Question re: minimum sys reqs for Voice Recognition Software

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I've been out of the loop on technical stuff too long to feel confident in understanding what I'm reading. Would appreciate some help from some of the geeks around here.

I'm looking at Dragon Naturally Speaking v. 9 voice recognition software to help with some transcription work I'm doing. Their website states these as the minimum specs: (I've bolded the items I have questions about)

Intel® Pentium® / 1 GHz processor (for example, Pentium® M, Pentium® 4), or equivalent AMD® processor - Faster processors will yield faster performance
512 MB RAM or 1 GB RAM for Windows Vista
1 GB free hard disk space
Microsoft® Windows® XP (SP1 or higher) Home and Professional, 2000 (SP4 or higher), Vista (32-bit)
Creative® Labs Sound Blaster® 16 or equivalent sound card supporting 16-bit recording
Microsoft® Internet Explorer 5 or higher (free download available at www.microsoft.com)
CD-ROM drive (required for installation)
Nuance-approved noise-canceling headset microphone (included)
Speakers (required for playback of recorded speech and text to speech features)
A web connection is required for activation
For Bluetooth wireless microphone support, please visit http://support.nuance.com/compatibility/
During the install process the software checks to make sure your system meets these minimum requirements. If you do not meet the requirements, the software will not be installed.

I've checked out the reviews on Amazon and they have some conflicting info:

For example, one says:

Quote:

First off, caveat emptor. You need a good sound card. Nuance is not very helpful here. Their website/docs simply state you need a Sound Blaster 16. I don't know if it's occurred to them you can't purchase a Sound Blaster 16 card anymore (nor would you want to), and they should just bite the bullet and present a list of cards that work well (like they do for microphones). I bought a Sound Blaster X-fi XtremeMusic which seems to work. Second, you need a hefty machine. For me this is a 2.4 GHz dual processor XP workstation with a gig of RAM. The box says you can get by with 512 MB of RAM and a 1 GHz processor, I'm not sure I believe this.

...

Once you have the right hardware in place the software seems to work fairly well. This review was dictated using the software. However, I'm not giving them five stars because they still seem to suffer from poor software engineering. As an example, take the set up and training process. I was waiting for a new sound card to arrive and thought I would try using my onboard sound card built into my Dell. The setup process did claim that the sound quality was insufficient. Unfortunately, navigating out of the process was impossible leaving me stuck at the "welcome to general training" screen. When the new sound card arrived, Dragon was still stuck looking at the on board sound system and had no UI to allow me to use the new sound card. My only solution was to disable the onboard sound system which luckily forced Dragon back into configuration mode where I could reselect my microphone parameters.

Another one says:

Quote:

While I do own a hefty system, dual processors and a few gigabytes of RAM, unlike the other reviewer I've had a very positive experience using only the motherboard's onboard sound.

Yet another says:

Quote:

1) the microphone included with DNS and the onboard sound card (that came in my Dell Latitude D620) were insufficient to yield anything close to reliable voice recognition -- I was at about 30% accuracy (not at all useful). When I purchased an external USB sound card and high end microphone, I'm back up to 90-95% accuracy (completely acceptable). So - be warned - you will need a decent sound card + mike. I've seen reviews that talk about atrocious voice recognition, so be sure you're looking at all of the components of your system.

Still another says:

Quote:

One other thing, I did buy a USB headset with its own sound card to help increase accuracy. I am using the Plantronics headset and I find it works very well too.

So, here are my questions followed by the text in my PC's Sys Info file:

1. Please confirm that the Intel P4 Processor in my Dell computer is the same as what is referred to in the software's system requirements.

2. Please help me understand all this sound card business.

What's the difference between the terms "sound card" and "integrated audio?"

Do I or don't I need an internal sound card to get the software to work?

If I use the motherboard's sound in my PC, will I have problems installing the software because it won't find any extra sound card hardware?

What is an external sound card?

Some of the reviews referred to this Plantroics headset saying it had an external sound card and was used in place of an internal one. The technical specs of the DSP400 don't mention anything about it being an external sound card.

If such a headset is used (assuming it is an external sound card), will I have installation problems with the voice recog. software if it can't locate an internal sound card?

I checked out the Soundblaster X-Fi Xtreme Music Card and the product description says it is a 24 bit system. The Dragon Naturally Speaking system specs call for a 16 bit sound card. Will this work or will I need to step it down to a 16 bit card?

This is the sys info for my computer:

Quote:

OS Name Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
Version 5.1.2600 Service Pack 2 Build 2600
System Manufacturer Dell Inc.
System Model Dell DV051
System Type X86-based PC
Processor x86 Family 15 Model 4 Stepping 9 GenuineIntel ~3059 Mhz
Processor x86 Family 15 Model 4 Stepping 9 GenuineIntel ~3059 Mhz
BIOS Version/Date Dell Inc. A04, 4/4/2006
SMBIOS Version 2.3
Total Physical Memory 1,024.00 MB
Available Physical Memory 471.12 MB
Total Virtual Memory 2.00 GB
Available Virtual Memory 1.96 GB

This is the component - onboard sound device info that came with the Dell:

Name SigmaTel High Definition Audio CODEC
Manufacturer SigmaTel
Status OK
PNP Device ID HDAUDIO\FUNC_01&VEN_8384&DEV_7690&SUBSYS_102801C4&REV_1022\4&2434F4F0&0&0201

Name Unimodem Half-Duplex Audio Device
Manufacturer Microsoft
Status OK

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Minimum is a 1 Gig processor. You have a 3 gig processor so should be no problem.

The integrated sound will probably work just fine. Remember it is only listing the minimum, and not the maximum. It looks like the requirements are still old from back when audio and video weren't integrated into the mother boards. Creative Labs used to be the standard for sound cards and most other cards emulated them in some way. Integrated sound really isn't much different from a low end sound card. It just puts the sound chipset on the motherboard instead of on a separate card.

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Your processor, memory and hard drive should be fine. You have more than what they specifiy for all of them.

I can't find anything one way or the other on compatability between your sound card and the Naturally Speaking software.

I did run across several warnings that the v9.0 of Naturally Speaking had lots of installtion issues and users should download the v9.5 upgrade from the manufacturer's WWW site.

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So, what's your recommendation?

Do I need to purchase an internal Sound card or does the Plantronics Headset suffice with the motherboard sound chip?

Will there still be software installation troubles as DNS states in their min. sys reqs if there is not a separate sound card installed for it to recognize?

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fishin wrote:

Your processor, memory and hard drive should be fine. You have more than what they specifiy for all of them.

I can't find anything one way or the other on compatability between your sound card and the Naturally Speaking software.

I did run across several warnings that the v9.0 of Naturally Speaking had lots of installtion issues and users should download the v9.5 upgrade from the manufacturer's WWW site.

Interesting about the v9.5 upgrade, Fishin. I looked at the CNET reviews and all the product info on the DSN website and didn't see anything mentioned about an upgrade to fix installation bugs.

What gripes me is that they charge $10 for each tech support contact, whether it is by email or phone, even if it is pre-sales. So, I can't ask them any of these questions.

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Butrflynet wrote:

fishin wrote:
Your processor, memory and hard drive should be fine. You have more than what they specifiy for all of them.

I can't find anything one way or the other on compatability between your sound card and the Naturally Speaking software.

I did run across several warnings that the v9.0 of Naturally Speaking had lots of installtion issues and users should download the v9.5 upgrade from the manufacturer's WWW site.

Interesting about the v9.5 upgrade, Fishin. I looked at the CNET reviews and all the product info on the DSN website and didn't see anything mentioned about an upgrade to fix installation bugs.

It is listed on their WWW site here but looks like it is mostly for issues with Vista. It isn't a download though. They have an automatic update feature in their program similar to Microsoft's Internet Explorer. How you are supposed to install the earlier version to get that to work is a mystery though. Confused

Quote:

What gripes me is that they charge $10 for each tech support contact, whether it is by email or phone, even if it is pre-sales. So, I can't ask them any of these questions.

Dell used to offer Dragon Naturally Speaking as an optional software package when you bought a PC through them. You might have better luck calling them and asking about compatibility.

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Fishin,

I have another question for you (still waiting for a reply from Dell's tech support on their message board forum).

Take a look at the advice on this website please:

http://www.voicerecognition.com.au/dragon_hints_tips.htm

Note the sections on soundcards and microphones.

It says:

Quote:

There are a number of recommended soundcards for Dragon and IBM. However not all these are available in Australia. To simplify I would recommend the Creative Labs Sound Blaster Live Value or the Sound Blaster Audigy.

Important point: Just because a soundcard is quoted as Sound Blaster compatible or SB 16 compatible, or that it supports 16-bit or 32-bit sound recording does not mean that it will be of sufficient quality for use with speech recognition. Many onboard soundcards that come with computers quote these specifications, yet they are totally unsuitable for speech recognition.
Laptop/Notebook soundcards cannot be replaced if they are unsuitable and your only option then is to use a digital USB Microphone.

If you're using a digital USB Microphone such as an NC7100 , YOU DO NOT NEED to use a soundcard at all for input into speech recognition. Digital USB microphones are our preferred device for speech recognition. This is because they are consistently accurate and reliable, they do not require the use of complex Windows drivers, and they totally bypass onboard sound that is of insufficient quality.
Digital USB microphones compare well pricewise with a quality soundcard and quality microphone, but it is much much easier to install a USB Microphone than it is to install a new soundcard.

The way I am reading it, it says I don't need a special soundcard such as the Soundblaster if I use an enhanced Microphone and it recommends the
NC-7100 (Isn't that the original Enterprise ID on Star Trek?). Here's a website that describes it.

http://www.andreaelectronics.com/buy/ProductDesc/NC7100.htm

So, is it true that I don't need a soundblaster to get Dragon Naturally Speaking to with my computer system if I purchase this microphone?

Also, is the Plantronics DSP 400 here also of the same equivelence as the NC-7100 in that I don't need a soundcard to use it with Dragon Naturally Speaking?

http://www.amazon.com/Plantronics-DSP-400-Digitally-Enhanced-Foldable-Software/dp/B00005A9AU/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1208725916&sr=8-2

Also, exactly what is the purpose of the soundcard in the speech -> microphone -> DNS software -> text process? It has jacks to plug the 2-pronged microphone idirectly into it.

If I were to purchase a digital enhanced microphone with a USB connector, does that bypass the soundcard by being plugged into the USB port and negate the need for the soundcard?

If I don't have a Soundblaster equivelent sound card do I need to purchase one to be able to use the digitalized microphone?

I'm feeling very lost. Basically I'm looking for some direction. Do I go the sound card and microphone route (and what type of microphone do I look for) or do I go for the digital microphone only?

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I loves my Dragon Naturally Speaking!

I use it all the time on a number of machines. It's very intuitive, stop worrying and start using, you're not going to hurt anything!

You are asking way too many questions of which most are not going to matter yet (if ever).

Even the cheapest of the new laptops and a modest headset will get you where you want to go and/or any similarity equipped or better desktop.

The Dragon Naturally Speaking manual walks you through all the needed steps.

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I have very limited resources to make these purchases so I can't afford to jump in and hope it works. It will indeed hurt me if I buy something that isn't compatible or is the wrong technology. It isn't something I'm doing on a lark, it is for a business project. I'm not just using it for voice commands on a PC, I'm going to be using it to transcribe speech to text and it needs to be as accurate as the technology and my limited budget allow. I'm asking questions because I want to understand the technology and because I'm reading conflicting info about that technology.

The DNS site gives minimum system requirements for the software, the soundcard being one of them.

Other reviews and websites say differently, some saying you need a soundcard, others saying you don't need a soundcard, while others say you need a digital microphone.

I'm seeking some direction so I make the right purchase the first time and can get this function working as soon as possible.

One of the reviews I read said they had trouble installing the software because it didn't detect a soundcard and it wouldn't proceed past that point until a soundcard was installed.

Now I'm reading info saying a soundcard isn't necessary, that only a digial microphone is needed.

So, yes, I'm nervous about buying software that might not work if I don't have the right soundcard, and buying a soundcard I don't need if I have the right microphone. I don't have the extra cash to buy both a soundcard and an expensive digital microphone, so it has to be one or the other.

I'm looking for the best advice on what direction to go in based on the specific sys info from my PC.

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Relax, take a deep breath.............

What exactly do you want to know.......ask only one question at a time......make the question as short as possible and right to the point..... I'm off to walk the dog, all will be revealed.

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I believe a "digital microphone" or "digital headset" is a USB device that has all of the features of a sound card built in.

You just plug it in to a USB port and start using it.

I had one of these for a while that I was using for a computer-based telephone.

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Also, another key component of using voice recognition is a quiet environment.

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Thanks for the straight answers DrewDad. It is exactly the type of advice I was looking for.

Appreciate it being given without the attitude too. Thank you very much.

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Chumly wrote:

Relax, take a deep breath.............

What exactly do you want to know.......ask only one question at a time......make the question as short as possible and right to the point..... I'm off to walk the dog, all will be revealed.

That's okay, Chumly. Having you "help" feels much the same as when I take my car in for repairs and have to endure the shop mechanic's attitude when he has to answer questions from "the little woman" about cars that she can't possibly understand.

DrewDad has given me some useful advice.

Thanks anyway.

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BBB
bm

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Butrflynet wrote:

Chumly wrote:
Relax, take a deep breath.............

What exactly do you want to know.......ask only one question at a time......make the question as short as possible and right to the point..... I'm off to walk the dog, all will be revealed.

That's okay, Chumly. Having you "help" feels much the same as when I take my car in for repairs and have to endure the shop mechanic's attitude when he has to answer questions from "the little woman" about cars that she can't possibly understand.

DrewDad has given me some useful advice.

Thanks anyway.

You've misinterpreted my post, it has no sexual bias, and I stand by the fact that you should:

1) ask exactly what you want to know
2) ask only one question at a time
3) make the question as short as possible and right to the point
4) you are asking way too many questions of which most are not going to matter yet (if ever)
5) even the cheapest of the new laptops and a modest headset will get you where you want to go and/or any similarity equipped or better desktop.
6) The Dragon Naturally Speaking manual walks you through all the needed steps

Since you don't appear to believe me, you are going to find out for yourself that Dragon Naturally Speaking will work with virtually any reasonably modern PC hardware configuration, virtually any decent headset, virtually any sound card (integral to the mother board or separate it does not matter), virtually any sound system, etc.

I've used it on four different machines, two of which were 7 years old. I use the latest greatest version of Dragon Naturally Speaking and I use it almost daily.

Dragon Naturally Speaking is simply not that resource intensive an application, and it's not hardware specific beyond reasonable norms.

Dragon Naturally Speaking is simply not proprietary in its hardware requirements within the PC world.

Your automotive analogy would be the equivalent of worrying about which brand of oil to buy: Quaker Sate or Castrol.

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Chumly wrote:

Butrflynet wrote:
Chumly wrote:
Relax, take a deep breath.............

What exactly do you want to know.......ask only one question at a time......make the question as short as possible and right to the point..... I'm off to walk the dog, all will be revealed.

That's okay, Chumly. Having you "help" feels much the same as when I take my car in for repairs and have to endure the shop mechanic's attitude when he has to answer questions from "the little woman" about cars that she can't possibly understand.

DrewDad has given me some useful advice.

Thanks anyway.
You've misinterpreted my post, it has no sexual bias, and I stand by the fact that you should:

1) ask exactly what you want to know
2) ask only one question at a time
3) make the question as short as possible and right to the point
4) you are asking way too many questions of which most are not going to matter yet (if ever)
5) even the cheapest of the new laptops and a modest headset will get you where you want to go and/or any similarity equipped or better desktop.
6) The Dragon Naturally Speaking manual walks you through all the needed steps

Since you don't appear to believe me, you are going to find out for yourself that Dragon Naturally Speaking will work with virtually any reasonably modern PC hardware configuration, virtually any decent headset, virtually any sound card (integral to the mother board or separate it does not matter), virtually any sound system, etc.

I've used it on four different machines, two of which were 7 years old. I use the latest greatest version of Dragon Naturally Speaking and I use it almost daily.

Dragon Naturally Speaking is simply not that resource intensive an application, and it's not hardware specific beyond reasonable norms.

Dragon Naturally Speaking is simply not proprietary in its hardware requirements within the PC world.

Your automotive analogy would be the equivalent of worrying about which brand of oil to buy: Quaker Sate or Castrol.

1. My questions have been very exact in what I wish to know. I'm sorry they're too complicated for you to cope with.

2. I need to ask more than one question at a time since they are all related and will determine which direction I proceed toward.

3. They have been as short as possible and right to the point. Along with them, I've provided the needed system info on my PC and links to minimum system requirements someone would need to know to answer the questions.

4. Again, I'm sorry they are too numerous for you to cope with. They do matter to me. That they don't matter to you is of no consequence.

5. I don't have a laptop and I don't have one of the better desktops. It was the cheapest, most basic one I could afford. I bought it three years ago for $450. I consider it modern since the PC it replaced was six years old. It isn't the latest, new fangled PC. In fact, I'm still running Office '97 on it. Thus, the technical questions.

6. This is what is wrong with your response. You advise the DNS manual walks you through all the needed steps. The problem is I'd have to purchase the DNS software to get the manual to read about all the steps to know if I need additional hardware.

The Nuance website (the software maker) gives specific minimum system requirements that do not agree with your premise and the reviews I've read say either it works fine without a soundcard or it has problems installation problems without a soundcard or it works great with a digital microphone.

What you say about the ease of use is contradicted by the Dragon Naturally Speaking website and many reviews I've read. There are many interpretations and versions of to what consists of a "standard PC" or a "reasonably modern PC hardware configuration" and what is a "decent headset." That's exactly why I'm uncertain and why I've been asking my questions.

Thanks to Drewdad for answering them with some explanation so I can also understand the technology. Last time I built my own PC was before plug n play and USB ports and it had one of the very first versions of the Soundblaster sound cards in it.

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If you don't want to believe me, just grab a torrent, try it out, you'll be happy / unhappy, and thus able to make your purchases accordingly.

What's with the big fuss?

Understand that there are simple-easy ways to optimize your PC to run DNS in light of the minimum specs as outlined by your perhaps-overly-worrisome-self.

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Chumly,

Do me a favor and ignore this topic, please.

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Given you reject my kindness and expertise, I recommend you change your attitude. It's not in keeping with the spirit of my posts, nor with A2K.

Take a pill.

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Question re: minimum sys reqs for Voice Recognition Software

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