Replacing integrated sound card on Vostro 270-Dell says no

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gener8

gener8

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Aug 15, 2015
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Hi there, I wonder if anyone can advise me please. I currently run a three year old Vostro 270, Windows 7 64 bit pro, with i5 quad 3470 cpu @ 3.20 Ghz and 8 gig ram.
For some reason, I had a melt down when ordering this and Dell put in this woeful soundcard- the conexant smart audio HD. I also have a nvidia hdef audio on the device manager which is, I presume the graphic card sound. So..hoping to improve the sound I bought a pair of reasonable creative speakers and wanted to get a better sound card. I phoned Dell and spoke to this lady who went away for about 10 minutes to check and came back and told me I could not change the sound card as it would most probably fry the motherboard as it was an integrated sound card. :??:She said my only option was to get an external soundcard. I am wondering if this is right, because I thought it was just a matter of popping in another card, suitable for a two speaker set up.
Would love to know what you think and if I can get a replacemnt card which makes would you advise.
Any help would be gratefully received,
Thanks guys,
Lois
 
Solution
Phillip Corcoran
She is right - - up to a point. It's all down to a misunderstanding I think.

You cannot replace the existing Conexant sound-chip as it's permanently attached to the motherboard (ie "on-board sound").

But you can install an alternative PCI sound card such as a SoundBlaster for example. That's what she probably meant by "external sound card" as in "not permanently attached to the motherboard". Let's be polite and say she appears to be "technically challenged" in such matters.
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Phillip Corcoran

Phillip Corcoran

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Sep 7, 2013
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She is right - - up to a point. It's all down to a misunderstanding I think.

You cannot replace the existing Conexant sound-chip as it's permanently attached to the motherboard (ie "on-board sound").

But you can install an alternative PCI sound card such as a SoundBlaster for example. That's what she probably meant by "external sound card" as in "not permanently attached to the motherboard". Let's be polite and say she appears to be "technically challenged" in such matters.
 
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Solution
gener8

gener8

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Aug 15, 2015
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haha! Thanks I liked the bit about being technically challenged and working for Dell as Tech support! She was very helpful in a way but unfortunately I think a lot got lost in translation.
Anyway lets see if I get this right. So providing there is another internal pci slot I can pop in an internal card like the soundblaster? Or failing that just get an external card outside of the desktop. I had a surround system on my old machine with a massive subwoofer and all the bells but no space for it here unfortunately :(
Thanks so much for helping me I really appreciate it.



 
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