PlanetZ forums - scopeusers.com

Hi everybody
I just ordered Pulsar II, but not yet received it. There are some issues though I would like to solve before even trying new pulsar. I've searched this forum, and got some good info, but some more is needed.
Would you please tell your config with Asus A7N8X (I have rev 1.04) mobo:

What BIOS are you using? (is the newest 1004 ok?)

What PCI slot are you using for pulsar?
My peresent card Yamaha DSP Factory ONLY works in PCI slot 5 (freezes if in other slots). And im a bit worried about that, if pulsar is going to give same problems. Slot 5 is shared according to mobo manual.

How do you make pulsar using a non-shared IRQ?
According to my bad luck tests with DSP Factory, all PCI slots are giving an shared IRQ. In bios I have only enabled LAN, Audio and USB1, as i need them.
What problems would it cause if Pulsar has shared IRQ?
This mobo doesnt let you manually assign irq's.

I have 2 WinXP partitions, one with APIC/ACPI and one with Standard PC. Only APIC partition shows virtually non shared IRQ's. Which one do you recommend for Pulsar?

If im doomed not to get it working, can you recommend another AMD mobo that works?

Any tips are welcome, thank you for your help!

My current setup:
ASUS A7N8X (1.04) (USB1, LAN, Audio enabled)
AMD 2400xp
512 kingston mem (133mhz bus)
Radeon 8500
IBM & Maxtor HD's
Enermax 350w PSU & good cooling
Yamaha DSP Factory
Windows XP Pro APIC/ACPI & Standard PC

Stige

I have rev 2.0, and have a Pulsar and a Powersampler sharing IRQ's in slots 1 & 5.. no problems..
They only share with each other in those slots..

I have disabled everything in my bios, except USB, LAN and firewire..
I disabled Audio (pulsar is audio enough for both work and games), all com ports (I mean really, who uses serial and paralell ports theese days?)

As for Bios, I have used everything from 1002 to 1005beta, no problems.. (1005 beta for rev.2.0 users only)..
Newest bios is always preferred (at least in my case)...

Might think of some more info later.. I'm in a hurry right now..

Oh yeah..
I have disabled APIC in my bios.. I have found out that this actually leaves me with only 15 irq's instead of 23 irq's in APIC mode..

This is why you have fewer shared irq's in APIC mode..

Anyone with thoughts on this?

aMo,thanks about your reply.

So, you have 2 creamware cards sharing same IRQ (as they should be in this case). Do you have any other devices on that same irq in bios level? (see the irq table when booting your computer) Does it matter what IRQ should be used for Pulsar cards? I'm only able to get 3,5 or 7 for my Yamaha card (depending what devices are disabled in bios) and they are lowest in irq priority.

Yes APIC with ACPI gives more irq's, but in bios level there are still those 16 irq's. I wonder if APIC mode has negative effects to lowest possible latency that can be used?

My Pulsar and Powersampler are sharing IRQ 3 with each other, nothing else is sharing this IRQ with them..