Need to purchase a new sound card
I’m using a PC with following configuration: Intel Pentium 4 2.0 GHz, Intel 82845g motherboard, 1.25 GB DDR RAM, 80GB Samsung HDD, LG DVD writer and a CMI 8738 5.1-channel sound card. All this runs on Windows XP SP2. I want to upgrade my sound card. Please suggest a good card for my PC. I have TRUWAVE TW-1600 (5.1) speakers.
Will it make any audible different if I change my sound card? My Budget is Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,000. Are there any 5.1-channel plug-ins for Winamp?
Hitesh Joshi
DIGIT ANSWERS: There are decent sound cards available in the price range you’ve stated. Whether you will be able to make out the difference or improvement with the speakers you own is a different question all together, and not something we can objectively answer. The CMI 8738 was a good sound card for its price even then. You can consider the Audigy Value.
All the music we listen to is in stereo so by default they are meant for 2 speakers only. There are plugins which can replicate the sound to other channels. One of the more well known plugins for Winamp is ATSurround Processor. More can be found in the plugin section on Winamp’s site.