.

Compaq's do suck. So do HP's and PB's. In name brands, about the only stuff that is cool is Gateway's and Dell's, but you pay for these machines. A friend has a Gateway system that is awesome. Only about $1500. Big hard drive, Zip, ATA w/7200 rpm drive, 64MB "Kingston" RAM (the best from what I have been reading about it), nice 16MB video card, 19" monitor.

These better brand names also provide killer support. Gateway has been very helpful to my friend as his has installed DSL, Network, and Sound cards on this machine. It runs fast, and has not clitch's. Worth the money!

Ed
 
They use proprietary components, sure, but most Compaqs will come with one or two ISA and maybe one available PCI slot. And the stuff isn't actually proprietary, they use the same chipsets that you can buy on individual components, but they take the worst of the bunch and cram them onto some messed-up motherboard that'll fit into their ridiculously designed cases. But hey, that "Internet" button sure is handy. heh

Dell makes good machines. I would recommend building a DAW though. a) it makes you that much more knowledgeable b) it will save you money over the long term and c) you know what you put into it so you only have yourself to blame :)

Anyway, it's amazing what you can do if you just know how to stick this crap together. I'm building a machine for a friend because she wants a certain set of components. It's so difficult to find a pre-built machine with everything just so.

I'm building her:

PIII 533b (133Mhz FSB)
128MB PC133
Seagate 20.4GB 7200 ATA/66
4x4x24 CDRW
32MB Diamond TNT2 Video
SB Live! Soundcard
Speakers/Subwoofer
17" Hitachi .22 Monitor
PCI 10/100 Ethernet NIC
USR 56k modem

And I'm looking into an Asus motherboard that accepts both SDRAM and RDRAM. Upgradability is what I'm after. Anyway, total cost with case and all will be around $1500 + 50 bucks for me. Love it.

If anyone is interested, look into the 533b processor if your motherboard & memory are capable of 133Mhz....it's a good buy right now.

Slackmaster 2000
 
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