I am trying to make some small voice recordings.

My system is not optimized for audio, but I believe if I can get some questions answered, I may be able to make do:

1.) With the microphone on and microphone boost enabled, just holding the microphone in the general area, I seem to have about -12 Db background noise (compter fans, etc.). I can hear a lot of hiss from my amplified speakers, so I can hear pretty well. Sound Forge shows background noise at about -12 Db as per the meters. That is that.

2.) If I wrap the microphone completely in a pillow, no voice, just background readings, I still hear a fairly significant "hiss" (possibly identical to scenario above). But when I open the clip in Sound Forge, the wave forms are showing near infinity, but I can still hear the significant "hiss."

Is the "hiss" most likely system impedence? I am using the motherboard audio (AC97). That is what I have to work with.

If the Sound Forge meters show near infinity, can I rely on that to mean very low background noise, so that would be pretty good when played in the final delivery medium (DVD).

Can the Sound Forge meters be trusted, even though I can hear a hiss on my system?

I am working on this right now, so a timely answer would be very helpful.

I rarely do any voice recordings, so I am not very experienced with this.

Thanks!