The sampling rate of a Sound card indicates how often samples are taken from the original sound to digitally, recreate the Sound. The sampling rate is measured in kilohertz (kHz). Higher sampling rates result in more realistic sound. High-end Sound cards offer a sampling rate of 192 kHz.

Application Programming Interfaces (APis) are special functions a game or program will use to communicate with your sound card. If your game or program uses specific APis, your sound card must support them. Some popular APIs include DirectSound, EAX and MacroFX.

Sound Blaster Sound cards are the industry standard for Sound cards. Most Sound cards and Software applications are marked as Sound Blaster compatible. Make sure the sound card you buy is Sound Blaster Compatible.