Can you suggest the cheapest way to add sound to a pc?

[zx2012]

A while back we bought some PCs that have no sound that up until now have been used for admin PCs. We now want to use them in our ICT suite.

 

What is the cheapest way to add sound? Can a USB sound card be used?

[mullet_man]

Which machine is it?

 

Are you sure they don't have sound, is rare machines don't come with soundcards onboard nowadays.

Edited February 22, 2010 by mullet_man

[featured_spectre]

you can buy £15 sound cards i believe but i wont vouch for the quality.

[glennda]

you can buy really really cheap internal PCI cards, the sound quality will probly not be great but if its just for students to listen through headphones then should be okay quick google of cheap sound cards came up with Asonic 4 Channel Soundcard C-media 8738 Chipset 3D - PCI £4.39 from ebuyer, i wouldnt use them for a teachers machine that needs to play loud sound tho as will most probly be .

[andydis]

99p usb sound card from "hong kong"

 

USB 2.0 Mic Speaker 5.1 Audio Sound Card ADAPTER #9340 on eBay (end time 24-Mar-10 08:40:38 GMT)

 

I would find put them internally id you have internal usb on the pc's.

[ICT_GUY]

How about adding USB speakers? You don't actually even need a sound card then.

 

These work great.

 

Logitech S150 Digital USB Black Multimedia Speakers 1.2 Watt - Business (980-000029) - dabs.com

 

Or USB headphones.

http://www.dabs.com/products/dynamode-dh-660-usb-stereo-headset-4RLP.html?q=usb%20headphones

[zx2012]

The PC is a Dell OptiPlex GX620. (Bought 08/09/2006)

 

In Control Panel.Sound it says, "no audio device"

[3s-gtech]

These appear to have green, blue and pink audio inputs/outputs on the back. Therefore, it's just the driver that's missing. The Dell site should be able to provide that easy peasy.

[powdarrmonkey]

I thought all the GX series had internal speakers, in which case you just need the driver.

[tom_newton]

Avoid USB sound. You have to look after these things. You will thank me later

A cheap PCI card will be just as good as any of the cheap pci bus muck that lives onboard on most PCs, so if it does turn out you don't have a soundcard - which would be damned fruity - then that's what i'd pick, subject to in-case-space.

[glennda]

you may find it is disabled in the bios? therefore windows will not see the card

[zx2012]

it's just the driver that's missing

 

I logged on to Dell's website to look at the PC's orginal configuartion. It said it came with internal speakers.

 

Next I had a look at Device Manager and sure enough there were 2 audio devices with question marks on them! I downloaded the audio driver package from Dell and 10 minutes later had the sound working

 

Thank you very much.

[3s-gtech]

No problem, saves a few quid anyway