Sound Card Dilemma - Please Read & Respond

Guest · Dec 20, 2001

Here is my problem. Let me breakdown my system first:

Abit BH6 Motherboard (1.0) 5 PCI, 2 ISA, 1 AGP Slot
P3-1.0Ghz (Not OC'd), 100Mhz Bus, 512M Ram

AGP Slot 1 - Geforce II GTS
PCI Slot 1 (Shared w/ AGP) Voodoo2 Card (no irq req.)
PCI 2 - Promise Ultra 100 (I have 8 IDE Devices)
PCI 3 - 3com 10/100 Nic
PCI 4 - BLANK
PCI 5 - BLANK (Both Slots share IRQ w/ Onboard USB)
ISA 1 - LPT2 Card
ISA 2 - Soundblaster AWE32/ AWE64 Gold*

Now I had an ISA AWE64 Gold card thatr i loved in my ISA slot, but it died, the putputs dieSo i replaced it with an ISA AWE32 that i had. Here is my question.

Being I am a BIG performannce buff and gamer, I can Get a SB AUDIGY PCI card, ONLY if i replace the PCI 10/100 Nic with an ISA 10/100 nic. Now will the cable modem speed be affacted by going to the ISA bus, AND is the upgrade from the AWE64 Gold (was the Best Isa soundcard as far as i can tell), worth the effort?

PS - I am an extreme gamer, and whatever soundboard i get is running into my current Sony str-d865 475 Watt audio/video control center, with 6 15" Rockford Fosgate woofers, KLH ceiling mounted speakers, and AR (acoustic Research), Floor standers w/ 10" woofer and 5 tweets.

Please help!

FatBurger · Dec 20, 2001

1st: No, your cable modem won't lose speed. The ISA bus is...well, way faster than your cable connection.

2nd: Why can't you use slots 4&5? Sharing IRQs isn't the worst thing that could ever happen.

3rd: If you ARE worried about IRQ sharing problems, don't get a Creative Labs product.

4th: If you AREN'T worried about IRQ sharing problems, don't get a Creative Labs product.

5th: Read #3 again.

6th: Read #4 again.

Have a nice day

Quarter Pounder Inside

Guest · Dec 21, 2001

Actually wrong on all fronts. If i go to an ISA based nic, my CPU utilization will rise because of the ISA board, and the ISA bus is way slower than the PCI bus, so the cable modem May be affected in online gaming.

Plus you made NO sense about my irq prob. It coimes down to is it worth the upgrade to an Audigy from an AWE64. Who in their right minds wants to share an IRQ? If i use the soundcard and something on my usb hib (camera, etc...) the sound will go mad!

FatBurger · Dec 21, 2001

Wait, you ask for help and then tell me I'm an idiot? You just screwed yourself, and you're not likely to get any more help from anybody on this forum. Don't let the door hit you in the butt on the way out.

Quarter Pounder Inside

camieabz · Dec 21, 2001

Disable coms ports 1 & 2, if you don't use them, and free some IRQs.

~scribble~

<A HREF="http://www.ud.com/home.htm" target="_new">Help cure cancer.</A>

AMD_Man · Dec 21, 2001

lol, DO NOT MESS WITH THE FATBURGER!!

AMD technology + Intel technology = Intel/AMD Pentathlon IV; the ULTIMATE PC processor

AMD_Man · Dec 21, 2001

Actually, you are wrong on all fronts!!! Your CPU ultization will not go up because the ISA bus can supply enough bandwidth even for 100mbps and information isn't constantly being sent back and forth. Also, as no other devices will be sharing the ISA bus, there is nothing to slow down. With a PCI card, you would reduce the overall bandwidth available to all the PCI cards when a NIC card is in use. Theorectically, an ISA NIC card would be faster when used with a PCI sound card. Also, what's wrong with sharing an IRQ? All modern versions of Windows are designed to share IRQs without any problems. In fact, in Windows 2000 and XP, nearly all devices share a single IRQ, graphics, sound, usb, etc. Creative cards are an exception in some cases as FatBurger said because they hog the PCI bus and they buggy drivers.

P.S.: DO NOT INSULT THE FATBURGER!!!!!!

AMD technology + Intel technology = Intel/AMD Pentathlon IV; the ULTIMATE PC processor

Novakain · Dec 21, 2001

Maybe the PCI NIC is using Busmastering?

AMD_Man · Dec 21, 2001

Even then, it has to share the PCI bus bandwidth. Either, it slows down, waiting for another card to finish (probably the sound card, especially, if it's a creative product), or it's using the bus and other cards are waiting for it.

AMD technology + Intel technology = Intel/AMD Pentathlon IV; the ULTIMATE PC processor

Guest · Dec 21, 2001

Wait a sec... WHOAH!!! Please, I did not mean to insult anybody. I was just saying what i thought to be the case. If I was wrong (or came off in the wrong way), please accept my apology. I did not mean to insult anyone at all.

I thank you to all of you for the help, it looks like the Audigy for Xmas, and an ISA 10/100 Nic...

OR

Should i just get a Slot1 Motherboard with 6 Useable PCI Slots???

Guest · Dec 21, 2001

Also, let me dial into my system at home and post my current IRQ mess. I have com2 disabled, com1 is on for my external USR Courier V. Everything. Then you have the Promise 100, the 3com Nic, the Geforce GTS, the Soundblaster ISA, OnBoard USB, Both Onboard IDE's, PS/2 Mouse.

Guest · Dec 21, 2001

Here they are, notice not 1 conflict. I really have this meachine purring....

00 - System Timer
01 - Intel Wired Keyboard (PS/2)
02 - Programmible Interrupt Controller
03 - Intel 82371AB/EB/MB PCI to USB Host Controller
03 - Irq Holder for PCI Steering
04 - Com1
05 - 3Com Etherlink 10/100 PCI TX Nic (3c905B-tx)
05 - Irq Holder for PCI Steering
06 - Floppy Controller
07 - Printer Port (LPT1)
08 - System CMOS/Clock
09 - NVidia Geforce II GTS
09 - irq Holder for pci Steering
10 - Creative SB AEW32/64 ISA
11 - Promise Ultra 100
11 - IRQ Holder for pci steering
12 - Logitech Optical Mouse (PS/2)\
13 - Numeric Data Processor
14/15 - Onboard IDE

Shows you my dilemma. I want to keep my promise card, because i have 1TB of HDD Space (2 deskstar 30 gigs, 2 WD 20gig, all 7200 ultra 100 drives), plus my plextor burner, toshiba cd-rom, hp 8gb colorado travan backup, internal Zip 250.

FatBurger · Dec 21, 2001

2 devices sharing IRQs is not the same thing as an IRQ conflict. I have 5 or 6 devices sharing IRQ11, and I have never gotten a BSOD. Windows XP.

Quarter Pounder Inside

Guest · Dec 21, 2001

So you are saying if i plug an SB Audigy Gamer card (I am runnin Win98 by the way, I have XP but not game ready to use yet)... I will not have any problems due to The SB IRQ running co-existant to the USB controller? If i say use my USB webcamera and my headset at the same time, windows wont freak out on me?

If thet was the cast I would have bought a live 5.1 platimun over a year ago instead of searching the universe for an AWE64 gold in new condition.

So what constitues a conflict/sharing? If a card is using the same IRQ as another device is that not an IRQ conflict? Is is not recommented to use single IRQ's for everything?

Guest · Dec 21, 2001

Addition:

I never ever ever crash. No BSOD. Nothing on my machine. It runs faster than 1.0G machines on a 133 BUS, than my 100. Performance is a huge thing here, but stability is another.

AMD_Man · Dec 21, 2001

Sure, sure, that's what they all say.........ALL COMPUTERS CRASH!! PERIOD!!!! I've tried Intel processors, AMD processors, different motherboards, cooling fans, ramsinks, power supply, Windows 98SE, Windows Me, Windows 2000, Windows XP, BeOS, Linux. It's impossible to avoid app crashes but I've only had 1 BSOD under WinXP in 1-2 months.

AMD technology + Intel technology = Intel/AMD Pentathlon IV; the ULTIMATE PC processor

Guest · Dec 21, 2001

But the point i was trying to make is, will an Active IRQ share, make the system unstable being it has been rock solid for more than 4 years now?

AMD_Man · Dec 21, 2001

no, IRQ sharing is not a bad thing on well-designed cards. IMHO, Creative soundcards are very poorly designed however.

AMD technology + Intel technology = Intel/AMD Pentathlon IV; the ULTIMATE PC processor

FatBurger · Dec 21, 2001

Agreed. Get something OTHER than a Live. Lives are about the worst sound cards ever made.

Quarter Pounder Inside

Guest · Dec 21, 2001

So what is your final recommendation I do first? 6 PCI Slot Motherboard (would have to be Slot1, and if i upgrade that might as well go with a faster CPU chip than the 100mhz bus P3-1.0G), or PCI Sound/ISA Nic, or PCI Nic / ISA Sound, and which soundboard if any?

upec · Dec 21, 2001

It is definity worth to upgrade to a Audigy. The 5.1 sounds a lot better than 2.1 you have now. Just 5.1 support I think it worth the upgrade.

Guest · Dec 21, 2001

Ok, now say i go get the Audigy (or someother PCI soundcard)... Should I get an ISA Nic and give the PCI sound its own IRQ, OR Get a 6 PCI Motherboard Slot-1??? I dont think the PCI sound cards will jive with the others i have in there, or the PCI nic will not work in conjunction with the onboard usb?!?!

upec · Dec 21, 2001

PCI device does not use IRQs; instead, it uses shareable "Interrupt Channels" labled "INTA", "INTB", "INTC", and "INTD." The maker of the PCI divices configure these interrupt channel at manufacture, and only in the most rare of occasions do we need to change them.

upec · Dec 21, 2001

See me previous post. PCI device does not use IRQ. You can just use both PCI NIC and PCI sound card using the same IRQ.

Guest · Dec 21, 2001

So your telling me that if I put the Audigy card or the 3COM pci nic in slot 4 or 5 which shares the Interrput with my Onboard USB controller, there will NO problem, and all 3 devices will work seamlessly, even when both devices are being used simultaniouly? (Ex.. Using a USB Webcam, and the PCI NIC), (Or a USB Mouse and the Audigy) just an example.

Sound Card Dilemma - Please Read & Respond

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