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Cut & Pasted from the Internet by Dr. Paul Reiss, Program Director

If you think Sound Blaster compatibility is all you need for good-sounding audio from your PC, think again. Sound-card features have changed so dramatically in the last few years that if you're stuck at the basic standard-which includes only FM synthesis, a MIDI/joystick input port, and an integrated audio amplifier-you haven't heard the half of it.

Most of today's games still use FM synthesis for sound generation-at least when they're not playing prerecorded audio from their installation CDs. When they do that, or when you play an audio CD, you're using only the amplifier section of the card.

Budding musicians with a bent for the digital age, on the other hand, also need MIDI support. For the best possible MIDI effect, your sound card should include wavetable synthesis-a stored collection of actual instrument sounds rather than synthesized noises that try to re-create the sound of a particular instrument. Not only do the latest cards have better and larger wavetable collections, they have download capabilities that let you add new sounds to the instrument library.

Thanks to sophisticated audio-processing chips, newer sound cards, such as Aureal's Vortex2 SQ2500 and Creative Labs' Sound Blaster Live, are capable of amazing 3D and environmental sound effects. They can "move" audio from side to side, front to back, or top to bottom, providing the auditory illusion that sound is emanating from directions other than just from wherever your speakers happen to be located. Environmental sound shapes audio so that sounds can imitate any of several predetermined "room" types, such as a concert hall, a gymnasium, or a concrete bunker.

These technologies will work with your present speaker system, but headphones are best if your speakers lack a subwoofer. A decent set of speakers is just as much a part of the audio experience as the sound card-check out this month's roundup on three-piece speaker systems for some speaker upgrade ideas (zdnet.com). If you don't mind investing in an even better set of speakers, get a sound card that's capable of Dolby Digital.

With a five-year-old Creative Labs Sound Blaster 16 sound card in our system, we decided it was time for a change of tune. We settled on a new Aureal Vortex2 SQ2500 card, with an estimated price of $100.

Before you buy your new sound card, be sure your computer's configuration is suitable. With the Vortex2 sound card, Windows 95 or 98 is required, as is a PCI slot and a CD-ROM drive to install the software. You'll also need a Philips-head screwdriver. Everything else required was included with our new audio card-but double-check the one you buy, as you might not be so lucky.

You might also need a new internal cable to connect the analog audio output from your CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive to the sound card, if the audio-connector type on the new sound card is different from the one on the older card. These days, this analog audio-connector type is pretty much standard, but the same can't be said for cards from the days of yore.

If you're replacing an existing card, uninstall its software drivers before you remove the old card. Click Start/Settings/Control Panel and select System. Click on the Device Manager tab, then on the plus symbol to the left of Sound, Video and Game Controllers to expand the listing of the system's installed audio devices. Delete all the entries that correspond to the sound card you are about to remove. If you are unsure of any entries, leave them alone-it's better to be safe than sorry. If at any point you're asked if you want to remove any shared files, select No.

Shut down the system and unplug the AC power cord. Pop open the system's case to gain access to the expansion bus. Getting inside our Gateway tower system was as simple as removing two thumbscrews and sliding off the side panel. Unplug any cables attached to your current sound card. For us, this was the speaker cable connected to the back of the card and two internal analog audio connectors-one from the CD-ROM drive and one from the voice modem. Make sure you ground yourself before you start, preferably by touching an unpainted part of the system's chassis or the power supply. Alternatively, you can buy a wrist grounding strap at RadioShack or other electronics outlets.

Like many older sound cards, the Sound Blaster we replaced is an ISA card. The new Vortex2 card, on the other hand, uses the PCI bus. Unscrew your present sound card's support brace from the system's backplane and carefully lift the card out of its slot.

Now unscrew a backplane cover from an available PCI slot and move the cover over to the now-vacant ISA slot-without a card installed in this slot, you need the cover to help prevent dirt and dust from getting inside the case. Slide the new card into the PCI slot, being careful not to hit the motherboard with its support brace or scrape it against any adjacent cards.

Align the hole in the card's support brace with the hole on the system's backplane, and using the screw you should have left over, fasten the card into place.

Reconnect the analog audio cable coming from your CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive. In our situation, we also had to reconnect the audio cable coming from our voice modem. If you are installing a sound card in your system for the first time, you may need to partially remove your CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive to access its analog audio connector. Check out last month's DVD-ROM upgrade Tune-up article to learn how to do that if you're unsure.

Reconnect the external cables you removed earlier, including the AC power connector. You may need to consult the manual to see which jack on the back of your new sound card you're supposed to plug the speakers into. Although the jacks on the back of the Vortex2 are color-coded, the little icons indicating what purpose each jack performs (faintly stamped next to each jack) are difficult to see.

Power up the system. Windows should auto-detect your new sound card and prompt you for the new drivers. Follow the instructions in the new sound card's manual to find out how to install the drivers and any bundled software. Once you confirm that all is in order, put the cover back on the system. That's all there is to it. Now crank up the volume and dance, dance, dance!

It pays to do research before you make your purchase. ZDNet's GameSpot is an excellent source for reviews of some of the more popular sound cards on the market. (See www.gamespot.com/hardware/sound/cards.) Keep an eye out for various versions of each card, as differences in available features (for example, the lack of digital audio output) can save you money if you don't need them. And you can plow those savings into buying better speakers. (See www.gamespot.com/hardware/sound/speakers.) Although almost every game requires an audio card that's compatible with Sound Blaster, some games include special features, such as 3D audio, that require specific sound cards. The game reviews at www.gamespot.com/reviews.html should fill in some of the blanks.

For in-depth information about various sound cards, check out the Web sites of the card manufacturers, such as Aureal, Creative Labs, and Diamond Multimedia. And when it comes time to make the actual purchase, you may be able to save a few bucks by making your purchase online, at such sites as buy.com, computershopper.com, and egghead.com.

Last month, we showed you how to add DVD capability to your desktop, and this month, we look at upgrading your audio subsystem. But why limit your audio-visual entertainment to sitting in front of your PC? Why not listen to all those MP3 files you've been downloading on your home stereo system and watch DVD movies from the comfort of your own couch? You can do this even if your PC is in a different room than your TV and stereo.

X10's $69.95-direct MP3 Anywhere consists of an audio/video wireless transmitter and receiver, and a remote control. The wireless transmitter and receiver communicate with each other at a frequency of 2.4GHz with an effective range of about 100 feet. Using the supplied cables, you connect the audio line out from your sound card to the left and right RCA audio inputs on the transmitter. If your system has a composite video out from either the DVD decoder card or the graphics card, you can send the DVD video stream from one of these connections to the composite video input on the transmitter.

Next, plunk down the receiver near your TV and stereo. Run a cable from the receiver's left and right RCA audio jacks to your home stereo's line inputs. Now connect the receiver's composite video or coaxial video outputs to your TV's video input. Plug in the transmitter's and receiver's AC adapters and pop up their antennae, and you're done.

Whatever audio comes out of your sound card is now sent to your stereo. If you're really devious, you can reverse the audio connections, hooking up the transmitter to your stereo and the receiver to your PC. It's a great way to transfer all that old vinyl into WAV or MP3 audio files.

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