"Paul" wrote in message
...

Now, the thing is, a PCI card has four interrupt signals on it. A
primary and three non-primary signals.

From the PCI 2.2. spec:

INTA# Interrupt A is used to request an interrupt.
INTB# Interrupt B is used to request an interrupt and only
has meaning on a multi-function device.
and so on for INTC# and INTD#

What I think the Asus table is showing above, is how only the INTA#
pin on each slot, is connected to the four wires streaming from the
interrupt controller. So, in fact, the Asus table doesn't show how
a multi-function device would be sharing interrupts.

Thanks! I "think" I see what is going on now though I'll have to look
over what you are saying some more.

Translate "used" to "unshared" or "unique". Slot 1 or slot 3 is an
excellent location for a Sound Card with a poorly written interrupt
handler, on your A7V880.

I am planning on using the onboard 6-channel sound. Seems to me that
disabling it and then adding a different sound card - seems kind of
"wasteful"
since nowadays most onboard sound setups sound just fine to me (unless you
are going to be a musician and need MIDI capability and lots of simultaneous
"voices" to compose complex music... (just a thought).

Resulting Windows IRQ assignment - OCRed to table below:
http://abxzone.com/forums/attachment...achmentid=4677

Resource Device status
IRQ 0 System timer OK
IRQ 1 Standard 101/102-Key or Microsoft Natural PS/2 Keyboard OK
IRQ 3 Communications Port (COM2) OK
IRQ 4 Communications Port (COMl) OK
IRQ 6 Standard floppy disk controller OK
IRQ 8 System CMOS/real time clock OK
IRQ 9 Microsoft ACPI-Compliant System OK
IRQ 10 Intel(R) 82801EB SMBus Controller - 24D3 OK
IRQ 12 Microsoft PS/2 Mouse OK
IRQ 13 Numeric data processor OK
IRQ 14 Primary IDE Channel OK
IRQ 15 Secondary IDE Channel OK
IRQ 16 RADEON 9700 PRO OK
IRQ 16 Standard Universal PCI to USB Host Controller OK
IRQ 16 Standard Universal PCI to USB Host Controller OK
IRQ 18 Standard Universal PCI to USB Host Controller OK
IRQ 19 Standard Universal PCI to USB Host Controller OK
IRQ 21 Promise Technology Inc. Ultra IDE Controller OK
IRQ 22 3Com Gigabit LOM (3C940) OK
IRQ 22 Creative SB Audigy OK
IRQ 23 Standard Enhanced PCI to USB Host Controller OK
IRQ 23 OHCI Compliant IEEE 1394 Host Controller OK
IRQ 23 Texas Instruments OHCI Compliant IEEE 1394 Controller OK

Interesting... I've always thought the IRQs stopped at #15. When did this
change take place? I've always thought they needed to extend the number
of available IRQs but I couldn't think of how it could be done with all the
"legacy" stuff out there.

Moral of the story ? Load up the system with hardware first, then
look in the Device Manager or use a utility like Sandra, to examine
the IRQ assignments. Mark up the manual to reflect the real wiring.
Reassign cards, according to your knowledge of cards known not to
play nice. In my readings on the newsgroup so far, only a sound
card really needs a private IRQ.

Would it not degrade performance if one or more high-data rate devices
(like the two video cards) shared an IRQ?

You are using onboard sound, so no worry about finding a unique
signal for a sound card. Modem card probably has a data pump
(non-Winmodem), so will be interrupting when a FIFO of data bytes
is ready. TV Tuner might be pumping a fair amount of data on the
PCI bus, but doesn't have a good reason to be using its interrupt
line. Here are my choices:

AGP MX440 AGP (low power card - cooling not an issue)
Slot1 MX420 PCI (higher priority than other PCI slots)
Slot2
Slot3 USR modem card (unique IRQ, no sharing, low latency)
Slot4 ATI TV Wonder Tuner PCI
Slot5

I will be using the onboard LAN connected to a Microsoft
802.11g/Wi-Fi Wireless-G router to share my cable modem
connection with two "wired" systems (mine and my roommate's)
and also allow me to wirelessly connect to the Internet from my
Hp Pavilion 7000 series notebook. The FAX/VOICE modem
is there primarily to send and receive FAX'es which comes in
useful a lot. So with that in mind, I'd think about swapping the
locations for the modem and the TV Tuner / Video Capture
card (one of the reasons I'm putting together a two-display
system: full screen TV on one monitor while I work at the other).
Also the extra screen realestate can sure come in handy when
you've got say a dozen open windows at once.

Also, if you want a real laugh, download a few more Asus manuals.
For example, the PC-DL is a desktop server board, and uses an 875
Northbridge, like the P4C800 Deluxe example above. Look how the
tech writer did the table:

[table omitted]

Every manual I read, just creates more mysteries.

I know what you mean. I was quite disappointed with the quality of
the manual for this MB. It certainly was not up to ASUS or ABit's usual
standards.