Reference Guide

1565
Audio hardware (sound cards) and drivers
Beginner’s guide to Cakewalk software
RCA inputs rather than the eighth inch jacks found on consumer grade sound cards. Some cards
also have digital inputs and/or outputs like S/PDIF and ADAT.
• Higher bit-depths and sampling rates. Most newer professional sound cards allow you to
record at 20, 22 or 24-bit, and at a sampling rate of up to 96 KHz.
• Onboard DSP. Some sound cards have effects processors for things like reverb and delay built
into the sound card. These can take a big load off of your computer.
• High quality A to D and D to A converters (Analog to Digital and Digital to Analog). The
quality of your recordings ultimately depends on the quality of sound that you initially record.
Professional sound cards have higher-quality components that convert the sound into and back
out of the digital format.
See:
“How do I know if I have a hardware conflict?” on page 1565
How do I know if I have a hardware conflict?
If you have a hardware conflict, you may see the following:
• one or more devices not working properly
• one or more devices not showing up in Device Manager
• your system crashing every time you use the device(s)
See:
“Installation and drivers” on page 1565
“WDM and MME” on page 1566
“IRQs” on page 1567
Installation and drivers
When you install a sound card, you are installing both the hardware and software called a driver. The
sound card driver is what allows your operating system and your sound card to communicate. This
section is aimed at preventing problems when installing both your sound card and its driver.
Installing a sound card
Follow your sound card’s documentation for installing the sound card in your computer. If you are
installing a PCI card, or any hardware that requires you to open the cover of your computer, be
careful to discharge any static electricity you are carrying by touching the metal casing of your
computer before handling the sound card itself. Static electricity can damage a sound card’s
circuitry.