Modem & PSU & unplug & IRQ share & Jumper & USB & Audio

[Prudent]

Modem:

About to stick in the Modem in the PCI slot.
I have 1~5 PCI slots to choose from..
I've heard of PCI IRQ share conflicts.
Thus would some one tell me which PCI slot is best for a USR Pro Modem to avoid any conflict?

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Antec NeoPower 480 PSU:

I'm about to connect the PSU to the drives and motherborard.

.1# On the back of my computer the case fan it self has two power plugs. One is a stick in plug another is a stick out plug(Like pins in and pins that can be stuck into it ).
So looking at these two case fan power plugs I'm thinking do I plug them both i or are they just like that in case I couldn't find the proper plug for it?
The PSU came with a Fan Only cable. But its only got a yellow and black cord sticking on out of it. Is that the only thing I need to plug to it?
Here is the Fan Only cable at the very bottem..
http://www.hardwarezone.com/guides/a...dex.php?&pg=11

.2# Is it better to have a dedicated power cable to every drive and thing or is it better to have two drives connected to a single power cable? Or does it even matter?

.3# Is there a particular order a molox needs to be connected to a PSU? Probably not right?

.4# The most important question.
When I attch the power cables togather should I unplug the PSU from the outlet even if its turned off. What I mean by this is this..
If I were to have the PSU turned off. And the PSU is pluged into a outlet (To ground me ) And if I were to plug in the PSU cables to the motherboard and the CPU, then could that damage any thing?

I thought sense the PSU is turned off then there would be no way for power to reach the CPU or motherboard any how. But I heard some other place that you gotta be careful even if the PSU is turned off.

I'd rather be grounded and cuase a little damage then not be grounded and cuase lots of damage. I hope you understand.

In other words is it posible at all that power could be tranfered from the PSU to the componants while it is set to off?

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USB jumpers

Ok, in the manuel it says the USB jumpers are set to defult. +5V.
But can be set to +5VSB.
And what is S1 sleep mode?
And what is S4 sleep mode?
I don't understand it?


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Front Side audio panel

What is a front side audio panel?

It said in the manuel I'm suposed to take out the front side audio jumpers only when I connect the front side audio? I don't understand.

[Prudent]

After much resaerch I think maybe PCI slot 2 is best for the modem card

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by Prudent Modem: About to stick in the Modem in the PCI slot. I have 1~5 PCI slots to choose from.. I've heard of PCI IRQ share conflicts. Thus would some one tell me which PCI slot is best for a USR Pro Modem to avoid any conflict?

You can use slots 2 thru 5...take your pick. Just don't use the slot next to the AGP slot (slot 1). WinXP handles IRQ sharing extremely well and you won't have any problems. But if that's the USR Performance Pro you might not be too happy with the performance...one of the worst PCI modems I ever used. Got way better performance with the USR 2977.

Originally Posted by Prudent Antec NeoPower 480 PSU: I'm about to connect the PSU to the drives and motherborard. .1# On the back of my computer the case fan it self has two power plugs. One is a stick in plug another is a stick out plug(Like pins in and pins that can be stuck into it ). So looking at these two case fan power plugs I'm thinking do I plug them both i or are they just like that in case I couldn't find the proper plug for it?

That's a "pass-through" power connector. You can plug the fan power in between the power connector from the power supply and a optical drive if you don't have any extra power connectors available. But if you do have extra power connectors, just plug the connector into the female power connector from the fan...the other end can be left alone.

Originally Posted by Prudent The PSU came with a Fan Only cable. But its only got a yellow and black cord sticking on out of it. Is that the only thing I need to plug to it?

That power connector is only meant for fans, nothing else.

Originally Posted by Prudent .2# Is it better to have a dedicated power cable to every drive and thing or is it better to have two drives connected to a single power cable? Or does it even matter?

Really doesn't matter. Just plug in the power cable that reaches the drive best. Only thing you shouldn't do is put a fan pass-through connector on the main hard drive.

Originally Posted by Prudent .3# Is there a particular order a molox needs to be connected to a PSU? Probably not right?

Connected to the power supply? Do you mean from the power supply? The thing you want to keep in mind is keeping the wiring mess to a minimum. Route the power cords in a orderly fashion.

Originally Posted by Prudent ..4# The most important question. When I attch the power cables togather should I unplug the PSU from the outlet even if its turned off. What I mean by this is this.. If I were to have the PSU turned off. And the PSU is pluged into a outlet (To ground me ) And if I were to plug in the PSU cables to the motherboard and the CPU, then could that damage any thing?

As long as the power supply power switch is off, you won't damage anything.

Originally Posted by Prudent I thought sense the PSU is turned off then there would be no way for power to reach the CPU or motherboard any how. But I heard some other place that you gotta be careful even if the PSU is turned off. I'd rather be grounded and cuase a little damage then not be grounded and cuase lots of damage. I hope you understand. In other words is it posible at all that power could be tranfered from the PSU to the componants while it is set to off?

Anything is possible. I always unplug the power cord from the wall outlet when I work on computer, but that's because not all power supplies have a power switch on them...and it's just habit for me to work on the computer with the power cord unplugged.

Originally Posted by Prudent USB jumpers Ok, in the manuel it says the USB jumpers are set to defult. +5V. But can be set to +5VSB. And what is S1 sleep mode? And what is S4 sleep mode? I don't understand it? -- Front Side audio panel What is a front side audio panel? It said in the manuel I'm suposed to take out the front side audio jumpers only when I connect the front side audio? I don't understand.

Sorry, can't help you with these questions.

Cricket

[Prudent]

I've conected the "Fan-Only" cable to that case fan.

Do I need to plug a actual power cable also to that second case fan plug, in adition to the "fan-only" cable. Or does the "Fan-Only" cable grab power for the case fan?

It just seems strange why the "fan only" cable could transfer the power to it. I thought it only directs the speed to run at.

[thefultonhow]

Originally Posted by Prudent USB jumpers Ok, in the manuel it says the USB jumpers are set to defult. +5V. But can be set to +5VSB. And what is S1 sleep mode? And what is S4 sleep mode? I don't understand it? -- Front Side audio panel What is a front side audio panel? It said in the manuel I'm suposed to take out the front side audio jumpers only when I connect the front side audio? I don't understand.

Don't worry about setting the jumpers to +5VSB. I'm not completely sure, but I think that would allow a USB keyboard and/or mouse to power on the computer. Suffice it to say that the computer works just fine in +5V mode, and there's no reason to mess with success when doing so doesn't add a performance boost .

For explanations of the ACPI states (S0, S1, S2, S3, S4, and S5), go here:

http://www.lifsoft.com/power/faq.htm

Front panel audio is for if you have a headphone and mic jack on the front of your computer. I wasn't able to get it to work properly on my computer (the front speakers would only work when connected to the headphone jack on the front when I was using front panel audio), so I put the jumpers back on and left it alone. This is another case in which you probably shouldn't worrry about the function unless you really, really want your front audio jacks to work.

[Prudent]

Thank you thefultonhow

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by Prudent I've conected the "Fan-Only" cable to that case fan. Do I need to plug a actual power cable also to that second case fan plug, in adition to the "fan-only" cable. Or does the "Fan-Only" cable grab power for the case fan? It just seems strange why the "fan only" cable could transfer the power to it. I thought it only directs the speed to run at.

No, don't plug another power connector to the fan, the "Fan-Only" power connector is all you need. The "Fan-Only" power connector will power the case fan fine...it will have 12 volts of electricity flowing through it once you connect it to the fan.

Cricket