Without a sound card, computers won't play sound. Therefore, a sound card is a necessary part of your computer if you use your PC for games, watching movies and listening to music.
A sound card is an integral part of personal computers and laptops. Computer motherboards come with integrated (also called embedded or onboard) sound cards and plug-in card slots that allow for better sound reproduction. And laptops are necessarily equipped with on-board sound. Also, you can connect external devices for processing and playing sound to PCs and laptops.
Sound cards differ not only in the type of connection to a PC, but also in technical characteristics: the digit capacity of the digital-to-analog converter (DAC), the number of channels, the signal sampling rate, the noise level, the number of digital inputs, the presence of an amplifier for connected headphones, etc.
The number of channels represents the sound scheme that affects the surround sound quality. There are the following sound schemes: 2, 2.1, 4, 4.1, 5.1, 6.1, 7.1. After the dot comes a unit, which means that one channel is for connecting a low-frequency speaker (subwoofer). The number in front of the dot indicates the number of regular columns. The more speakers you can connect, the more spacious the sound will be. For example, the sound scheme "2" means that there is no connector for a subwoofer, and only two speakers can be connected.
Internal sound cards
Internal sound cards are categorized as integrated and installed in PCI or PCI Express connectors on the motherboard. However, the integrated sound does not differ in good acoustic performance, since the amplitude-frequency characteristics of the built-in sound cards are influenced by electromagnetic interference, which inevitably arises as a result of the operation of other elements of the computer.
Interference distorts the audio signal, resulting in clicks, crackles and hiss. This is clearly seen when listening to music through headphones. Therefore, music lovers who are demanding on sound quality are advised not to use integrated sound cards.
External sound cards
External cards are connected via USB or FireWire connectors. Most often they are used for laptops and netbooks. Since the capabilities of sound cards built into portable computers are often very limited.
Also external cards can be used on personal computers. They are convenient when there are no free PCI or PCI Express slots in the computer motherboard.
