Sound cards

Audio interface

A Sound Blaster Live! Value card, a typical (circa 2000) PCI sound card.
Connects to	via one of: PCI ISA USB IEEE 1394 IBM PC Parallel Port PCI-E MCA (rare) PCMCIA interfaces (PC Card, Expresscard) Line in or out: via one of: Analogue - phone, RCA or DIN connector Digital - RCA, TOSLink or AES/EBU Microphone via one of: Phone connector PIN connector
Common manufacturers	Creative Labs (and subsidiary E-mu Systems) Realtek C-Media MARIAN digital audio electronics M-Audio Turtle Beach ASUS

 via one of:

Line in or out: via one of:

Microphone via one of:

A sound card (also known as an audio card) is an internal expansion card that provides input and output of audio signals to and from a computer under control of computer programs. The term sound card is also applied to external audio interfaces used for professional audio applications. Typical uses of sound cards include providing the audio component for multimedia applications such as music composition, editing video or audio, presentation, education and entertainment (games) and video projection.

Sound functionality can also be integrated onto the motherboard, using components similar to those found on plug-in cards. The integrated sound system is often still referred to as a sound card. Sound processing hardware is also present on modern video cards with HDMI to output sound along with the video using that connector; previously they used a SPDIF connection to the motherboard or sound card.

Most sound cards use a digital-to-analog converter (DAC), which converts recorded or generated digital data into an analog format. The output signal is connected to an amplifier, headphones, or external device using standard interconnects, such as a TRS phone connector or an RCA connector. If the number and size of connectors is too large for the space on the backplate the connectors will be off-board, typically using a breakout box, an auxiliary backplate, or a panel mounted at the front. More advanced cards usually include more than one sound chip to support higher data rates and multiple simultaneous functionality, for example digital production of synthesized sounds, usually for real-time generation of music and sound effects using minimal data and CPU time.