Irq Assignments

When I put the Powercore in slot 5 it shares an IRQ with the AGP and SCSI, and in 6 or 2, it shares with the USBs.

If anyone wants to explain what to do I'd really appreciate it.

SOS Forum post PC music specialist Martin Walker replies: I'm not surprised that you're confused, since, as I explained in the PC Musician article you refer to, what determines how the various slots and other PCI devices share their interrupt resources is down to the motherboard manufacturer, and here we enter a mysterious world where each model of motherboard can be different.

Some users have gotten good results prioritizing IRQ 8 (for the system CMOS) and the IRQ corresponding to the video card, but the feedback is unconfirmed.

My motherboard manual says PCI 4 shares an IRQ with the two USB ports, and that PCI 1 shares with the AGP.

Windows Vista and 7 lets you prioritize one or more IRQs (which translate to one or more hardware devices), potentially improving the performance of those devices.

Below are basic registry editing tips that you can use to set IRQ priorities. Start by opening the System Information utility (msinfo32.exe), and navigating to System Summary\Hardware Resources\IRQs to view the IRQs in use on your system, and the devices using them.

Most components directly attached to your motherboard—including PCI slots, IDE controllers, serial ports, the keyboard port, and even your motherboard’s CMOS—have individual interrupt requests (IRQs) assigned to them.

An interrupt request line, or IRQ, is a numbered hardware line over which a device can interrupt the normal flow of data to the processor, allowing the device to function.

The reason for that is that the PCI hardware itself and its driver are not affecting the IRQ assignment at all (if the hardware follows the PCI 2.1 specifications as the DSP24 series of cards).

The IRQ is assigned by the Plug and Play section of the BIOS on your mainboard.