Asus I-AP55T User Manual
P/I-AP55T Mainboard
User's Manual
Copyright
This Product, Including Any Software And Documentation, May Not, In
Whole Or In Part, Be Copied, Photocopied, Translated Or Reduced To
Any Electronic Or Machine-Readable Form Without Prior Written Consent
From ASUSTek Computer Inc., Except For Copies Retained By The
Purchaser For Backup Purposes.
No Warranty Or Representation, Either Expressed Or Implied, Is Made
With Respect To This Documentation, Its Quality, Performance, Merchant
ability, Or Fitness For A Particular Purpose. As A Result, The Documenta
tion Is Licensed "As Is," And The Licensee Will Assume The Entire Risk
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And Licensed To ASUSTek By Its Documentation Vendor And All Rights
Are Reserved. ASUSTek Reserves The Right To Revise This Work And
Any Accompanying Software And Documentation And To Make Changes
In The Content Without Obligation To Notify Any Person Or Organization
Of The Revision Or Change.
In No Event Will ASUSTek, Or Its Documentation Vendor, Be Liable For
Direct, Indirect, Special, Incidental, Or Consequential Damages Arising
Out Of The Use Or Inability To Use This Product Or Documentation Even
If Advised Of The Possibility Of Such Damages. In Particular, ASUSTek
Shall Not Have Liability For Any Hardware, Software, Or Data Stored Or
Used With The Product, Including The Costs Of Repairing, Replacing, Or
Recovering Such Hardware, Software Or Data.
Products Mentioned In This Manual Are Mentioned For Identification
Purposes Only. Product Names Appearing In This Manual May Or May
Not Be Registered Trademarks Or Copyrights Of Their Respective
Companies.
© Copyright 1995
User's Manual Rev 1.2
Related Mainboard: P/I-AP55T P.C.B. Rev 1.3 and up
Related BIOS: #401A0-0109 or up (# appears in upper left-hand
corner of screen at beginning of Power-On Boot-up)
Date: October 1995 ASUSTek Computer Inc.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Feature Guide..........................................1-1
The P/I-AP55T Package.................................................................1-2
Main Features.................................................................................1-3
Bundled Software...........................................................................1-5
Static Electricity Precautions
Mainboard Layout..........................................................................1-6
Using Your Mainboard
Hardware Settings....................................................................1-8
The System Configuration Record
................................................................
........................................................
........................................
1-5
1-8
1-10
System IRQs
BIOS-Supported Enhanced IDE Features
Power Conservation.....................................................................1-14
Onboard VGA & Audio Features................................................1-15
SCSI BIOS Firmware & The SC-200 Controller Card
Chapter 2: Upgrade Guide
Installing Expansion Cards............................................................2-1
Installation Procedure
Assigning System IRQs for Expansion Cards..........................2-3
Upgrading System Memory
Configuring System Memory
Installing SIMMs......................................................................2-8
Upgrading Video DRAM Memory..............................................2-10
Installing IDE Hard Disks............................................................2-11
Updating the Flash BIOS
Installing a Pentium Upgrade......................................................2-14
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,..................................2-5
1-11
1-12
1-16
2-1
2-1
2-6
2-13
Chapter 3: Software Guide........................................3-1
Award BIOS Setup.........................................................................3-1
Standard CMOS Setup.............................................................3,-3
BIOS Features Setup.................................................................3-8
Chipset Features Setup...........................................................3-12
Power Management Setup.....................................................3-16
PCI and PNP Configuration Setup........................................3-20
Load BIOS Defaults................................................................3-23
Load Setup Defaults
Setting Supervisor & User Passwords
...............................................................
...................................
3-24
3-25
P/I-AP55T User’s Manual
IDE HDD Auto Detection......................................................3-26
Save And Exit Setup
Exit Without Saving...............................................................3-28
NCR SCSI BIOS & Drivers......................................................... 3-29
Flash Memory Writer Utility
...............................................................
......................................................
3-28
3-30
Chapter 4: Technical Summary
Jumper Setting Summary...............................................................4-1
Base Address Selector: JPl & JP2
Bus & CPU External Clock Speed Selector: JP4, JP5 & JP6 4-2
PS/2 Mouse Port Selector: JP7
CPU Voltage Selector: JP8
Flash Eprom Read/Write Selector: JP9
Level 2 Cache Size: JPIO..........................................................4-4
CPU Int. Clock External Mulitple Selector: JPll &c JP12.... 4-4
RTC Clear CMOS Memory: JP13
Voltage Regulator Type Selector: JP15
Voltage Regulator Output Selector: JP16, JP17
Voltage Reg. Module Selector: JP19, JP20, JP21, JP22
COM2 Mode Selector: JP24 & JP25.........................................4-7
Memory Subsystem........................................................................4-7
Expansion Video DRAM Specifications:
External Connections
Controller Cables.................................................................. 4-12
Connecting A Power Supply
Onboard ATI mach64 Information.............................................4-14
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4-1
4-1
4-2
4-3
4-3
4-5
4-5
4-6
4-6
4-7
4-8
4-13
The PCI-SC200 SCSI Interface Card...........................................4-15
Setting Up the PCI-SC200
SCSI ID Numbers
.................................................................
....................................................
4-16
4-19
IV
Feature Guide
This manual explains how to use this system mainboard and in
stall upgrades. It has an overview of the design and features of the
board and provides useful information if you want to change the con
figuration of the board, or a system it is installed in.
How The Manual Is Organized
This manual is divided into four chapters:
Feature Guide - an overview of the board features
Upgrade Guide - upgrades for the board or system
Software Guide - the Setup Utility and other software & firmware
Technical Summary - technical reference
The manual assumes that your mainboard is already installed in
a computer system, so we've organized the contents to reflect this.
The first chapter introduces the mainboard's features and shows
where things are on the board in case you want to install an upgrade.
Chapter 2 explains how to install upgrades.
Chapter 3 explains the Award BIOS Setup Utility, SCSI BIOS and
the Flash Memory Writer BIOS update utility.
Chapter 4 lists settings and specifications and explains the op
tional SCSI interface card.
Since we are assuming that your mainboard is already installed
in a system, it was most likely set up by your system dealer accord
ing to the design specifications of your computer. This could mean
that your mainboard's current settings are not the same as the de
faults shown in this manual. Your system manual may have addition
al information on how the mainboard should be set up.
1-1
P/I-AP55T User's Manual
If you want to change the existing configuration, consult all of
your system documentation. Also be certain that opening up and
working on the system yourself won't violate your system warranty.
Most system vendors do allow you to open the system to install ex
pansion cards or additional peripheral equipment.
This manual provides all the information you need to upgrade
or change the setup of the board. If you don't feel confident of your
ability to work on the computer yourself, ask your dealer or a quali
fied technician to do it for you.
The P/I-AP55T Package
Your mainboard package comes with the following:
• The mainboard
• 1 ГОЕ cable, 1 Floppy Disk Drive controller cable
• External audio port module
• Floppy disks with support, driver and utility software
• This manual and a Video/Audio software manual
• Optional "riser" slot card with 32-bit PCI slots and 16-bit ISA
slots which installs in the slot on mainboard. (Number of slots
varies depending on which version you receive.)
If you purchased your mainboard as an upgrade, make sure all
of the items listed are present and vmdamaged. If you discover a prob
lem, contact your vendor immediately and inform them.
If the mainboard came installed in a system, you should have the
support floppy disks. In this case, the drivers needed for your sys
tem may already be installed on the system hard disk drive. If not,
you should install the ones you need. There is more information
about how to do this in the Video/Audio manual.
1-2
Feature Guide
Main Features
The P/I-AP55T has many performance and system features in
tegrated onto the mainboard, including the following:
• Supports 75, 90,100,120,133,150 or 166MHz Pentium CPUs
in a ZIP Socket 5 or 7. Pentium P55CT CPUs require the ZIP
Socket 7 and Header 7 VRM sockets.
• Intel Triton chipset
• Uses 72-pin SIMM modules of 4, 8,16, or 32MB in configura
tions up to 128MB using either Past Page Mode or Extended
Data Output (EDO) DRAM.
• Write-back "Level 2" external static RAM cache. The cache uses
256KB or 512KB of Pipeline Burst SRAM.
• 16-bit ISA and 32-bit Bus Master-capable PCI expansion slots
on a riser slot card that installs in the on-board slot.
• On-board I/O ports: 2 serial ports, 16550 Past UART compat
ible; 1 parallel port with EPP and ECP capabilities; all configur
able as primary or secondary COM and LPT ports; the second
UART can support an optional IrDA-compatible infrared port
module attached to the onboard connector, instead of COM2;
the floppy disk drive controller supports drives up to 2.88MB.
• Onboard Enhanced VGA graphics accelerator which supports
multiple resolutions and both High and True color using an
ATI Mach64 64-bit video display chip or with 1MB of DRAM
video memory, optionally upgradable to 2MB. Software driv
ers and utilities provided are explained in accompanying
Video/Audio manual.
1-3
P/I-AP55T User's Manual
Onboard Creative Technology Vibra 16S soimd card with ex
ternal port module provides 16-bit SoimdBlaster audio and
onboard sound connections for several CD-ROM drives. Ex
ternal module has Microphone, Line-in, Speaker and Game
ports and volume control. Software drivers and utilities pro
vided are explained in accompanying \^deo/Audio manual.
Onboard PCI Bus Master IDE controller with two connectors
supports four IDE devices in two channels, faster data trans
fer rates and supports Enhanced IDE devices such as Tape
Backup and CD-ROM drives. The controller supports PIO
Modes 3 and 4 at a maximum transfer rate of ITMB/second
and Bus Master ГОЕ DMA Mode 2 at maximum 22MB/second.
BIOS support for Power management and "Plug and Play"
features and Enhanced IDE, including support for up to four
ГОЕ hard disks or other ГОЕ devices and hard disks larger than
528MB and up to 8.4GB. Auto detection of installed ГОЕ hard
disk drives via a utility built into the BIOS.
Onboard NCR SCSI BIOS firmware supports the optional PCI
SC-200 SCSI controller card to connect up to seven internal or
external SCSI devices.
Onboard multi-year battery support to maintain system con
figuration information.
Support floppy disks with utility and driver software. Addi
tional Video/Audio manual.
1-4
Feature Guide
Bundled Software
This mainboard comes with a variety of support software. The
BIOS Support Disk has a readme file on it with the latest information
on upgrading the BIOS, as explained in Chapter 3 of this manual. The
Video/Audio manual that comes with this mainboard explains how
to install and use the software for the VGA and audio features. The
software includes:
• PFlash Memory Writer — updates the system BIOS with a new
BIOS file.
• ATI Video Display Drivers & Utilities
• Creative Technologies Vibra 16S Utilities
Static Electricity Precautions
Under the right conditions, static electricity will build up. If you
touch the mainboard or other sensitive components, the build-up will
discharge into the components and circuitry. This is referred to as
"electrostatic discharge" and computer components are sensitive to
damage from it. They can be damaged, or even destroyed if the dis
charge is powerful enough. Static build-up is most likely to occur in
dryer and cooler conditions, but it is always important to be cautious.
1-5
P/I-AP55T User’s Manual
To protect the mainboard and other components against damage
from static electric discharge, you should follow some basic precau
tions whenever you handle them:
1. Use a grounding wrist strap. The strap will have an 'alligator'
clip at the end of a shielded wire lead. Clip it to a grounded
object. Any static electricity will then harmlessly discharge
through the strap. Put on and connect the strap before you
handle the components.
2. Use an anti-static pad. Put any components on the pad when
ever you work on them outside the computer. If you don't have
a pad, put the components on the anti-static bag they came in.
Both the wrist strap and pad are inexpensive and are generally
available from computer supply companies.
Mainboard Layout
The diagram on the next page shows the location of important
components on the mainboard.
1. Enhanced VGA Monitor Port
2. LPT1 Parallel Port
3. COM2 Serial Port
4. COMl Serial Port
5. PS/2 (L) & Keyboard ports (R)
6. Power Supply Connector
7. External Audio Module connector
8. Slot for PCI/ISA Slot Riser Card
10. SIMM DRAM sockets
11. Video memory upgrade sockets
12. VGA Feature Connector
13. Wave Table option connector
14. Floppy Controller connector
15. PCI Enhanced IDE connectors
16. External Features connector
17. CPU in ZIF Socket
9. CD-ROM drive audio connectors
1-6
18. Header 7 VRM socket
P/I-AP55T Layout
O CD (DCDCD
Feature Guide
1-7
P/I-AP55T User's Manual
Using Your Mainboard
In addition to the operating instructions in your system manual,
there are a few additional things specific to the mainboard you will
need to know. These have to do with the hardware settings on the
mainboard and the system configuration record.
Hardware Settings
There are a number of hardware settings on the board. They
specify configuration options for various features. The settings are
made using something called a 'jumper'. A jumper is a set of two or
more metal pins in a plastic base attached to the mainboard. A plas
tic jumper 'cap' with a metal plate inside fits over two pins to create
an electrical contact between them. The contact establishes a hard
ware setting.
Some jumpers have two pins, others have three or more. The
jumpers are sometimes combined into sets called jumper 'blocks',
where all the jumpers in the block must be set together to establish a
hardware setting. The next figures show how this looks.
Jumpers and caps
M
Mf
mmSaa
1-8
Jumper cap 3*pin jumper 2-pin jumper Jumper block
Feature Guide
Setting options for most jumpers are printed on the board in a
stylized bird's-eye view, with which pins to connect for each setting
marked by a bar connecting two pins. For example, if a jumper has
three pins, connecting, or 'shorting', the first and second pins creates
one setting and shorting the second and third pins creates another.
The same type of diagrams are used in this manual. The jumpers cire
always shown from the same point of view as shown in the whole-
board diagram in this chapter. The next figures show what the
manual diagrams look like and what they represent.
Jumper diagrams
Jumpers are shown like this
O O
Jumper caps like this
o o o
Jumper settings like this
O G-©
O 0-€)
O 0-©
0-0 O
Jumpers in
a 'block'
Some jumpers are oriented
9
vertically; if the pin
A
position needs to be
o
shown. Pin 1 is marked.
1-9
P/I-AP55T User’s Manual
The System Configuration Record
All personal computers use a BIOS (Basic Input Output System)
as the basic software that tells the computer how to function. In or
der for the BIOS to function, there has to be a record of the computer's
hardware and configuration settings for it to refer to. This record is
created by using a software program permanently stored in the BIOS
ROM chip on the mainboard. The program is called the BIOS Setup
Utility.
The system configuration record the utility creates is also stored
on the mainboard. Unlike the utility program, the record is not re
corded permanently. The memory it gets stored in must be main
tained by battery power when the computer is turned off. If battery
support fails, the record will be lost and you will have to recreate it.
When you buy your computer, the system configuration record
will already be set. The settings will be optimized for your computer
hardware and may vary from the basic defaults. You should run the
Setup Utility when you first use your computer. Write down the set
tings. The Setup Utility is explained in Chapter 3.
Important-
In some circumstances it is possible the configuration record may
be corrupted or lost. If this happens, your computer will not work
properly the next time you turn it on. This is not a serious problem.
To fix it, run the Setup Utility and re-enter your configuration from
your written record. When you restart the computer, it will work
normally.
1-10
Feature Guide
System IRQs
Later in the manual you'll see something called an "IRQ" men
tioned several times. If you're not familiar with these, this is a short
explanation of what they are and why you may need to know about
them if you upgrade your system.
An IRQ, or interrupt request, is the process whereby an input or
output device tells the CPU to temporarily interrupt whatever it is
doing and immediately process something from the source of the
interrupt. When finished the CPU goes back to what it was already
processing. This happens very quickly. There are 16 IRQs, IRQ 0
through IRQ 15, some of which are already in use by basic compo
nents of the system. Devices that need an IRQ line to operate some
times must have the exclusive use of that line.
Many expansion cards require the use of an IRQ line to operate,
for example, network interface cards and soimd cards. When you
install a card that uses an IRQ, it will have a default IRQ setting that
you might need to change if that IRQ is already in use and cannot be
shared. There are different ways of setting an IRQ assignment, with
jumpers being the most common.
The ISA and PCI buses all use the same set of system IRQs. On
this mainboard the PCI-Bus Primary ГОЕ channel uses IRQ14 and the
Secondary channel uses IRQ15. For the PCI bus there is an additional
consideration. On the PCI bus, you must cissign an IRQ to the PCI slot
you will install an IRQ-using card in. There are two methods of gen
erating an IRQ on the PCI bus, level-triggering (level-sensitive) and
edge-triggering. Most PCI expansion cards use the level-triggered
design. A few cards may use the edge-triggered design instead. The
BIOS PCI Slot Configuration therefore provides the means to set the
IRQ assignment for a PCI slot for either method. This is explained in
detail in Chapter 3.
1-11
P/I-AP55T User's Manual
BIOS-Supported Enhanced IDE Features
The BIOS has several feature enhancements for IDE hard disk
drives and support for other ГОЕ devices.
,The original IDE implementation was limited to two hard disk
drives with relatively slower data transfer rates. While this solution
is simple and reliable, it has some limitations that have become more
significant as the performance level of other system components and
overall system performance have increased dramatically with the
advent of new microprocessor, expansion bus and operating system
technologies.
In response to these demands, the IDE specification has been
updated to increase its capabilities and provide improved perfor
mance. Together these are referred to as 'Enhanced ГОЕ'. Enhanced
ГОЕ features comprise the following:
• Support for IDE hard disk drives larger than 528MB.
• Support for IDE devices other than hard disk drives, includ
ing IDE Tape Backup and CD-ROM drives,
• Support for two IDE channels with two devices per charmel,
allowing the use of four IDE devices in one system.
• Support for faster data transfer rates, particularly with IDE
controllers that use a PCI local bus interface.
This mainboard supports the use of these features, which work
with the onboard PCI ГОЕ controller that includes two connectors
built onto the mainboard. With this controller you can use one or both
connectors to connect up to four ГОЕ devices to the system. If you
want to use the second ГОЕ channel, you must enable it in the Chip-
set Features Setup section of the BIOS Setup utility.
1-12
Feature Guide
Large IDE Hard Disks
For ГОЕ hard disk drives, the BIOS provides three modes to sup
port both normal IDE hard disks and also drives larger than 528MB:
Normal - for IDE drives smaller than 528MB
Large - for drives larger than 528MB that do not use LBA. These
can only be used with the MS-DOS operating system.
LBA - for drives larger than 528MB and up to 8.4 GB (GigaBytes)
that use Logic Block Addressing mode.
Other IDE Devices
Enhanced IDE allows the use of IDE devices other than hard
disks. Two devices that previously required non-standard or adapted
interfaces and are now available as standard IDE devices are Tape
Backup and CD-ROM drives. These will now be able to take advan
tage of the ease of installation, lower cost and in some cases superior
performance of Enhanced ГОЕ, putting an end to the system configu
ration complications created by their earlier interfaces.
To use IDE devices other than hcird disks with this mainboard you
may need to install a device driver in your system software configu
ration. Refer to the documentation that comes with any device you
will install for instructions about this and any other installation re
quirements.
1-13
P/I-AP55T User’s Manual
Dual IDE Channel Support
With the onboard ГОЕ controller you can connect up to four ГОЕ
peripheral devices to your system. With Enhanced ГОЕ you can con
nect two devices to each connector. All devices are categorized the
saíne way IDE hard disks have been in the past, with one device set
as the "Master'' device and the second as the "Slave" device. These
two charmels are called the "Primary" and the "Secondary" channel.
The Primary channel uses IRQ14, the Secondary, IRQ15. If you are
not using the Secondary channel, you can leave it disabled it in the
BIOS Setup utility. This will leave IRQ15 available for other use.
Faster Data Transfer
Enhanced ГОЕ includes a scheme to support a significant increase
in the rate of data transfer from the IDE device to the rest of the sys
tem compared to the previous standard. One aspect of this scheme
is support for Mode 3 and 4 timing. If you use both the onboard con
troller and hard disks that support it you can increase the data trans
fer rate up to as much as 17MB per second.
Power Conservation
This mainboard incorporates power conservation technology
which you can set up in the BIOS Setup Utility in the Power Man
agement Setup section. The features include hard disk and video
controls to reduce system power consumption. For more informa
tion, see the section on Power Management Setup in Chapter 3.
1-14
Feature Guide
Onboard VGA & Audio Features
The onboard VGA display and audio features come with exten
sive software drivers and utilities. The other manual in the mainboard
package explains how to install and use the software for these fea
tures. There is information on the hardware setup for these features
in Chapter 4 of this manual.
VGA Hardware & Software
The onboard VGA display is capable of displaying multiple reso
lutions and color depths (numbers of colors) at a variety of refresh
rates. Some combinations of resolution, color depth and refresh rate
require an optional 1MB video DRAM upgrade. There is also a stan
dard VGA pass-through connector on the mainboard.
The display drivers and utilities provided support Microsoft
Windows and Windows NT, as well as OS/2 and several popular
DOS applications.
Audio Hardware & Software
The onboard Vibra 16S audio from Creative Technologies Inc. is
a 16-bit soxmd card integrated onto the mainboard. The external ports
for the card are mounted on a module that installs in an empty ex
pansion slot opening in the system case. Sound connectors for sev
eral CD-ROM drives, a connector for the port module and a connec
tor for a Wave Table option are on the mainboard.
There are several Windows and DOS utilities for the audio fea
ture. The Video/Audio manual that comes with this mainboard ex
plains how to install and use them.
1-15
P/I-AP55T User's Manual
SCSI BIOS Firmware & The Optional SC-200 Controller Card
This mainboard has onboard NCR SCSI firmware recorded in the
BIOS flash ROM chip that supports the NCR 53C810 PCI Fast SCSI2 controller. There is an optional SCSI controller card, the SC-200 that
uses this firmware. The NCR SCSI controller is a full 32-bit PCI DMA
bus master and supports the ASPI and CAM standards.
You can connect a chain of up to seven devices to the SCSI inter
face. The SC-200 SCSI interface card provides both internal and ex
ternal connectors. There are details on this card and how to connect
SCSI devices to it at the end of Chapter 4.
Two floppy disks with support drivers come with the SC-200
card. There is detailed information about the drivers in "ReadMe"
files on the disks. There is more information about these disks in the
section on "SCSI BIOS & Drivers" in Chapter 3.
1-16
This section explains how to install options on your mainboard.
It covers the most likely and technically accessible upgrades you
might want to do, including installing expansion cards, adding sys
tem or video memory, installing ГОЕ devices and upgrading the CPU.
Installing upgrades will either improve the performance of your
computer, or add some additional capabilities to it. You can install
upgrades yourself, or have your dealer or a qualified computer ser
vice technician do it for you.
Installing Expansion Cards
There many ISA and PCI expansion cards you can install in your
system to expand its capabilities. Any card you get will come with
instructions on how to configure and install it. For your reference,
we have included a brief description here of how to install a card in
your system case. This is followed by an explanation of this
mainboard's requirements for installing expansion cards that use an
interrupt request line (IRQ). Please review the IRQ information care
fully if you are installing this type of card. If you're more familiar with
this topic, there is a chart-based synopsis of the required procedures.
Installation Procedure
Expansion cards often require pre-installation configuration and
sometimes post-installation software setup. Check your card docu
mentation for instructions on this. Once you have configured an ex
pansion card you want to install, the installation procedure is fairly
simple. Your system manucd should have instructions for installing
expansion cards specific to the design of your system case. The pro
cedure here covers the basics for your reference.
2-1
P/I-AP55T User’s Manual
Before you start, always make sure the computer is turned off.
You should also make sure to observe standard static electricity dis
charge precautions. You can damage your expansion card, the
mainboard, or both by not being careful about this.
' The basic procedure for installing expansion cards is the same for
both ISA and PCI cards.
The basic procedure is as follows:
1. Open the system case to gain access to the expansion slots.
2. Remove the slot-cover corresponding to the slot you want plan
to use. Put the slot-cover retaining screw aside and store the
slot cover in case you need it later.
3. Remove the card from its protective packaging if you haven't
already.
4. Align the card's slot connectors to the slot. Keep the card at a
90° angle to the slot riser card. Insert the card into the slot by
pressing it in firmly . If there is a lot of resistance, make sure
the slot connectors are lined up correctly. PCI cards require
little pressure to insert.
5. Attach the ceird's movinting bracket to the case using the slot
cover screw you put aside in Step 2.
6. Close the case, turn on the computer and check to see if the
card is working properly as well as do any software set up re
quired.
2-2
upgrade Guide
Assigning System IRQs for Expansion Cards
Cards for both the ISA and PCI buses may need to use IRQs. You
must configure any IRQ assignments so that the system can know
which IRQ is assigned to which card. IRQs must be assigned correctly
or the mainboard will not work properly.
As mentioned in Chapter 1, there are 16 IRQs. Some of them are
already in use by standard parts of the system such as the keyboard
or mouse. IRQs 5,10 and 11 are not used by the mainboard and are
available. IRQ 15 is also available if you disable the Secondary ГОЕ
channel.
IRQs are available to either bus. The two bus designs deal with
IRQs differently however. For PCI cards that use an IRQ, the BIOS
will auto-assign an IRQ from the available IRQs when the slots are
set to "Auto" in the BIOS Setup Utility. See the section on PCI And
PNP Setup in Chapter 3. The BIOS will not auto-assign an IRQ for a
PCI slot if there is no card installed in the slot and or the card does
not use an IRQ.
For ISA cards there are two methods. A "Legacy" ISA card re
quires that an IRQ it will use be configured on the card hardware.
"Plug and Play" ISA cards can use an ISA Configuration UtiUty to
determine and assign an available IRQ.
2-3
P/I-AP55T User's Manual
Installing Expansion Cards That Use An IRQ
Example PCI installation procedure:
1. Choose a slot to usee.g. PCI Slot 1 - fixed INT A#
2. Make sure Slot 1 is setto the "Auto"
setting
3. Configure the card you will install in
PCI Slot 1 to use INT A and install it
Example ISA installation procedure:
1. If it is a Legacy card, select the ISA
IRQ it will use. If PNP card, skip this.
e.g. IRQ 5
2. If it is a Legacy card, set IRQ 5 as used
by ISA in PCI and PNP Setup, or use
ICU. If PNP card, skip this.
3. Choose an ISA slot to use •
e.g. ISA Slot1
4. Install the card in ISA Slot 1. For a PNP
ISA card, use an ICU to record the new
configuration.
2-4
upgrade Guide
Upgrading System Memory
This section explains how to install system memory. There are
instructions on how to configure and install memory and an expla
nation of the technical specifications required.
System DRAM is the main source of data for the CPU. Data re
mains stored in DRAM as long as the system is turned on, and is lost
when you turn it off. The Level 2 cache memory is Static RAM
(SRAM), which is faster than DRAM memory. When the CPU looks
for data, it first searches the cache. If the information is not there, the
search continues in the DRAM. With this design, the CPU looks in
the fastest source of data first, which lets it operate as fast as possible.
The DRAM subsystem uses memory chips permanently mounted
on small circuit boards to form "SIMMs" (Single In-line Memory
Modules). The memory chips have a speed rating that is measured
in nanoseconds (ns). This mainboard requires either Fast Page Mode
(FPM) DRAM or Extended Data Output (EDO) DRAM with a speed
of at least 60 or 70ns depending on the bus clock/CPU external clock
speed setting.
This mainboard can use 72-pin SIMMs in four sizes from 4MB up
to 32MB (megabytes). Depending on the combination of modules you
use, you can install between 8MB and 128MB. The 32-bit modules
used for this board come with memory chips on either one or both
sides of the module.
2-5
P/I-AP55T User's Manual
Configuring System Memory
If you want to add system memory, you must use the configura
tion options and specifications shown in this section.
Memory Combinations
You can configure the system memory in a variety of ways, us
ing different combinations of SIMM modules. Using the 4 SIMM
sockets there are many configuration options.
The following chart shows the supported combinations.
The only restrictions are:
• You must use 2 sockets at a time, in sequence, i.e. SIMM 1
and SIMM 2, or all four sockets at once.
• Each pair of modules must be the same size and speed and
can be either single or double-sided.
• Memory Specifications:
Module Size:
Single-sided SIMMs: 4MB, 16MB
Double-sided SIMMs: 8MB, 32MB
DRAM Type: Fast Page Mode or Extended Data Output
DRAM Speed: 70ns or faster for 75MHz, 90MHz and 120MHz
Pentiiims (50 or 60MHz external clock); 60ns for lOOMHz and
133MHz Pentiums (66MHz external clock).
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RAS access time [Trac]: 60ns - 70ns
CAS access time [Tcac]: 10ns - 25ns
Parity: Either parity or non-parity
upgrade Guide
Memory Module Combinations
BankO
Sockets 1&2
4MB X 2 None
8MBx2
16MB X 2 None
32MB X 2 None
* Note: The configurations above can use Bank 1 and leave Bank 0 empty instead
4MBx2 4MBx2
4MBx2 8MB X 2
4MBx2 16MB X 2
4MBx2 32MB X 2
8MB X 2
8MB X 2 8MB X 2
8MB X 2
8MB X 2 32MB X 2
Banki
Sockets3&4
Mone 16MB*
4MBx2 24MB
16MB x 2 48MB
Total Memory Using Sockets
1 through 4
8MB*
32MB*
64MB*
16MB
24MB
40MB
72MB
32MB
80MB
16MBx2 4MBx2
16MBx2 8MB X 2
16MB X 2
16MB X 2
32MB X 2
32MB X 2
32MB X 2
32MB X 2
IMPORTANT; Do not use SIMM modules with more than 24 chips per
module with this mainboard. Modules with more than 24 chips exceed the
design specifications of the memory subsystem and will cause unreliable
operation. DO NOT use 32 or 36-chip modules with this mainboard.
16MB X 2
32MB X 2
4MBx2
8MB X 2 80MB
16MB X 2
32MB X 2
40MB
48MB
64MB
96MB
72MB
96MB
128MB
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