----- Original Message -----
From: Jim Meagher <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Saturday, March 18, 2000 5:42 PM
Subject: Re: [PCBUILD] help with choosing sound card needed


> A card with Wave Tables built in is a MUCH better value.

I'm not an expert in this area but I agree with this for the following
reasons.

> The Wave Table is used to generate the different "voices"
> of the music.  Having this table coded into the card means that
> the data is immediately available.  The PC does not have to
> waste time creating and accessing the table's data.

Yes, this is the basic reason.  A non-wave-table card must generate all
sounds in software - sending all required parameters to the sound card
each time it needs to generate a given sound.  A wave-table card stores
the parameters for different kinds of sounds in on-board memory and
contains a processor to generate the required sound from these
parameters rather than having the CPU do this processing.  This is
similar to the way other on-board processors save CPU time by
off-loading some of the processing to the card - 3D graphics chips on
video cards, protocol handling chips on modems, etc.  Wave-table sound
cards are commonly available for very reasonable prices.
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Michael Eisenstadt" <[log in to unmask]>
> >
> > I am in the dark as to what wave-table cards do that
> > non-wave-table cards don't. Do I need a wave-table card
> > for playing music from computer to stereo?
> >
Sorry, I cannot help you with information about the particular cards you
mention.  Many of the low-price listings for otherwise good cards are
due to lower prices but higher than usual shipping costs or because the
cards are OEM and do not include the software and extras that the same
cards sold at retail have.

I'm still using a several year old SoundBlaster Awe64.  The SoundBlaster
Live has been on many "best" lists for the past couple of years but I
understand that they are now being replaced by newer models.  For
playing music from your computer to a stereo like using your CD-ROM to
play audio CDs or when playing MP3s, you would not need a wavetable
card- all you need is the processor on the sound card.  The wavetable is
only used when the computer is generating the sound from software such
as in a game or for computer-generated music.  (As I said, I'm not an
expert, but the above is my understanding of how this stuff works.)

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