What to Look for in Computer Sound Support

The following are some key features to look for when you want to purchase a multimedia computer with great sound support:

• Choose a sound card with a 16-bit digital-to-analog converter (DAC) for playback, and a 16-bit analog-to-digital converter (ADC) for recording (necessary for applications developers).
• Look for a CD-ROM drive with double-speed or faster capabilities and multisession support.
• Look for a system that supports stereo sound and 8, 11, 22, and 44 kilohertz (kHz) waveforms. Compact-disc quality sound uses 44 kHz. The 11 kHz and 22 kHz waveforms are fractions of 44 and are often used for compressed waveforms that are meant to save CPU processing. The 8 kHz waveform is used for Truespeech™ compression.
• Developer systems should also include full-duplex support to record and play sound at the same time.