It is important to know the model of the devices installed in the computer, because sooner or later this information will certainly come in handy. In this article, we will look at programs and system components that allow you to find out the name of the audio device installed on your PC, which will help solve most problems with its operation, or give you a reason to brag about your equipment among friends. Let's get started!
You can find out the name of the audio board in your computer using tools such as the AIDA64 program and built-in components. , as well as "Device Manager". Below will be step by step guide determining the name of the sound card in the device you are interested in running the operating Windows systems.
Method 1: AIDA64
Method 2: "Device Manager"
This system utility allows you to view all installed (also malfunctioning) devices in the PC along with their names.
Method 3: "DirectX Diagnostic Tool"
This method requires only a few mouse clicks and keystrokes. "DirectX Diagnostic Tool" along with the device name displays a set technical information which can be very useful in certain cases.
Open the app "Run" by pressing the key combination Win+R. In field "Open" enter the name of the executable file shown below:
In the window that opens, click on the tab "Sound". You will be able to see the device name in the column "Name".
Conclusion
This article covered three methods for viewing the name of the sound card that is installed in the computer. Using a program from a third-party developer AIDA64 or any of the two system Windows components you can quickly and easily find out the data you are interested in. We hope that this material was useful and you were able to solve your problem.
Sound cards in modern computers and laptops, like any other installed "iron" equipment, without the presence of a special controller in the system software called the driver will not work. Apparently, absolutely all users know about it. However, sometimes drivers need to be installed independently, updated or reinstalled (for example, if the device is not functioning). But how to determine which drivers are needed for a sound card? In principle, on stationary PCs, it is enough to look at the marking of the equipment by removing the side cover from the system unit. But what if the chip is integrated or access to it is impossible for purely technical reasons, as can be observed in the situation with laptops? Let's try to look at a few simple methods which will help to solve this problem.
How to Know Which Sound Driver I Need: The Easiest Way
Initially, we will proceed from the fact that it is not possible to see the name of the sound card model. To view all the equipment installed on a computer or laptop in Windows systems, the so-called “Device Manager” is provided, which can be called, for example, from the computer control section, the “Control Panel” or the program launch console using the combination devmgmt.msc.
How to find out which sound driver I need? To do this, it is enough to open the corresponding section with sound, game and video devices, and then preliminarily determine the name of the soundcard itself (its brand and manufacturer). After that, you can simply visit the website of the manufacturer or developer of the corresponding software and search the correct driver by model name. Usually such software is laid out in the public domain. After that, the driver should be downloaded and installed by yourself. But it is not always possible to use this option, because for built-in (integrated) type sound cards, the manufacturer’s name in the Device Manager is usually not indicated, and the card is shown as an audio-enabled device high definition(High Definition Audio).
How to determine which sound driver is needed for an integrated soundcard?
To begin with, consider the option of finding a driver for a sound card on a laptop. In this case, the best solution would be to visit the website of the laptop manufacturer and view complete information according to the model of your laptop. The card's markings may be indicated in the hardware, and among the software available for download, the necessary, and the latest drivers, may also be presented. It remains only to download the desired installer, focusing on the type and bit depth of the installed operating system, then run it to install the drivers.
Some manufacturers offer users to perform online laptop testing. In this case, the matter is simplified, since the update or installation of the necessary drivers can be done completely in automatic mode, and you don’t have to find out which drivers are needed.
But let's see how to find out which sound driver I need if automatic installation Not even listed on the manufacturer's website. In this case, if we are talking specifically about the integrated card driver, you can use the DirectX tools (the dialog is called from the Run console of the dxdiag command).
The audio tab on the left will show short information by the device itself, and on the left - by the driver (most often this is the Microsoft driver file that the operating system itself installs). If you need another driver, go ahead.
Finding the most appropriate software for your device
Now let's see how to understand which sound driver is needed for installation, focusing on its absolute and most complete correspondence to the soundcard model.
In this case, we again need the "Device Manager", in which we need to go to the properties of the card through the RMB menu, and on the details tab, select the display of the equipment ID from the drop-down list. The list may contain several lines containing the values VEN and DEV, but you need to copy the longest one, and then use it to search for the necessary control software on the Internet, using special resources with driver databases or other sites where such software can be found. be made available for free download.
Use of automated programs
Finally, let's see how to find out which sound driver I need (and if I need it at all) when it comes to using automated programs. They can be conditionally divided into two main classes: applications with their own databases (DriverPack Solution) and online applets ( driver booster). Such programs are good because the user does not need to find out what exactly needs to be installed, but it is enough to trust the program, which will automatically scan all the devices on the computer and install the missing or updated drivers on its own.
Dedicated audio drivers
It remains to add that when using some sequencer programs or virtual sound studios, it may sometimes be necessary to install additional drivers.
In particular, this applies to the ASIO driver set. If we are talking about using connected MIDI keyboards and synthesizers, you may need to install the appropriate MIDI driver or virtual sound device (usually, when installing the main software, all drivers are automatically integrated into the system, but only after the user checks the box in the installer itself their settings).
Very often before the owners of personal or laptop computer the problem arises of how to determine your sound card. Indeed, the days are long gone when the only mass audio adapter that became truly popular was " sound blaster" and its modifications "Pro", "32", etc.
Nowadays, embedded solutions reign in computing systems. You can argue for a long time where the sound is better: integrated or discrete cards. However, the spread of laptops and similar portable solutions has led to the fact that a chip soldered onto a board is the best option in terms of ergonomics and power consumption. Why, then, the question arises: "How to find out your sound card?" - if there is a standard? Alas, despite the small number of manufacturers of sound solutions, each of them has a whole line of models. Each of them has its own characteristics, its own driver. No wonder it's so important to figure out how to recognize your sound card. So let's get started...
Studying the specifics
One of the most simple ways How to find out your sound card is to study the packaging and the manufacturer's website. Let's assume that the computer is stationary, and the card is discrete. The model name is always indicated on the packaging of the device. For example, it can be a copy from the company "Creative" - "X-Fi Titanium HD". If the box is lost or you need to figure out how to find out your sound card placed by the manufacturer in the laptop, then you can use another method.
For a laptop, read the model and manufacturer name on the label on the back. Next, you need to find the characteristics of this model (for example, Acer 7720G). For this example this is a sound chip manufactured by Realtek. In a similar way, you can determine the type of integrated on the motherboard desktop computer sound chip: knowing its type (for example, Gigabyte H61M-S2PV), you need to open the manufacturer's website, find your "motherboard" and look at the sound chip in the "Characteristics" section. For the example board, this is the "Realtek ALC887" audio codec.
Programmatic way
An equally popular method for determining a sound chip is with the help of programs. One of the most famous is "AIDA64". After launching it, you need to proceed to the "Multimedia" section, where select "Audio PCI / PnP".
If it is not possible to install third party applications, then you can use the tools of the operating system itself. Consider how to find out your Windows 7 sound card. You need to click on the system desktop shortcut "My Computer" right button mouse and in the list of menu items that appears, select the lowest one - "Properties". Next, open the "Device Manager". If the driver was installed automatically (that is, it needs to be updated), then the right solution will be located in the "Sound, game and video devices" tab. After opening the "Details", you need to select "Hardware ID" in the drop-down list. Next, you need to copy the line, paste it into the browser and start searching the Web. In case of problems, you can reduce the number of characters. For example, for the line HDAUDIO\FUNC_01&VEN_10EC&DEV_0887&SUBSYS_1458A002&REV_1003, you need to delete everything after "DEV_0887". This method is one of the most convenient and accurate. If the driver was not installed at all, then sound card will be in the section Unknown Devices". In this case, you need to do the same operations with the search by the string "ID".
A sound card (sometimes referred to as a sound card) is an additional device for a computer that allows you to process sound. Initially, the boards were separate cards, a little later they began to be integrated into motherboards in order to save money. It is clear that such cards do not produce the best sound, and if you are a music lover, you should purchase a separate sound card. The cost of really good boards can easily reach several tens of thousands of rubles.
The first external sound card can be considered a device from Covox Inc. It connected to the printer port of an IBM PC and allowed monophonic digital sound to be reproduced. The IBM PC, by the way, was originally distinguished by the absence of sound, since it was created to solve business and scientific problems. The only sound he made was the sound of the built-in speaker, necessary for indicating malfunctions. This was in 1986. Interestingly, this device was one of the most popular on the market for the next 10 years, although already in the late 80s of the last century, audio cards from other manufacturers began to appear on the market.
Modern audio boards are no different large dimensions and take up relatively little space, not to mention the built-in ones. Many users do not even know their sound card model, which, in general, is not at all surprising - the main thing is that there is sound. But in fact, you need to know the card model at least so that in which case you can update the drivers on it. For example: you turn on the computer, and . Through trial and error, you find out that you just need to reinstall the drivers.
Today I will tell you how to find out the name of your audio card.
Method one
I will show an example based on the Windows 7 operating system, but in fact the method is suitable for others Windows versions, including XP or 8.
First of all, we will need to open the device manager. You can get into it different ways. For example, hover your mouse over the "Computer" icon on your desktop, right-click, and select "Properties."
A window for viewing information about your computer will open. On the right side of the window there is an icon "Device Manager" - click on it.
Now the device manager we need has opened. Here we see a list of devices, but we are only interested in “Sound, video and game controllers”. Click on the icon and you will see a list of audio cards.
It's important not to get confused as there may be other media devices here. In addition, the name of the audio card in my case (Realtek High Definition Audio) is incomplete, since the card is built-in. If you have a separate sound card, its name will be displayed in full.
Method two
If you need to find out the exact name of the audio card, even if it is built-in, third-party software will help you. On the site, I have repeatedly mentioned programs for viewing computer configuration. One of the most popular programs, without a doubt, is the Everest. Yes, the program is paid, but the first 30 days you can use it for free, and if you like it (and you definitely will), you can purchase it.
So, download Everest on the official website, install it on your computer, and then launch it. Having opened the program, we find the subsection "Multimedia" - "Audio PCI / PnP" and see the full name of the audio card on the right side of the screen.
Method three
If you are using an external sound card, then you probably still have the package from it. Find the last one and see the name of the device on it.
If you have bought system unit in the boron in the store, then you need to find the purchase documents - they will indicate the name of all components, including the sound card.
Traditionally, you can ask your questions with the help of comments.
PC users rarely pay attention to such a component as a sound card. Unless with the exception of those who are engaged in sound recordings, creating musical compositions, etc. In general, all those who have a hobby or work related to sounds.
Why do you need to know what sound card you have? For example, so that you can find and download a driver for it or buy an identical one in case of a breakdown (failure). All information about the equipment that is installed on your PC can be found in the Device Manager, so there we will find out the model of your sound card.
Open the "Start" menu, find "Control Panel" and click on it. As an alternative, you can use the search bar in the Start menu and enter the desired "Control Panel" into it. Usually the first result of the search will be the panel we need.
Next, we find the aforementioned "Device Manager", in which we will find all the necessary information about the equipment and drivers for it. We click on it.
In the window that opens, find the section "Sound, video and game controllers" and double-click on it with the left mouse button. More subsections will open, the number of which depends on the configuration of your PC.
In the image with an arrow, I showed that the sound card on my laptop is using "AMD High Definition Audio Device". Accordingly, the sound card is manufactured by AMD (Advanced Micro Devices).
Now to find out more detailed information about your sound card, you need to use the Everest program or any other similar software. In Everest, in the "Multimedia" section, we find the "HD Audio" subsection. Here you will find all the detailed information about your sound card (device description, device ID, bus type, version, etc.).
In similar ways, you can get any other information about the sound devices that are installed on your computer, and accordingly, you can easily replace them or install the necessary drivers.