Upgrading and Repairing PCs

PC Multimedia History

Virtually every computer on the market today is equipped with some type of audio adapter and a CD-ROM or CD-ROM–compatible drive such as a CD-RW or DVD drive. Computers equipped with an audio adapter and a CD-ROM–compatible drive are often referred to as multimedia PCs after the old MPC-1, MPC-2, and MPC-3 standards that were used to rate early multimedia computers. Since 1996, all computers with onboard sound and a CD-ROM or compatible optical drive have exceeded MPC-3 standards by increasingly huge margins.

Note For more information about the MPC series of multimedia standards, see the section "Multimedia" in Chapter 20 of Upgrading and Repairing PCs, 11th Edition, available in electronic form on the DVD-ROM accompanying this book.

Suggested Multimedia Minimums

The following list of specifications gives you a comfortable multimedia experience today; in fact, even the lowest-cost computer currently available at retail should meet or exceed these specifications:

• CPU: 700MHz Pentium III, Celeron, Athlon, Duron, or other Pentium-class processor

• RAM: 128MB

• Hard disk: 20GB

• CD-ROM drive: 24X read or DVD-ROM drive—10X read (equals about 27X CD-ROM read rate)

• Audio sampling rate: 16-bit

• VGA video resolution: 1024x768

• Color depth: 16.8 million colors (24-bit color)

• I/O devices: MIDI and USB

• Minimum operating system: Windows 98, Windows Me, or Windows XP Home Edition

Note that although speakers or headphones are technically not a part of the MPC specification or the updated list, they are certainly required for sound reproduction. Additionally, sound input for voice recording or voice control also requires a microphone. Keep in mind that many prebuilt PCs include low-cost powered or unpowered speakers that you will likely want to replace with speakers or headphones that provide the mixture of size, frequency response, and overall sound quality you need.

Because the MPC specifications reflect multimedia's past, users who want to know what comes next need to turn somewhere else for guidance. Microsoft and Intel jointly manage the PC Design Guide Web site at www.pcdesguide.org, where the older PC99 and latest PC2001 specifications and addenda can be read and reviewed. These standards are widely followed by the industry and point the way to many other enhancements for audio hardware and software in the Windows environment.

Although virtually every computer is a "multimedia PC" today, the features of the audio adapter in your system will help determine how satisfied you will be with the wide range of specialized uses for multimedia-equipped systems.

Later in this chapter, you learn more about the features you need to specify to ensure your audio adapter—regardless of type—is ready to work for you.