Member Avatar for KR34T0R

Hi guys.
I recently migrated over to linux from windows only to discover that my Acer SA60 (and its cards, for that matter) aren't supported :(. (SiS Chipsets)
I went and bought myself a beautify Nvidia Geforce graphics card, and now I'm looking to buy a new sound card.
Just wondering what a good card would be to get, and how much it'd probably set me back.

Thanks,
KR3470R

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Dani AI

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Short, practical guide for picking a Linux-friendly sound card.

— getting a discrete card is the right approach if the built-in audio lacks driver support. is right that many off-the-shelf cards work out of the box, but the important step is to verify driver coverage before buying so you don’t end up returning hardware that needs unsupported firmware or Windows-only drivers.

Before purchasing: boot a Linux live USB and test any candidate if possible. Look on the ALSA/kernel pages for the card’s chipset or for phrases like “class‑compliant USB audio.” USB class‑compliant devices and cards supported by the kernel’s standard ALSA drivers are the easiest to get working. Avoid buying by brand alone — check the chipset and driver status.

Quick checks and troubleshooting (run on your current machine or a live USB):

lspci -nnk | grep -iA3 audio
lsusb
aplay -l
dmesg | grep -i snd

These show which device IDs and kernel modules are in use. If a new card is silent, open alsamixer to unmute channels and make sure the correct ALSA device is selected.

Price/features guidance: inexpensive USB adapters handle basic stereo for very little; mid-range PCI cards add digital/optical outputs and multichannel; professional interfaces (USB/FireWire) cost more but offer better inputs and low latency. For current driver coverage and device lists, consult the ALSA project and the kernel sound documentation:
ALSA project
Linux kernel sound docs

These steps reduce surprises and make sure the card you buy will actually work under Linux.

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Member Avatar for nizzy1115

Any from the sound blaster audigy line will do. I own an audigy zs 2 and it works great. You could spend more money on the zs 4 or even the xfi, but the basic zs2 is cheap and its always recognized.

Member Avatar for KR34T0R

Any from the sound blaster audigy line will do. I own an audigy zs 2 and it works great. You could spend more money on the zs 4 or even the xfi, but the basic zs2 is cheap and its always recognized.

How much would I be able to pick one of those up for?

Member Avatar for nizzy1115

If your on on a buget, this is a good card:

If you have some money but can't waste all in the world on a sound card, this is a good one:

If you like to spend lots of money on sound card, this is a good one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16829102191

Member Avatar for KR34T0R

Thanks :) I'll keep all that in mind

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