Why do I need an external USB sound card?

The main task of any sound card is to translate digital data into a simple analog signal, which can be transferred to headphones or speakers. In all motherboards manufactured now, sound cards are already built in, and they provide the necessary sound quality.

But some sound cards do not have enough functionality for all programs, for example, they do not know how to play and record sound at the same time. Therefore, in order to expand the playback and recording capabilities of sound, a separate sound card is used, for example, a USB sound card, and for small money, the sound quality can be improved significantly.

Another plus of such a sound card: it is able to slightly offload the processor of the computer. The fact is that a full-time card transfers many functions to the processing of the sound to the processor, except for this, also occupying a certain part of the memory. So an additional USB sound card - in any case, the acquisition is rational. By way of connection, you can select three groups of cards:

1. Via a PCI or PCI Express connector. This is a connection through the connectors located directly on the motherboard. Such cards are somewhat cheaper than similar external ones. But they usually lose by quality and functionality.
2. External USB sound card - connects via USB port, suitable for any laptop or desktop computer, versatility is one of its advantages. A state-of-the-art USB sound card can immediately output audio to the output while not recording the computer.
3. External FireWire cards - connect through FireWire. These are the highest quality professional sound cards, they are resistant to interference. To connect them to the laptop you need a PCMCI - FireWire adapter.

When buying a sound card, pay attention to the number of inputs and outputs available to it. The more of them, the better. There must be a MIDI input and a MIDI output. They are for connecting a MIDI keyboard. By connecting it, you will get a good synthesizer. Well, if there are optical outputs SPDIF. Optical interface SPDIF provides the most high-quality, clean sound. To record music from the instruments, you also need an appropriate number of inputs / outputs to connect the required number of devices, although you can record them in turn.

Also, look at the number of microphone and line inputs. The sound card can be supplemented with special inputs for synchronization with multi-channel recording and additional monitor outputs.
Today the variety of market offers makes it possible to easily find a map of the desired quality and price. By laying out a modest sum for the purchase, you can significantly improve the sound quality of the computer, expand the functionality. It can even provide a simple USB sound card.

A quality card can become the basis for a home sound studio, it is equipped with its own software for ease of use, but this card is very cheap. Such devices are used by professionals in their work, the average person has enough additional internal cards to get high-quality surround sound for accompanying games and watching movies.