Pros: cheap, easy to install, comes with extra software
Cons: quality is low, sound is somewhat distorted
The Bottom Line: If you're looking for a cheap sound card that will do it's job, then go for this. If you want higher quality sound though, I would avoid this one.
wikid's Full Review: Creative Technology Sound Blaster® 16 ViBRA
Sometime last year, lightning hit my neighbor's tree and for some reason, I really don't know how, it fried my modem and sound card. While I did get a new modem installed, I just left the damaged sound card alone. Eventually I got a new sound card, the Sound Blaster 16pci, to use just so I could listen to mp3's until I got around to buying a new computer.
Price
I paid $30 for this sound card at Wal-Mart, though Epinions claims the cheapest price for this is $19.97. Although I wish I had known that at the time I bought it, $30 isn't a bad price for this sound card.
Installation
When it comes to installing hardware in computers, I am not the person to ask. But I was surprised at how easily this sound card installed. Basically, all I had to do was plug in the card and it was good to go. The instructions included are very clear and include pictures to help. The instructions are also printed in four different languages. The installation software was simple too. All you do is pop in the installation CD and go from there. The instructions are clear and self-explainatory. There's also software installation instructions in the manual. It took only about 15 minutes for everything to be installed, with no problems.
Extra Software
Sound Blaster included extra software you can install. It came with Creative PlayCenter, which lets you play any kind of media file. Creative Recorder let's you record .WAV files from sources such as CD Audio, Line In, Microphone, MIDI, and more. Creative MediaRing Talk lets you make free calls over the internet, with features such as text chat, voice messaging, and creating voice persons. While I haven't found any use for these programs yet, it's nice to have them on your computer just in case.
Other Features
You can use Sound Blaster with external devices such as cassettes, or a MiniDisc, headphones, microphone, and speakers. You can also connect a joystick and MIDI device, an answering machine or modem, and a tv card. The instructions show a picture of how each device would plug into the sound card, which would make installation easy. There is a large troubleshooting section if you can't get the sound card to work, and there is also a one year warranty on the card should anything go wrong. Creative Labs, the makers of Sound Blaster, have a website online for questions and help.
System Requirements
Sound Blaster can be used with Windows 95, 98, NT 4.0, and 2000. It requires an Intel Pentium 133MHz or faster processor, 16MB RAM, a half-length PCI 2.1 slot, headphones or speakers, and CD-ROM for the software installation.
Negatives
The only negative thing I can find is that the sound quality is not that great. The sound sounds somewhat distorted. The voices are kind of flat with no tone to it. They also sound too high-pitched. The sound reminds me of something recorded off a radio. I've adjusted the sound settings, which helps a little, but the quality of sound is still low. For $30 though, this sound card does what it's supposed to do.
Overall
While this isn't the greatest quality sound card out, I would definately recommend it for it's easy installation, price, and extra software. The sound card does it's job for playing back music and sound. If you want a simple, cheap sound card, then this is the one to get.
Based on the award-winning Sound Blaster 16 technology, the Sound Blaster 16 PCI delivers the same high-quality audio with the performance increase of...More at eCOST.com
You are buying one Creative Labs CT-4810 Sound Blaster Esoniq PCI 128 Voice Sound Card This sale is for one Creative Labs CT-4810 Sound Blaster Esoniq...More at eBay
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