Sound Cards

  A sound card is a computer expansion card that can input and output sound under program control. A typical sound card includes a sound chip usually featuring a digital-to-analog converter that converts recorded or generated digital waveforms of sound into an analog format. This signal is led to a (earphone-type) connector where a cable to an amplifier or similar sound destination can be plugged in.

More advanced designs usually include more than one sound chip, and separate between synthesized sounds (usually for real-time generation of music and special effects with little amounts of data and CPU time and perhaps MIDI compatibility) and digital sound reproduction. To use a sound card, a certain operating system typically requires a specific device driver.