[drakesteakn]

IRQ's will they ever just go away. i think its time for microsoft to get rid of IRQ's in there next version of windows. it holds u back on how many devices u can have and theres always a problem when a device wants to use the same IRQ as another device.whats with Microsoft and there crappy IRQ crap.


Does anyone know if they are going to fix the IRQ problems in the new version of Windows?

[Dyre Straits]

Everyone thought USB was going to do away with this kind of problem.

[mkk]

IRQ's come from the hardware specs that made the PC what it was many years ago. The operating system cannot do away with that basic PC structure. However, with modern extensions in the area and improved drivers there is hardly ever any real IRQ problems anymore. Usually when people think they are having some kind of IRQ conflict today then the problem is because of something else.

[Murdock]

but there are to few of them, i'm not against Irq but who knows in the futere there come a better way ta adressing the cards

[Matth]

In APIC mode, you can have IRQ's above 15

The original PC had 8 IRQ's - and I can't remember / be bothered looking up, how they were assigned.

The AT and above, chained a second IRQ controller from IRQ 2, with what was IRQ2 fed to IRQ9, and software redirect back to IRQ 2 to keep old cards/drivers happy.

In a fully "legacy equipped"system though, only IRQs 5, 10, 11 have no "standard" device assigned to them.
A few others, such as 3, 4 (COM2/COM1) and 12 (PS/2 mouse) or 7 (LPT1) can be made available if the "normal" use is disabled.

The OLD layout used a maximum of 4 IRQ's across the PCI subsystem (in my case, 5 slots plus USB and AGP), so sharing is more or less inevitable. The resources were rotated from slot to slot, so each slot saw all 4, but with a different one "first". And in my 5-slot setup, one slot shares with AGP, one with USB and two with each other - this is an old-style PIC mode system, with 100% legacy support - even has ISA slots!


Now, it OUGHT to be possible to make the break from compatibility with the very old PC design - and APIC is certainly pointing the way forward for IRQ's - not sure if it's resources to spare for everything, but it's pretty damn close!

[Murdock]

Originally posted by Matth
In APIC mode, you can have IRQ's above 15

The original PC had 8 IRQ's - and I can't remember / be bothered looking up, how they were assigned.

The AT and above, chained a second IRQ controller from IRQ 2, with what was IRQ2 fed to IRQ9, and software redirect back to IRQ 2 to keep old cards/drivers happy.

In a fully "legacy equipped"system though, only IRQs 5, 10, 11 have no "standard" device assigned to them.
A few others, such as 3, 4 (COM2/COM1) and 12 (PS/2 mouse) or 7 (LPT1) can be made available if the "normal" use is disabled.

The OLD layout used a maximum of 4 IRQ's across the PCI subsystem (in my case, 5 slots plus USB and AGP), so sharing is more or less inevitable. The resources were rotated from slot to slot, so each slot saw all 4, but with a different one "first". And in my 5-slot setup, one slot shares with AGP, one with USB and two with each other - this is an old-style PIC mode system, with 100% legacy support - even has ISA slots!


Now, it OUGHT to be possible to make the break from compatibility with the very old PC design - and APIC is certainly pointing the way forward for IRQ's - not sure if it's resources to spare for everything, but it's pretty damn close!

My motherboard provides 19 Irq's its an ASus P4C800 Deluxe and i see no sharing in windows nfo
I use an onboard 3com lan, haupauge wintv , an ASus FX6500 Vid. card and a Soundblaster Audigy
and of couse te irq's who de mother board uses , I have a Sata drive and a normal CDrom and a dvd Burner
and none of them are sharing an Irq thats i know about my system. Ican switsch of or on Irq 19 in the bios setup

Btw i ave also a question is it recomanded to have a cooling on my Hard Drive to expand it's life time???...
It's a 7200 rpm Seagate barracuda.

[Matth]

Originally posted by Murdock
My motherboard provides 19 Irq's its an ASus P4C800 Deluxe and i see no sharing in windows nfo
I use an onboard 3com lan, haupauge wintv , an ASus FX6500 Vid. card and a Soundblaster Audigy
and of couse te irq's who de mother board uses , I have a Sata drive and a normal CDrom and a dvd Burner
and none of them are sharing an Irq thats i know about my system. Ican switsch of or on Irq 19 in the bios setup

Btw i ave also a question is it recomanded to have a cooling on my Hard Drive to expand it's life time???...
It's a 7200 rpm Seagate barracuda.

I'd say it depends - with adequate case airflow, and reasonable air circulation around the drive, even a 7200 ought to be ok.

The most basic/cheap cooler is the undertray cooler - carrying 1 or 2 fans, and blwing on the underside of the drive (venting out of open front/back) - while this is not a really great cooler, it does ensure that air is moving around the drive.

Higher up the scale, you find 5 1/4" fan-bays that blow intake air directly over the drive, op to real exotics that combine a heatsink.


On many cases though, the "boxed" HD / 3 1/2" external bays, are also supplemented by "hanger bays" below that, which can be low enough to be cooled by some dispersion from the front box fan (I ALWAYS fit a fan in that position)

[GutterPunk]

good question drake this was touched on in class... umm like said b4 USB was the way, now with firewire.... who knows whats gonna happen. It wouldnt be bad with everything being able to be hot swappable though....