A digital sound card translates electronic signals into audio signals for playback through speakers. It can be a separate part or integrated into the motherboard. It has input/output jacks and can generate sound on the fly. Sound cards became standard in the 1990s, with improved technology providing stereo output and more advanced features. Built-in sound cards are cheaper but have minimal features, while serious gamers prefer add-on sound cards.
A digital sound card is a computer part most commonly used to translate electronic signals into audio signals that can be played through speakers. A sound card is designed in one of two ways, either as a separate part that plugs directly into a computer’s motherboard or integrated as part of the motherboard itself. A card also has various input and output jacks where things like speakers and even musical instruments can be plugged into. Modern sound cards are capable of advanced audio features, such as surround sound, and some can deliver sound at a level comparable to dedicated home theater systems.
The two main purposes of a digital sound card are digital playback and music synthesis. Digital playback is simply the output of pre-recorded music, while music synthesis is the generation of sound on the fly as a result of user input. A good example of this type of technology is the use of a Music Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) keyboard connected to a sound card. When keys on the keyboard are pressed, the sound card can generate notes based on stored data files of different types of instruments.
Sound cards weren’t standard equipment in computers until about the 1990s, before which the most common sounds emitted by the typical computer were basic beeps and bloops through a single internal speaker. Gradually, and driven largely by the computer game industry, digital sound technology has progressed to include more complex audio. More and more things like sound effects, sheet music, and even digitized voice acting have become possible through hardware processing by a digital sound card.
The basic digital sound card technology in the early 1990s provided only one-channel mono output, as opposed to five-channel stereo or surround. Also, the number of different sounds that could be played simultaneously, a feature known as polyphony, was limited to no more than three. As a result, for a number of years the sounds that could be played by a computer were no more complex than a ringtone on a regular cell phone. Notably, early sound cards typically also included game ports, the only way for users to connect joysticks or controllers to their computers.
Also in the 1990s, sound card technology improved and more advanced features such as stereo output became standard. Also, more cards have come to have their own random access memory (RAM) and central processing unit (CPU). This meant that audio processing could be offloaded from the computer’s main memory and CPU, freeing up system resources for other tasks and allowing the user to maximize sound quality at the same time.
Beginning in the early 20th century, an increasingly common practice for computer manufacturers was to embed basic sound cards into a computer’s motherboard. This integrated solution is cheaper and takes up less physical space in a computer case than would have to be plugged into a slot. The features of built-in sound cards are usually minimal, however, and serious gamers and other power users still consider an add-on digital sound card essential.
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