Help with Sound Cards

[lennyoliy]

I wanted to look into purchasing a sound card for my Windows 8.1 Dell Inspiron 660 desktop computer, but I don't know enough about what I need to look for. Currently, I have the default Dell integrated sound driver, but it has had some problems, and I want my computer to work better with audio-intensive tasks. Some things I have noticed (and want fixed) are:

-MIDI tasks don't work sometimes
-I have no stereo mix
-I've been having problems with the sound and instrument libraries I use for Finale 2012c
-Every sound-related media program/playback crashes when I unplug headphones from the audio jack
-Various issues with use of my Turtle Beach PX-22 headphones

A lot of my hobbies involve audio heavily, and having better sound quality and reliability would help me immensely. The specifications for my computer (Dell Inspiron 660) can be found here. Any help is appreciated, thanks!

 

[Kisianik]

i wound not want to advise you on the specific sound card, take a look here http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100009293%20600011982&IsNodeId=1&name=PCI%20Express%20x1

You have 1 PCIE x16 slot, usually used for video card upgrades, and 3 slots for PCIE x1 cards complete manual ftp://ftp.dell.com/Manuals/all-products/esuprt_desktop/esuprt_inspiron_desktop/inspiron-660_Owner%27s%20Manual_en-us.pdf page 15 so use PCIEx1 slot closest to the bottom panel.

I personally would go with Creative, but I am not sound professional.

Read Newegg reviews and see for your self.

Anything else I can help you with?

 

[lennyoliy]

Anything else I can help you with?

I appreciate what you said. I want to know what I'm getting is quality, and within a budget. I don't want to spend too much (hopefully under $75), but I want it to be quality. Are there any brands or specs that I should look out for to know if it's good?

 

[Kisianik]

Sound cards, and especially integrated sound chip usually don't go bad that much, so let revisit the problem. Just a little bit of my experience with similar issues. I have very old, about 9 years XPS GEN 3 with Creative sound card, at about 4 years into use my sound became distorted, something was wrong, I endup changing speaker system and everything became normal again/

I would not mind to find a good cheap card, but it is your money and your satisfaction, so lets step back. Also, keep in mind that you would have to use Sound Card jacks for connecting you headphones or sound system.

When you started having those issues, from the beginning, or after a while, how long you have your heaphones, since the beginning of your PC or you purchased them recently, have you tried regular 5.1 speaker system?

Also, let revisit software side, or driver side.

When exactly you purchased your Inspiron 660, before or after that date - 5/29/2012, have you updated your sound drivers recently, the most recent Dell recommended for WIn 8.1 is

Conexant Smart Audio Driver
This package provides the driver for Conexant CX20641 High Definition Audio driver and is supported on Inspiron 660 that is running following operating systems: Windows 8 version 8.50.12.0, released 3/18/2013, Supported System Windows 8 64-bit, direct link.

The rest of the drivers can be found here for your inforamtion http://downloads.dell.com/Pages/Drivers/inspiron-660.html

Or check this page I think it is better one http://www.dell.com/support/home/us/en/04/product-support/product/inspiron-660#inspiron-660/drivers?&_suid=139766159371105171839512402886

If you upgraded from Win7 to Win8.1 and did not updated drivers, this can be the issue, I remember having audio nightmare when NVIDIA audio drivers from video card installation was in conflict with Dell Realtek driver, I removed NVIDIA and all problems are gone.

See, changing or upgrading sound card is relatively easy, but if it would not fix the problem, then what?

If you still want to proceed with getting hardware upgrade, here we go.

I personally like Creative, so I would not go past those 2 cards

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/creative-labs-sound-card-sb1042vp

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-sound-card-xonardgx

Anything else I can help you with?

 

[lennyoliy]

I would not mind to find a good cheap card, but it is your money and your satisfaction, so lets step back.

With help from friends who know their stuff, and some research, I believe I've settled on the Creative SoundBlaster Z. It's a reasonable price in my opinion ($84.99 new on Amazon) based on reviews and features. I know people who have suggested this series. There also was a lengthy and informative review that suggested that this one should be purchased rather than the ZX with Audio Control Module (ACM), since the cards are about equal and the ACM lowers the quality. It has the PCIE connection I need, as well. The SoundBlaster series is well-acclaimed on many sites, including specific forums for Finale 2012c, the music program I use a lot.

Also, keep in mind that you would have to use Sound Card jacks for connecting you headphones or sound system.

One thing I love about my headphones (Turtle Beach EarForce PX-22 Gaming Headset) is the incredibly long cable length. Reaching the port on the back is not a problem at all.

When exactly you purchased your Inspiron 660, before or after that date - 5/29/2012, have you updated your sound drivers recently?
When you started having those issues, from the beginning, or after a while, how long you have your heaphones, since the beginning of your PC or you purchased them recently, have you tried regular 5.1 speaker system?

I have updated them recently, yes. As far as I know, they are up to date as of today (4/16/14). That was done while I was being helped by Dell support with an issue with BIOS. This computer was purchased this past November on a Black Friday discount. It was shipped new from Dell.com. The recently-mentioned headset, which I use for everything, was purchased just over one month ago.

See, changing or upgrading sound card is relatively easy, but if it would not fix the problem, then what?

I also am interested in increasing general sound quality. I work a lot with music composition, so it's in my best interest to be able to control things such as balance, bass-treble volume, stereo, and also it helps to have a clear sound.

Anything else I can help you with?

One small thing: what is the best way to record sound output from your computer into a program such as Audacity? I've used the Stereo Mix option on past computers (Win. 7, Win. XP SP3) and they were there by default, but this computer lacks that option (The sound card may change that). I am not alone with this issue, other Windows 8.1 users have experienced it. What I want to do is simultaneously record microphone input from USB, along with sound output from Skype. Is there an easy or convenient way to do this?


I appreciate all of the help and the quick responses, Kisianik, and I am grateful for your help in choosing a good card.

 

[Kisianik]

Well you have chosen well, however card was above you target, so I did not even considered it.

And regarding last thing - that is way above my area of expertise, so I would advise you to create new thread in appropriate sub forum with good informative title so you can get a lot of responses quickly, as you can see, I am the only one who responded here to you....


Good luck.