Hyperspin and external soundcard question

[killbill]

Hey Guys,  I am building my Hyperspin set up on an external hard drive using an old Vostro 1510 laptop as the computer as I shop for the right computer for my cab build. The sound card went toast and it's causing HS to not work, as well as tons of DirectSound errors in MAME from Hyperlaunch, etc.

Since the soundcard in the laptop was onboard I was wondering, is there an external usb soundcard out there that would work to remedy this in the short term? Don't have much experience with external soundcards, so thought I'd ask here. Any help is truly appreciated.

[05SRT4]

This is what I used on my first laptop.

Creative Labs PCMCIA Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS

But dear god I didn't think they would be so much still,I wouldn't pay more then 20-30 bucks for one now. There might be the same type of card but cheaper. Have you checked to see if there are any USB plug in play sound devices that might help?

[burn_654]

I know people have used devices like these before:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00YFD2S26?psc=1

I can't speak from experience on that certain one but I'm pretty sure something like that could solve your problem cheaply - I purchased a similar product to improve the noisy sound output from a laptop for a presentation system.

[killbill]

Hi 05SRT4, Thanks for the post. My Vostro 1510 does not support PCMCIA cards unfortunately. Sounded good otherwise. 

Hey burn_654, I was looking at that, but it says that it is "driverless". Hyperspin, MAME and other PC games need direct sound capability. I don't think these have that. Not sure though. Might buy one anyway, just so sound can be heard at all.

[P.H.U.]

See if your laptop has a replacement sound board that you can order off eBay.

[JDFan]

Hi 05SRT4, Thanks for the post. My Vostro 1510 does not support PCMCIA cards unfortunately. Sounded good otherwise. 

Hey burn_654, I was looking at that, but it says that it is "driverless". Hyperspin, MAME and other PC games need direct sound capability. I don't think these have that. Not sure though. Might buy one anyway, just so sound can be heard at all.

THose USB devices should be fine - I've used a cheaper model from Hong Kong ( http://www.ebay.com/itm/5-1USB-to-3-5mm-mic-headphone-Jack-Stereo-Headset-3D-Sound-Card-Audio-Adapter-PC-/272160435162?hash=item3f5e06abda:g:D74AAOSwh-1W3jJb ) in a couple desktop setups that had broken onboard chips.



That I got for about $1 -- by driverless they just mean they are plug and play and the ones I've used are based on the Realtek chips so pretty much work the same as most onboard devices.

[killbill]

Hey JDFan, Thanks for the post. I just found this:

http://www.siig.com/it-products/multimedia/sound/usb/usb-soundwave-7-1-pro.html

I know it's expensive and I don't care about the 7.1, but it does say it supports Miscrosoft DirectSound 3D. I can probably pick it up for $25.

Seem like a good bet?