Integrated sound chips use a lot of system resources. They make goodmakeshift solutions, but generally offerlower quality output as compared tostandalone cards.. ..
Buying Tips
DEFINE YOUR USAGE: If you love watching DVDs, and don’t play games too often, opt for a sound card that supports multiple channels, such as 5.1surround. If you want a gaming solution,buy a card that supports the standard 3D sound APIs, such as DirectSound, EAX, A3D and I3DL2.
WARRANTY: Make sure you get at least a one-year warranty for budget sound cards—under Rs 2,000—and at least a three-year warranty for more expensive ones.
INTERFACE: Make sure that thesound card’s interface is PCI and not ISA.
DRIVERS: Check that the sound cardyou’re buying has the drivers bundled,especially if you are a non-Windows user.
Audiophiles should look for gold-plated connectors for minimum signal loss.
Check for bundled applications such as games and media players.
Make sure that the sound card has at least two available speaker connectors for connecting surround sound speakers. If not, make sure that there is an alternative provision for connecting 5.1 or 6.1 speakers.
Make sure that the sound card is full-duplex, which means that it can recordand play sound at the same time.
Buy a sound card that has lowprocessor usage, otherwise listening tomusic and working on a resource intensiveapplication simultaneously will not be apleasant experience.
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