How to inf soundcard model?

[qwertyjjj]

Got a new computer recently but I am not sure what the sound card is. Everest Home won't load up it's details as the driver is not installed.
Any ideas on how I can find it out?
If I open the case, I'm not sure it will have it printed on the side.
Are there any generic sound card drivers that I could use to start with?

 

[1965ohio]

What is the model of the computer? If it is older and has a PCI soundcard, you can usually open it up and read Soundblaster or Realtek on the PCB or chips. If the soundcard is integrated on your motherboard, you can look at the chips closely to see something like VIA or REALTEK ALCxxx close to where the connector is for the wires that lead to the front panel audio jacks.

But without any idea of where to start, there are no generic sound drivers. Each chip has it's own codec and control driver. Also what operating system are you running?

 

[1965ohio]

If you can find the name of your card, or audio chip, you can go to a place like driverguide.com and type in the model and start trying different ones until you get it right. But if you are running Vista or 7... you should be able to set windows to search for the drivers via windows update... if you are lucky.

 

[qwertyjjj]

What is the model of the computer? If it is older and has a PCI soundcard, you can usually open it up and read Soundblaster or Realtek on the PCB or chips. If the soundcard is integrated on your motherboard, you can look at the chips closely to see something like VIA or REALTEK ALCxxx close to where the connector is for the wires that lead to the front panel audio jacks.

But without any idea of where to start, there are no generic sound drivers. Each chip has it's own codec and control driver. Also what operating system are you running?

It's an AMD x3 with a Biostar a880G+
I was hoping I might get some info somewhere from Everest before having to open it up

 

[1965ohio]

Realtek ALC662 6-Channel HD Audio

What is your windows version?

You can download all the the drivers for your board here:

http://www.biostar.com.tw/app/en/mb/driver.php?S_ID=492

This is the audio driver for Windows Vista x86/ Vista x64/ Win7 x86/ Win7 x64

http://download.biostar.com.tw/upload/Driver/Audio/Realtek/HD/VistaWin7/Vista_Win7_R236.exe

If you got XP or something older, download this one: http://download.biostar.com.tw/upload/Driver/Audio/Realtek/HD/2KXP/WDM_R236.exe

 

[1965ohio]

Also, if you need audio output from the HDMI connector, install this one

http://download.biostar.com.tw/upload/Driver//Chipset/ATI/HDMI/HDMI_R242.exe

 

[qwertyjjj]

Realtek ALC662 6-Channel HD Audio

What is your windows version?

You can download all the the drivers for your board here:

http://www.biostar.com.tw/app/en/mb/driver.php?S_ID=492

This is the audio driver for Windows Vista x86/ Vista x64/ Win7 x86/ Win7 x64

http://download.biostar.com.tw/upload/Driver/Audio/Realtek/HD/VistaWin7/Vista_Win7_R236.exe

If you got XP or something older, download this one: http://download.biostar.com.tw/upload/Driver/Audio/Realtek/HD/2KXP/WDM_R236.exe

Thanks.
OOI, is it a 64 bit machine?
I installed xp but it won;'t le me install any 64 programs on it so I had to install 32 bit only

 

[1965ohio]

If it's XP, then it's probably not 64 bit. Click the second link, for XP or older... it is the right driver.

http://download.biostar.com.tw/upload/Driver/Audio/Realtek/HD/2KXP/WDM_R236.exe

 

[qwertyjjj]

If it's XP, then it's probably not 64 bit. Click the second link, for XP or older... it is the right driver.

http://download.biostar.com.tw/upload/Driver/Audio/Realtek/HD/2KXP/WDM_R236.exe

But XP doesn't decide whether it's 32 or 64, it's the machine that is either 32 or 64 isn't it?

 

[1965ohio]

No. The operating system decides. If you are running a 32 bit windows, everything will be 32 bit. XP has a 64 bit version, but nobody really used it. It had too many issue with drivers and software. Vista and Win 7 have native 32 bit and 64 bit versions. If your computer wants to run more than 4GB of RAM, you will need a 64 bit operating system. If you have less than 2GB of RAM, you need a 32 bit OS anyways. The link I provided for XP works on Windows 2000, XP and Windows Server 2003 whether the XP is 32 or 64. It is the XP version. The original link I posted was for any operating system above XP/2003, like Vista and Windows 7.

The driver package is different for the older software in this case, simply because of your windows version, and not 32/64 compatibility. Newer versions of windows have different frameworks, APIs and DLL sets. Realtek chipsets include software to fully control the audio chip beyond the standard windows volume controls. So the software needs to be in tune to the operating system.

Same reason you can't install DirectX 10 or 11 on your XP.

 

[qwertyjjj]

No. The operating system decides. If you are running a 32 bit windows, everything will be 32 bit. XP has a 64 bit version, but nobody really used it. It had too many issue with drivers and software. Vista and Win 7 have native 32 bit and 64 bit versions. If your computer wants to run more than 4GB of RAM, you will need a 64 bit operating system. If you have less than 2GB of RAM, you need a 32 bit OS anyways. The link I provided for XP works on Windows 2000, XP and Windows Server 2003 whether the XP is 32 or 64. It is the XP version. The original link I posted was for any operating system above XP/2003, like Vista and Windows 7.

The driver package is different for the older software in this case, simply because of your windows version, and not 32/64 compatibility. Newer versions of windows have different frameworks, APIs and DLL sets. Realtek chipsets include software to fully control the audio chip beyond the standard windows volume controls. So the software needs to be in tune to the operating system.

Same reason you can't install DirectX 10 or 11 on your XP.

Got the driver working thanks.
On a separate note - it might be a 64bit setup system - is there anyway to find out? If XP only installs 32 bit then I'm wasting a good system. I don't have Vista or WIn 7 nor do I want to move to them really. Maybe Linux...

 

[gamerk316]

No, almost no one supports 64-bit XP. Trust me, if you have XP, you have a 32-bit OS.

 

[qwertyjjj]

No, almost no one supports 64-bit XP. Trust me, if you have XP, you have a 32-bit OS.

I must be making a hash of the question lol.
How do I find out if my box/hardware is 64 bit. It has nothing to do with the OS.

 

[1965ohio]

Your board has 64 bit support. But what CPU and other things do you have? If you want a 64 bit OS, then you must have a board, CPU, and all other expansions that are 64 bit capable and have 64 bit drivers. I highly doubt your XP is 64 bit. They only sold it for a short time before Vista came out, then discontinued it quickly.

Best way to find out is right click the my computer icon and select properties. It will say which version of XP you have. Give me the details including the build number and I can tell you for sure.

 

[qwertyjjj]

Your board has 64 bit support. But what CPU and other things do you have? If you want a 64 bit OS, then you must have a board, CPU, and all other expansions that are 64 bit capable and have 64 bit drivers. I highly doubt your XP is 64 bit. They only sold it for a short time before Vista came out, then discontinued it quickly.

Best way to find out is right click the my computer icon and select properties. It will say which version of XP you have. Give me the details including the build number and I can tell you for sure.

What has got to do with it though?
If the machine is 64bit then it doesn't matter, I'll try and get another OS that can run 64bit.
XP is just the OS, and you're right, it's 32 as I didn't have the 64bit but again that doesn't mean that the box isn't 64 just cos XP is 32.

 

[1965ohio]

Means you are likely running 64bit hardware with a 32bit OS. If you want to run Windows 7 64bit, then you need to have 2GB or more of RAM and make sure you have all the 64bit drivers and software for your board. There is nothing wrong with running a 32bit OS on 64bit hardware. The 64bit instructions are just to allow for more RAM and let the programs be able to take advantage of using more RAM than the 2GB program limit. The only reason for you to switch to a 64bit OS is if you really need more than 3GB of RAM. If you install 4GB or more RAM on a 32bit OS, you will only see 3.3 or 3.5GB of RAM available to you. The 32bit instructions just can't address more than 4GB of memory. Also, the only reason 64bit machines feel faster is because you are opening up the physical RAM limitations and the operating systems 2GB application limitation. 64bit instructions can feel a little snappier because Windows Vista 64 and Windows 7 64 are optimized to take advantage of this new bandwidth.

If your system is working, and you have no specific need for a 64bit OS, then don't worry about it. It will not make anything any different for you. If you install a 64bit OS, likely most of the software you are running is still 32bit. Just the OS is capable of managing more 32bit applications because it doesn't have the physical RAM limitations. Take a look at some sample applications like Firefox, Skype, MSN Live Messenger, Yahoo... etc... they are all still 32bit. So even if you are running 64bit, there is no benefit to these programs. If you want to run Photoshop CS4 or 5, yeah... it has a 64 bit version and works faster, but most of the 32 bit filters I want to install will not work unless I use the 32bit versions.

So the simple explanation is if you don't need more than 3GB of RAM or have less than 2GB now... then you have no reason to install a 64bit OS.

Do you require use of a 64bit program that you cannot find a 32bit version of? 90% of all the programs out there are still purely 32bit!

 

[1965ohio]

Another reason to switch from XP to Vista or Windows 7 is if you play games a lot, cause the new operating systems have better frameworks and DirectX11. And it doesn't matter if you get the 32 or 64 bit version, unless you want use of more than 3GB of RAM.

 

[qwertyjjj]

Another reason to switch from XP to Vista or Windows 7 is if you play games a lot, cause the new operating systems have better frameworks and DirectX11. And it doesn't matter if you get the 32 or 64 bit version, unless you want use of more than 3GB of RAM.

I have 4GB RAM in the box but 700 of that ared with the GPU so it shows up as 3.3
Will a 32 bit OS use all 3.3 of the RAM?

 

[1965ohio]

I have 4GB RAM in the box but 700 of that ared with the GPU so it shows up as 3.3
Will a 32 bit OS use all 3.3 of the RAM?

Yes. But if you want to use more than that, you will definitely need a 64bit OS.