Apr 07, 2006 09:45 pm I assume this is a name brand computer then? What make is it?
IRQs will be the death of me
Posted on Apr 07, 2006 09:12 pm
kamikaze
Member Since: Sep 11, 2004
Hi everyone,
I recently upgraded my computer and bought two M-Audio sound cards (Delta 44, Audiophile 2496). My motherboard has only 2 PCI slots so I filled them quickly. I noticed that they had absolutely terrible latency right off the bat.
After troubleshooting almost everything with no success, I contacted M-Audio and discovered that IRQ sharing is going on. My Audiophile is sharing IRQ 18 with my onboard Nvidia 6150, and my Delta 44 is on IRQ 17. It is to my understanding that any IRQ over 15 is virtual and is also shared as well. After disabling almost every feature on the motherboard (to free up IRQs), these cards are still not below IRQ 15, and the audiophile is still sharing an IRQ with my onboard video card.
There are two other ways to fix this: set the PCI slot to an IRQ in the BIOS, or set windows into "Standard PC HAL" mode, which lets you set the IRQs. Two issues: My motherboard doesnt let you map an IRQ to a PCI slot, and I am running an AMD Athlon X2 4400+, and dual processors are not supported in "Standard PC HAL" mode.
I've taken out the Delta 44, and still no luck. I moved the audiophile to the other PCI slot, with still no luck. M-Audio told me to get an external interface instead.
Here's my question: My onboard firewire port is mapped to IRQ 16. What if I sell my cards and get an external, only to find that my firewire port is sharing an IRQ?
Is there any hope for me?
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Apr 07, 2006 09:45 pm I assume this is a name brand computer then? What make is it?
Apr 07, 2006 09:54 pm if you can try reinstalling XP when it mentions to hit F6 for RAID setup hit F5 and select standard computer... this will not install ACPI which is what extends the IRQs...you'll also prettymuch have no power management options...
Apr 07, 2006 09:56 pm No it's not brand name.
AMD X2 4400+
Asus A8N-VM CSM
Dammit, I don't want to lose power management options...I just want the soundcard on it's own IRQ. I wonder if there are any other workarounds?
Will MPS Multiprocessor PC HAL work with both X2 cores? Apparently that's another multi proc option that doesnt have ACPI.
Apr 07, 2006 09:57 pm power management options are the root of all evil.
Apr 07, 2006 09:58 pm So do you think the MPS option will work with both of my cores?
Does anyone else run in Standard PC mode? Whats different about this mode?
Apr 07, 2006 11:11 pm back bfore XP SP1 came out I had to run in standard computer because my aardvark Q10 got confused with an ethernet controller... the main differince I noticed was that I had to actually turn off the computer after I shut it down...
but basically you will be limited to the ..uhh... 16? IRQs... so... devices sharing IRQs will actually conflict but it will be better about seperating things...
in ACPI things can share IRQs as long as they are not resource intensive... like a video card or a recording soundcard... for gaming a soundcard isn't used intensivly... but video almost always is... you will probably have to cut back on USB devices as I think each will want it's own IRQ... which I have heard is the reason ACPI shares IRQ's in the first place...
Situations like this is why Win98 is still used...
Apr 08, 2006 07:51 am I've heard disabling ACPI support in the motherboard prevents having to actually turn the computer off upon shutdown.
I did a little bit of research using google and found out that Microsoft has a bunch of different HALs. One listed was "MPS Multiprocessor PC" and it says that it uses the "Standard PC" instead of ACPI, which is what I suppose I want.
I am wondering, however, if AMD's Cool n' Quiet function requires ACPI to be enabled. What exactly does ACPI do, aside from handling lots of IRQs inefficiently?
I'm excited to try it out, but I like that my CPU fan adjusts itself to the heat level. Not sure if that's Asus' Q-Fan or if it's the Cool n' Quiet function, but it would be sad to see it go for PCI compatibility.
Apr 08, 2006 01:28 pm I'm having a hard time believing that your Asus motherboard doesn't accept IRQ steering in the bios!
Apr 08, 2006 02:07 pm Heres a link to the manual:
dlsvr01.asus.com/pub/ASUS..._a8n-vm_csm.pdf
the only option I see is to reserve IRQs for legacy devices. I tried that and it didnt work, but if you see something in the manual that I missed please let me know!
Apr 08, 2006 03:36 pm Thats the main reason I switched to MSI MoBo's. You can control everything to prevent any trouble like that. All my system controls like fan speeds and so on are strictly controled by the bios. I dont think the CPU has any bearing on the fan speed itself, although I suppose using the recomended cooling fan is part of what makes it work.
Apr 09, 2006 02:08 am The manual is general bios info it won't go into depth on the subject. Go into your bios and look for it would be your best bet.
It has to be in there as Asus boards are usually quite comprehensive. Every Bios I've ever gone into has had some kinda IRQ steering.
Bottom line is if its not in the manual doesn't mean it's not there. I've built quite a few systems for myself and other people and the bios usually has this stuff in it you just have to look. Another good place to look is Asus's website and forums. May take awhile but it may be worth it.
Apr 13, 2006 12:37 am Still haven't found anything, and most of the people on the asus board are less knowledgeable than me when it comes to sound stuff.
I'm wondering what would happen if I sold my sound cards and got an external firewire unit. You think the firewire port's IRQ would have conflicts? That would suck bigtime.
What do people normally do to avoid this crap?
Apr 13, 2006 04:58 pm I personally wouldn't sell the sound cards. I would replace the motherboard you have with one that can accomadate you and what you want to do. Save you money and time it would!
Apr 13, 2006 09:54 pm Thanks for the advice. I really appreciate it!
Apr 14, 2006 07:21 pm Hey,
I did some more fiddling in the BIOS today, disabling just about any features left over. I finally got both cards working, but at the expense of my LAN jack! This seems to be the one resource that forces my video into conflict with my sound cards.
So i'm going to see if using a video card instead of the onboard will allow me to keep using both cards and my network.
I'll post when i find out
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