Sound Cards

There are a handful of very good (high end) sound cards that work well out-of-the-box on NT 4.0, like the Ensoniq cards and the Mediatrix products (see below).

And then there are a few more that you can punch into action with some special drivers and installation instructions (like the Sound Blaster cards enumerated below).

Finally, there are some question marks: cards with non-descript NT drivers which promise little (FM synthesis), and (worst-case) won't specify a future NT policy.

Note: Diamond's awesome Monster Sound board won't work at all on NT.

Ensoniq

In May 1997, Microsoft introduced a new "Designed for Windows NT/Windows 95" logo for hardware and software, which is far more promising for NT users than the previous logo. Any hardware sporting this logo should run as well on NT 4.0 as it would on Windows 95, and it should run well on Windows 98 and NT 5.0.

However, I found only one high-end sound card with this logo so far: Ensoniq's Audio PCI.

On the other hand, Ensoniq's web site features three other high-end cards as well as the Audio PCI, and lists all of them as being NT-compatible in their comparison charts. I guess they're either not "fully" NT-compatible, or require use of drivers available only on the internet.

If you're really interested in this PCI-bus audio card, you should take a look at The Unofficial AudioPCI Support Page.

Mediatrix

Although Mediatrix doesn't sport any logo, they've claimed to maintain support across multiple platforms (including NT) since their introductory sound board in '96.

Mediatrix has two sound boards on the market with NT drivers in the box (and updates on the web):

Audiotrix Pro
Audiotrix 3D-XG

Creative Labs' Sound Blaster AWE

If you're in the market for a sound card, you've probably looked at the highly-touted Creative Labs Sound Blaster AWE64. Look away. Creative's NT support policy makes it clear that you won't be getting more than AWE32 sound out of the AWE 64 on NT until NT 5.0 arrives next year. With the way prices drop over time, you'd probably do just as well buying their AWE32 now, and looking at the AWE64 when NT 5.0 comes out.

Microsoft has a special Knowledge Base article regarding installation of the AWE64.

Advanced Gravis' Ultrasound

Advanced Gravis makes a few high-end sound cards that work on NT if you download their NT beta drivers: the Ultrasound PNP, and the Ultrasound Extreme. (They seem to be planning to release NT drivers for their legacy cards, but report that they've been delayed).