Sound Blaster or AdLib: This is the most important feature to look for. Sound cards that meet these standards can generally handle any game or other software that you throw at it.

IDE or SCSI: If you are connecting your CD-ROM drive to the sound card, determine what your CD-ROM supports. Sound cards usually support one or the other. In the long run, it is usually better to go with SCSI. Not all CD-ROM drives work with all sound cards.

Multimedia upgrade kit: This eliminates the problem of matching CD-ROM drive to sound card. This kit includes the sound card, CD-ROM drive, and speakers all in one package. If you go this route, you will know for sure that the CD-ROM drive and sound card will work together.

8, 16, 32, or 64 bit: Remember, the higher this number, the better the sound quality. However, the better the sound quality, the higher the price.

FM or Wave Table synthesis: The wave table synthesis provides better sound quality, but the FM synthesis is cheaper. Can't decide? Then buy FM synthesis and a wave blaster expansion slot on the sound card. Then if you want to upgrade from FM to wave synthesis, you can buy a wave table daughter board which is a small expansion card that installs right onto your sound card.

MIDI port and 3D sound: Generally these are supported on all sound cards. If you are into serious computer game playing, the 3D sound is a must.

Voice: which is the total number of tones the sound card uses to produce sounds. The more the better. 20 is a good starting point.

Polyphony: is the total number of notes a sound card can play at the same time. Six can produce orchestral sound, and is a good place to start.

Multitimbrality: is the number of voices a sound card can play at the same time. The more the better.

DSP: which is a special chip on the sound board that frees up the CPU by doing some of the sound processing itself. This will make your sound card work faster.

RAM Upgrades: Some sound cards include sockets on the card to add RAM. This allows the card to play more voices and notes at the same time.