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Before installing a new plug-and-play sound card in a Windows system, it is essential to check for hardware compatibility. Ensuring that your existing hardware, such as the motherboard and other components, can support the new sound card is crucial for a successful installation and operation. This compatibility check may involve confirming that the correct slots (like PCI or PCIe) are available, verifying that the power supply meets the requirements, and ensuring that the sound card is compatible with the operating system being used.

While downloading the latest driver from the manufacturer's website can enhance the performance of the sound card, it is secondary to confirming that the hardware itself will work together. If hardware compatibility is overlooked, even the best drivers will not resolve issues stemming from hardware mismatches. Therefore, prioritizing a hardware compatibility check is a foundational step in the installation process.