It is impossible to imagine a modern computer without a sound card. Although this device is not involved in the mathematical calculations performed by the central processor, it is nevertheless installed in any computer technology involving interactivity and multimedia. This is precisely the reason why recently the question of how to find out your sound card has become of interest not only to computer gurus, but also to ordinary users.
In addition, the type of installed sound card (audio adapter) directly affects the sound quality: it is useless to connect an expensive speaker system to a budget card, because the sound will still be mediocre. Obviously, every computer owner who appreciates good sound should know how to identify their sound card. This will help you choose the most suitable model for the characteristics.
There are several ways to find out your sound card. All of them are effective and mutually complementary. The best solution seems to be to use the most affordable.
The easiest way to find out your sound card is to check its full name with a consultant at the time of purchase of the computer. And it is desirable to write down the answer, because unfamiliar technical terms are quickly forgotten.
But, usually, the need to deal with the question of how to recognize your sound card does not arise immediately. In this case, you should familiarize yourself with the warranty sheet: sometimes it lists components. The fact is that when selling a computer, some stores provide a single guarantee for the entire system unit, and others - for each device (since they have a different warranty period ). And if an audio adapter is listed, then the issue can be considered resolved.
The most cardinal way is opening the case and inspecting the sound card “live”. There are many drawbacks to this approach, no doubt, but there is one advantage that often outweighs them all. This is 100% accuracy of determination, which neither the software nor any other methods can boast of. Of course, if the user does not know what to look for and what the sound card looks like (especially in the case of AC97 or HDA codecs), then you can forget about this method. A little tip: the wire from the speakers (amplifier) is connected to the outputs of the audio adapter. The card may be a separate accessory element that plugs into the computer bus connector. In this case, you need to carefully examine it: there is a sticker with a name on the textolite. For example, Audigy 4. If we are talking about a codec chip, which has recently become a very popular solution, you will have to turn to a specialist for help.
But let us leave such extreme measures for now, because there is a software way to find out your Windows 7 sound card, because it is this system that is installed on most. The easiest way is to use the operating system. To do this, right-click on the properties of the volume control icon , which is next to the clock from the taskbar. We follow in "Playback devices" and we select "Properties" at "Speakers". On the “General” tab there is a window “Controller”, where the name of the audio adapter is indicated.
Sometimes there is a speaker icon in the taskbar. By clicking on it, we get into the driver settings. One of the tabs is device information.
One of the no less convenient ways is to use special programs: AIDA64 or SiSoft Sandra. In AIDA, go to Multimedia and select Audio PCI / PnP. All sound devices and, importantly, their exact type (code) will be displayed. The fact is that sometimes cards with the same name have different characteristics. To both distinguish and serves as a code designation.
And finally, you can open the instructions for the computer motherboard and read about the installed audio adapter (suitable for embedded solutions).
Connoisseurs can determine the type of card by the “Run - dxdiag - Sound” equipment code.