What's inside your computer


How And When To Upgrade Your Sound Card

Have you seen or even heard of a newyour owner's manual to be sure of the
computer without a sound card today?Yetright key.
many pc users,even owners of new systemsOnce inside the BIOS,look for references
upgrade their sound card.such as "Onboard" or "Integrated"
Why you ask? Many new computers comedevices.Click this reference and find
with an integrated sound card.This meansthe "Sound Device.Next change the
that the sound card is really a chipsettings to off or disabled.The
mounted right onto the motherboard.ThisIntegrated sound chip is now off.
type of sound card is of poor qualityTo remove any software and device
and sound.drivers related to the old card,Click on
Installing a new dedicated sound card inStart,Control Panel,and click the System
an empty expansion bay will greatlyIcon.Then click the Hardware tab of the
improve the quality and sound ofSystem properties windows.
anything you listen to on yourNow click on the Device Manager button
computer,especially those awesome inand click the plus sign next to
depth games you play.Sound,Video,and Game Controllers.Now you
Before deciding to upgrade your soundwill need to Right-click on the entry
card, you should know the type of soundfor your sound card or chip.
card you have and its capability. YouChoose Uninstall from the drop-down menu
should know if your current sound cardto complete the software removal
is integrated or if its inserted into atask.This procedure must not be
adapter slot in the system unit.overlooked since the computer uses
Its rather easy to find this informationdevice drivers to talk to the components
from your PC by clicking oninside the pc.
Start,Control Panel,click on Sounds,Now you are ready to remove the old card
Speech, and Audio Devices. Now Click onif it is in a expansion slot and install
Sounds and Audio Devices and click onthe new card.Turn off the PC and unplug
the Hardware Tab.Whew,that's a lot ofit.Remove static charge from yourself by
clicking isn't it.touching a doorknob or using a wrist
But you can find this informationstrap.
without going through the hassle ofOpen the case and locate the sound card
opening your computer or its owner'sin one of the adapter slots.Remove the
manual.If you see a device with theretaining screw and carefully pull the
phrase "Integrated Digital Audio" thenold card out.Take note of the cable
you have an integrated sound chip oncoming from the cdrom and dvd drive.
your motherboard.Disconnect this cable,remove the old
Games are no doubt the first reason forcard and push the new card in its
sound card upgrades.Nearly all gamesplace.Re-connect the dvd drive cable and
support 3D audio APIs or Applicationsecure the card to the system unit using
Program Interface.This technology usethe old retaining screw.
surround sound through your sound card.Now you can replace the system unit
Two of the most popular APIs arecover,plug all the peripherals into the
Microsoft's DirectX and Creative Lab'scomputer and plug the PC back into its
EAX.When upgrading don't overlook thepower source.Plug the speakers into the
type of speakers you have.You willline level output of the sound card.
cripple that awesome new sound card ifStart the computer and when Windows
your speakers are the pits.detect the new card,follow the
The Second thing you need to do ininstructions to install the manufacturer
upgrading is to remove any and allsupplied software with the device
software concerning your current card.drivers.
And you need to disable your old card ifEven though the sound card is new,visit
it is intgrated onto the motherboard.the card's support web site and check to
To perform this task,boot up yourbe certain you have the most recent
computer and as it goes through the POSTdevice drivers.If not,you can easily
or Power On Self Test,press the keydownload and install them from the
combination that will allow you tosupport site.
access your BIOS.And there you have it.Its that simple to
Your BIOS is your Basic Input Outputupgrade your crappy old sound card to a
System which tells the computer to checkpowerful high quality sound card capable
itself for operation.There are variousof producing bone shaddering noises in
key combinations and sometimes just oneconjunction with the awesome graphics in
key such as F1 to access the BIOS.Checkyour favorite game.



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