An Extravaganza on Your Desktop

COMPUTER FILE / LAWRENCE J. MAGID

November 25, 1993|LAWRENCE J. MAGID | LAWRENCE J. MAGID is a Silicon Valley-based computer writer

The easiest way to add a sound card and CD drive to an IBM-compatible PC is to purchase an upgrade kit. Leading vendors are Media Vision ((800) 348-7116) and Creative Labs ((800) 998-5227). Creative Labs' $549.95 Sound Blaster Discovery CD 8 kit comes with an 8-bit sound board, a double-speed CD-ROM drive and several CD titles. The company's $749.95 Edutainment CD-16 kit comes with a 16-bit sound board. Serious audiophiles will appreciate the 16-bit board's higher sound quality, but I think 8-bit is adequate for PC applications that don't involve critical listening. Another option is to get a sound board with an SCSI-2 connector that allows you to connect any brand CD-ROM drive. Both Media Vision and Creative Labs offer such boards.

Whether for a PC or a Mac, look for a CD drive with an access time of 350 milliseconds or lower and a data transfer speed of 300 kilobytes per second. Double speed drives offer improved performance, and NEC has come out with triple and even quadruple speed drives. Also look for a "multi-session" drive that can be used to view Kodak's photo CDs.

Computer File welcomes your comments. Write to Lawrence J. Magid, 898 Chestnut St., Suite 3, Redwood City, Calif. 94063, or message magid@latimes.com on the Internet or KPVN58A on Prodigy.

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