Customer Reviews

StarTech.com 4 Channel Low Profile PCI Sound Adapter Card AC97 3D Audio Effects PCISOUND4LP

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

I know folks previous have said this card works fine with Windows 7. I'll have to provide a dissenting experience. I've been upgrading my own PCs for over 15 years so I know what I'm doing here for the most part.

In short, one set of drivers works fine except when you try to open the software utility that runs the card. On a fresh install of Win7 this creates a processing loop that hangs the computer and you have to force a reboot. Another set of drivers works fine except that the sampling rate is not correct, so any sound input via mic is distorted, making your speaking sound like a chipmunk during playback. So Skype, Ventrilo/Teamspeak, sound recording, etc are all unusable with this card. (Note, the most recent driver for this card is from 2008/Vista).

After months of trying to keep it working, the only method I found was using an older driver and turning off Windows automatic updates (because Windows keeps trying to update to the newest driver which is worse) and never trying to open the utility program. Keeping Windows updated is necessary though, so I've decided to remove the card and get a different one. I'm past the return date though so I can't get my money back.

So if you are a Windows7 user please think very carefully about getting this card. I wanted something cheap since my onboard sound hardware failed, but dearly wish I'd spent a little more money on something that the manufacturer states is compatible with Win7, since that at least would give me a leg to stand on if it doesn't work, in addition to better driver updates going forward.

My older desk top lost its sound system and investigation showed no sound card. Apparently the built in card on the mother board had gone bad. I purchased this new sound card and installed it myself, very simple and plugged in my speakers and they worked instantly.

Very happy with this purchase which cost me 1/3 of what Best Buy wanted for a similar product.

Pete Stanley

Good sound card simple to put into the pc great sound softwear to download every thing is simple just follow the steps.

This is a great little soundcard and a real bargain! I have great surround sound in several rooms of the house and really appreciate great sound. I wasn't trying to duplicate the surround system for my computer, but wanted real quality. I was worried that a card this inexpensive might not be good enough. It is!

The sound "card" on the motherboard of my desktop and both laptops have always been marginal sound quality wise. I have been using one of Startech's USB multichannel sound adapters on one of the laptops and good speakers and amp with great results for a year or so now. When I saw this PCI card for under $10 I had to try it on the desktop. I am sitting here now listening to Radio Swiss Jazz over a set of Logitech S220 with this card and am floored by the great sound (albeit at relatively low volume) coming from the combo. I also own a high end audio system that is part of an acoustically engineered home theater and have been hooked on vinyl for many years so think I have a pretty good idea of what good reproduced sound is like. This little card is very satisfying and it performs WAY beyond its price point.

It hisses. A lot. More then my cat.

Different drivers did nothing. Only disabling the other ports helped and only a little.

Buyer beware the quality on this product is not great. If you are lucky enough to get one that works then great but if not it is not usable.

For 10 bucks I wasn't expecting much I expected it to at least be usable. Oh well back it goes.

This is a basic sound card and does a good basic job! I purchased a used Dell Dimension 5150 and the onboard sound was destroyed/undetectable. Bought this startech 4 channel adapter card, disabled my onboard audio, placed card in PCI slot, inserted installation disc, followed instructions, plugged in speakers, Viola - audio works! The only problem I had was that the metal part of card was too wide to slide into the front interface of empty slot. With a little help from my wire pliers, bent the corners, and made it work. Hope this review helps!

Cheap solution for a bad onboard sound card. :O) However, This was not plug & play on my Windows XP SP3 system. IMPORTANT/Caution: Follow the instructions in the booklet exactly and install the software from the "run" command line. I installed it from the SOUND\CMedia8738\setup.exe file by clicking on the icon and it scrambled my video card. I was able to recover on this fresh system through system restore. Card worked fine once installed. Windows Update did remove the nice equalizer program when it installed an updated driver shortly afterwards...

Bought this to put in an old computer with a bad soundcard. It works perfectly...although I ended up using a USB speaker system on the computer anyway lol.

Great Product, Simple, Works! Comes with a Drivers CD-ROM. Software Insall is a bit tricky, but the user guide outlines the folder which contains the drivers for the operating system.