Sound Card Options

[nwpaddler]

Hello All:

I am a newbie and need a quick bit of advice. I am curious about sound card options. Let me try to be more specific. I currently have computer with a value Soundlbaster Live 5.1 sound card. I am planning on upgrading my system. Most newer systems are coming with integrated sound cards. It is my understanding that using integrated sound to record isn't a good option. Fist of all is this true?

Next and most importantly - if I get a system with integrated sound on the motherboard and install a stand alone soundcard, will that work or create conflicts? Can I install a stand alone soundcard on a system with intergrated sound card on the motherboard? Any help or advice on this would be greatly appreciated.

Lastly, can you point me in a direction to learn what sound cards are best, good, what to avoid, etc....? Thanks in advance for all your help.

:~)

 

[christiaan]

Hello All:

I am a newbie and need a quick bit of advice. I am curious about sound card options. Let me try to be more specific. I currently have computer with a value Soundlbaster Live 5.1 sound card. I am planning on upgrading my system. Most newer systems are coming with integrated sound cards. It is my understanding that using integrated sound to record isn't a good option. Fist of all is this true?

True.
In general: Poor a/d conversion, no 24bits support, and likely no low-latency WDM/ASIO drivers available for the integrated soundcard.

Can I install a stand alone soundcard on a system with intergrated sound card on the motherboard?

Yes you can. In most cases they'll work happily side-by-side, if not you should be able to disable the onboard soundcard in the BIOS of the computer.

Lastly, can you point me in a direction to learn what sound cards are best, good, what to avoid, etc....?

Respected names in the world of (entry-level) recording are M-Audio, Echo, Aardvark, MOTU, RME... etc. How to learn about what they do? Go through old posts on this board. They're all discussed extensively. There is a lot to learn here when you dive into the archives.