I am thinking of getting a media center pc - The Acer Aspire Idea 510. Its got all sorts of connections on the back, but I'm not sure about whether the onboard sound card will be that good for playing cds and stuff. So, I want to get a good expensive sound card. Ahh, one problem, theres no pci slots! Is there like external pci exclosures with a usb connection? I have seen ones like it, but they use a pci card to connect the external box with the pc, which is a problem, as the HTPC has no pci slots. Is there any way round this, like a usb one or anything? any comments would be appreciated.
2007-12-26 12:42:42 · 4 answers · asked by thedoctorwho_42 2 in Computers & Internet ➔ Hardware ➔ Add-ons
Getting an external PCI slot is going to be tricky. I am not aware of any PCI to USB solutions, and if they are available, they will be very expensive (I found a few PCI to PCMCIA ones in the >$500 range).
The Acer comes with 7.1- or 5.1-channel digital surround sound via HDMI™ or S/PDIF ports, I don't think you can't get much better with a dedicated sound card, it's all digital after all.
If you absolutely want an external soultion, why not use a USB sound card? There are several to chose from:
http://us.creative.com/products/product.asp?category=1&subcategory=206&product=10702
http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/FastTrackPro-focus.html
http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/Transit-main.html
http://www.everythingusb.com/asus_xonar_u1_usb_sound_card_13710.html
Just search for "USB sound card" and you should find some more.
2007-12-26 13:10:28 · answer #1 · answered by Otmar 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I dont think there are any external pci slots, and I didn't see anything with a usb to pci adapter that you could possibly connect to the inside of the computer from the outside. Besides, where would it go and how would it be powered? I did, however, find that you could get usb sound cards, and hook it up that way.
2007-12-26 20:58:33 · answer #2 · answered by SailorDumb 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Such a PCI slot has to be hardwired through the system board into the processor, it is not possible to have an external PCI slot. They do make external video cards that attach through USB rather then PCI.
2007-12-26 20:58:36 · answer #3 · answered by dewcoons 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
you only need a decent soundcard IF your making music.. and your not?
the one in the pc is enough for gaming.. your options would be firewire or usb.. I use usb soundcard on my laptop due to "asio" drivers specifically for music.
the inbuilt sound quality is good enough probably as long as it supports 5.1 or 7.1.. for normal use.
they used to do external pc enclosure for laptops YEARS ago, for pro musicians. basically it was pcima card that plugged into a pc case with the slots, but that flopped.
2007-12-26 21:05:39 · answer #4 · answered by junglejungle 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋