MoBos using VIA chipset and SBLive issues

[JohnBoy00]

I'll apologize up front if this issue has been beat to death but I'm new here and I didn't find my answer in the FAQ.
I'm considering adding a SB Live 5.1 card to my DFI CA64-EN MoBo which uses a VIA chipset. Someone in another forum suggested that there might be problems with this combination. Is this true? Can anyone point me to an article or discussion where this has been asked and answered?

Thanks for your help. This site has alot of info and my head is swimming.

John

 

[Wind]

1. Make the snd card is not sharing IRQ w/ other component except "PCI steering".
2. Update VIA 4in1 drivers.
3. Best to put the snd card is slot 3 of the mobo.

 

[Peter]

The 5.1 is OK, PCI-wise. The original SB!Live wasn't, which started all the mess. Make sure you use the latest drivers from both Creative and VIA,
install VIA's IDE performance patch. No need to care about interrupts or slot numbers.

regards, Peter

 

[vcarpio2]

I remember having problems with the SBLive with my Via based mobo (SY-6VBA133) but shuffling slots fixed it. In fact, I had the same problem with my TV card and DSL card, too. I had to experiment re-arranging slot assignments to finally get them all to work together in one box.

 

[Peter]

... that's because there are some drivers (mainly TV card) that still don't adhere to the 1993 (!) PCI specification,
which is since when interrupt sharing capability has been mandatory.

The original SB!Live had an electrical specification violation problem on the PCI bus, hanging VIA chipsets mainly.
This may show more or less depending on the slot position.

Bottom line - if everything you buy has been designed to meet the standards, hardware and drivers, then
slot arrangement doesn't matter. That's how it should be, everything else should be returned if you have a chance to.

regards, Peter