Looking for an enthusiast sound card for My Dell Precision 390. Please suggest.

ALiy_1,

I join WyomingKnott in curiosity as to the use and the budget for the Precision 390 sound card and the level of expectation for performance. The Dell Precision 390 is beautifully made and ultra reliable, but of course does has limitations for use and a modest value. I have one in fantastic condition which cost $0- a gift from an archtectural firm discontinuing practice:

Precision 390 (2006) (Original): Core2 Duo 6300 dual-core @ 1.86GHz, 2GB DDR2 667 > Quadro FX550 > 2X WD 320GB . Windows XP Pro 32-bit
[ Passmark system rating =397, CPU = 587 / 2D= 248 / 3D=75 / Mem=585 / Disk = 552 ]

> and this cost about $90 to upgrade:

Dell Precision 390 (2006) (Revised): Xeon X3230 quad-core @ 2.67GHz > 8 GB DDR2 ECC 667 > Quadro K600 > 2X WD 320GB >M-Audio 2496 Sound Card> Linksys WMP600N WiFi > Dell 24" > 1920 X 1200 > Windows 7 Professional 64-bit
[ Passmark system rating = 1296, CPU = 2953 / 2D= 382 / 3D=862 / Mem= 853 / Disk=569]

GPU's in Precision 390 diversion [ The Quadro K600 was a leftover from an HP z420 I bought and changed to a Quadro K4200. the performance is very good with an AMD V4900- that was leftover form another HP z420 I bought and upgraded to a Quadro 4000.

With Firepro V4900 (1GB)
[ Passmark system rating = 1458, CPU = 3699 / 2D= 431 / 3D=1350 / Mem= 885 / Disk=552]

I tried the 390 with a Quadro K4200:
Passmark system rating = 1552, CPU = 3467 / 2D= 683 / 3D=4067 / Mem= 866 / Disk=570]

Notice how good the 3D performance can be with better GPU's- so the 390 does have potential to respond to upgrades, but the resale vale is very low. ]

Notice too in that list of components "M-Audio 2496 Sound Card " as I think this would be a good choice for the 390. This is a 2003 design revised over the years and now discontinued. It's duplex- you can playback something and record to it at the same time and importantly has MIDI I/O. If you you have a MIDI controller you can play and HD record through soft synth instruments. For example if you wanted to produce a video, you could edit the visuals and create the underscore while the video was running to sync it.

Very useful and the quality is quite good. I 've had three of these and with one my system was Yamaha S90 / Oktava M012 /Peavey VMP2 tube mic preamp> Audio Research LS3, Audio Research D130, Vandersteen 2C> HP Elite m9426 (Q6600). I recorded MIDI and live instruments, edited it, and made 100's of CD's over the years.

The M-Audio 2486 is not expensive:

M-Audio Audiophile 2496 24/96 Professional PCI Sound Card with breakout cable.

Aug 27, 2015 , 5:18PM
Winning bid:
US $22.05

http://www.ebay.com/itm/M-Audio-Audiophile-2496-24-96-Professional-PCI-Sound-Card-with-breakout-cable-/181845323353?hash=item2a56d36e59&nma=true&si=GmYkuvgQPc3gUISiPOtQiWQFVoQ%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

I however, recommend the big brother to the 2496, the Audiophile 192, which, for not a lot more money, has higher sampling rates and a much better signal to noise- quieter. These also are two in/ two out:

M-Audio Audiophile PCI (E186014) Sound Card AP192K REV -E sold for $40

http://www.ebay.com/itm/M-Audio-Audiophile-PCI-E186014-Sound-Card-AP192K-REV-E-/331610184532?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4d3581db54&nma=true&si=GmYkuvgQPc3gUISiPOtQiWQFVoQ%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

I have two of these and like the 2496's, I've never had a failure after 10 years use.

Of course these are strictly 2-ch stereo so no surround, but are mentioned as a good quality sound and versatility at low cost.

Cheers,

BambiBoom

Notice the sound cards used in my two current systems:

HP z420 (2015) > Xeon E5-1660 v2 six-core @ 3.7 / 4.0GHz > 32GB DDR3 ECC 1866 RAM > Quadro K4200 (4GB) > Intel 730 480GB (9SSDSC2BP480G4R5) > Western Digital Black WD1003FZEX 1TB> M-Audio 192 sound card > 600W PSU> Logitech z2300 > Linksys AE3000 USB WiFi > 2X Dell Ultrasharp U2715H (2560 X 1440) > Windows 7 Professional 64 >
[ Passmark Rating = 5064 > CPU= 13989 / 2D= 819 / 3D= 4596 / Mem= 2772 / Disk= 4555] [Cinebench R15 > CPU = 1014 OpenGL= 126.59 FPS] 7.8.15

2. Dell Precision T5500 (2011) > Xeon X5680 six -core @ 3.33 / 3.6GHz, 24GB DDR3 ECC 1333 > Quadro K2200 (4GB ) > Samsung 840 250GB / WD RE4 Enterprise 1TB > M-Audio 192 sound card > Linksys WMP600N PCI WiFi > 875W PSU > Windows 7 Professional 64> HP 2711x (1920 X 1080)
[ Passmark system rating = 3490 / CPU = 9178 / 2D= 685 / 3D= 3566 / Mem= 1865 / Disk= 2122] [Cinebench 15 > CPU = 772 OpenGL= 99.72 FPS] 7.8.15