i have not installed alsa-firmware. it is my understanding that this is not required for hda compliant sound systems. please correct me if i'm wrong.

i have not tried any additional options than the one mentioned earlier. there seem to be several and i can't determine which one is correct.

options snd-hda-intel enable=1 index=0
# u1Nb.xvbr5hti0dD:82801H (ICH8 Family) HD Audio Controller
alias snd-card-0 snd-hda-intel

http://pastebin.ca/945159