Copyright 2011. All rights reserved. This document is copyrighted and all rights are
reserved. The information in this document is subject to change without prior notice to make
improvements to the products.
This document contains proprietary information and protect ed by copyright. No part of this
document may be reproduced, copied, or translated in any form or any means without prior
written permission of the manufacturer.
All trademarks and/or registered trademarks contains in this document are propert y of their
respective owners.
Disclaimer
The company shall not be liable for any incidental or consequenti al dam ages res ultin g from
the performance or use of this product.
The company does not issue a warranty of any kind, e xpress or implied, including without
limitation implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.
The company has the right to revise the manual or include changes in th e specifications of
the product described within it at any time without notice and without obligation to notify any
person of such revision or changes.
Trademark
All trademarks are the property of their respective holders.
Any questions please visit our website at TUhttp://www.commell.com.twUT.
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Packing List
Please check package component before you use our products.
Hardware:
FS-A73 PICMG1.3 Full-size CPU Card motherboard x 1
FS-A73 is the Full-size single board computer with last Intel desktop technology with
PICMG1.3 form factor. Based on Intel® QM57 and PCH, the board integrates a new Intel®
Core™ i7, Core™ i5, Core™ i3, Celeron®, and Pentium® Mobile Processor 988A-pin
Socket, DDR3 memory slot, Intel® HD Graphic technology, Serial ATA II with RAID function
for a Mobile system.
Intel Arrandale and Clarkfield Processor
The board supports Intel Core i7 Core i5 and Core 3 Processors with, 8MB Intel® Smart
Cache, to provide more powerful performance than before
New features for Intel QM57 chipset
The board integrates Intel QM57 chipset, to provide new generation of the mobile Solution,
supports integrated HD Graphics, DDR3 800/1066 MHz memory, built-in high Speed mass
storage interface of serial ATA, High Definition Audio with 2 channels Sound
All in One multimedia solution
Based on Intel QM57 chipset, the board provides high performance onboard graphics,
24-bitdual channel LVDS interface, DVI and 2 channels High Definition Audio, to meet the
very requirement of the multimedia application
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1.2 <Product Specification>
General Specification
Form Factor PICMG1.3 Full-size CPU Card motherboard
CPU Intel® Core™ i7, Core™ i5, Core™ i3, Celeron®, and
Pentium® Mobile Processor
Memory 2 x 240-pin DDR3 800/1066MHz SDRAM up to 4GB
Unbufferred, none-ECC memory supported only
Chipset Intel® QM57
BIOS Phoenix-Award v6.00PG 32Mb SPI flash BIOS
Green Function Supports ACPI 2.0 compliant.
Watchdog Timer System reset programmable watchdog timer with 1 ~ 255 sec./min.
of timeout value
Real Time Clock Intel® PCH built-in RTC with lithium battery
Serial ATAII Intel® PCH integrates 6 Serial ATA II interface
Chipset Intel® PCH with Winbond® W83627DHG Controller
Serial Port Five RS-232 and one RS232/422/485 serial ports
USB Port Eight Hi-Speed USB 2.0 ports with 480Mbps of transfer rate
IrDA Port One IrDA compliant Infrared interface supports SIR
K/B & Mouse External PS/2 keyboard and mouse ports on rear I/O panel
GPIO One 12-pin Digital I/O connector with 8-bit programmable I/O
Interface
Smart Fan One CPU fan connectors for fan speed controllable
VGA Display Interface
Chipset Intel® QM57 HD Graphic Technology
Frame Buffer Up to 1024MB shared with system memory
Display Type CRT, LCD monitor with analog display
Connector External DB15 female connector on rear I/O panel
Ethernet Interface
Controller Two Intel 82574L Gigabit Ethernet controller
Type Triple speed 10/100/1000Base-T
Auto-switching Fast Ethernet
Full duplex, IEEE802.3U compliant
Connector Two External RJ45 connectors with LED on rear I/O panel
Audio Interface
Chipset Intel® PCH with Realtek ALC888HD Audio
Intel High Definition Audio compliance
Interface 2 channels sound output
Connector Internal 10-pin header for line-out, MIC-in, 4-pin header for CD-IN
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Expansive Interface
PCI-Express One X16 and one X4 or four X1 on PICMG 1.3 Interface
PCI Four PCI bus master on PICMG 1.3 Interface
PCI-E mini card One fall size PCI-E mini card
Power and Environment
Power
+5V, +12 DC input & 5V
Requirement
SB
Requirement
Dimension 338 (L) x 126 (H) mm
Temperature Operating within 0 ~ 60P
HD Audio, SATA, SMBUS,6 COM,
FS-A73TXDG/G2 Same as FS-A73X with 1x DVI Interface
FS-A73T2XG/G2 Same as FS-A73X with secondary CRT
The specifications may be different as the actual production.
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1.3 <Block Diagram>
Intel® Core™ i7, Core™ i5,
1 x PCIE
x16
Core™ i3, Celeron®, and
Pentium®
Mobile Processor
2 x 204-pin
DDR3 SO-DIMM
800/1066 MHz
Up to 8GB
1 x CRT
1 x LVDS
1 x DVI
(FS-A73TXD)
1 x CRT2
(FS-A73T2X)
6 x Serial ATA
ALC888 HD Audio
2 x Serial ports
8-bit GPIO
Intel QM57
QM57
PCH
BIOS
1 x PCIE mini card
8 x USB 2.0
2 x Intel 82574L
PCI bus
10
IrDA
COM3~6
LPT
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1.4 <Mechanical Drawing >
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Chapter 2 <Hardware Setup>
2.1 <Connector Location>
CPUFAN
DC_IN
CN_INV
JFRNT
CN_DVI
SYSFAN
S_ATA1~6
CN_LVDS
CN_PS
JVLCD
CN_SMBUS
CN_USB1~4
MINI_CARD
JCSEL1
CN_COM1/2/3/4/5/6
CN_IR
CN_LPT
CN_ATKB
CN_DIO
CN_AUDIO
CD_IN
JAT
JRTC
JP1/2
FS-A73TXG / TXDG / T2XG:
PS/2 COM LAN CRT
FS-A73TXG2 / TXDG2 / T2XG2:
PS/2 COM LAN CRT
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2.2 <Jumper Reference>
Jumper Function
JRTC CMOS Operating/Clear Setting
JVLCD Panel Voltage Setting
JAT Power mode select
JP1 Com1 Voltage Setting
JP2 Com2 Voltage Setting
Jumper: JAT
Type: onboard 3-pin header
Power Mode JAT
AT Mode 1-2
ATX Mode
Default setting: ATX Mode
JRTC
1 3 1 3
2-3
1
3
JAT
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2.3 <Connector Reference>
2.3.1 <Internal Connectors>
Connector Function Remark
CPU Socket rPGA988A for PGA988 CPU
SO-DIMM1/2 204 -pin DDR3 SO-DIMM socket
SATA1/2/3/4/5/6 7-pin Serial A T A connector
IDE 40-pin primary IDE connector
CN_AUDIO 5 x 2-pin audio connector
CD_IN 4-pin CD-ROM audio input connector
CN_DIO 6 x 2-pin digital I/O connector
CN_USB 1/2/3/4 5 x 2-pin USB connector
CPUFAN 4-pin CPU cooler fan connector
SYSFAN 3-pin system cooler fan connector
CN_LVDS 20 x 2-pin LVDS connector
CN_DVI 13 x 2-pin DVI connect
CN_INV 5-pin LCD inverter connector
CN_IR 5-pin IrDA connector
JFRNT 14-pin front panel switch/indicator connector
MINI_CARD 52-pin Mini-PCIE socket
CN_COM1/2/3/4/5/69-pin RS232
JAT 3-pin Power mode select
JPT1/2 3-pin Com Voltage Setting
CN_LPT 13 x 2-pin printer connector
2.3.2 <External Connectors>
Connector Function Remark
RJ45_1/2 Two RJ45 LAN connector
CRT DB15 VGA connector
PS2 PS/2 keyboard and mouse connector
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2.4 <CPU and Memory Setup>
2.4.1 <CPU Setup>
The board comes with the socket rPGA988A for Intel Arrandale and Clarkfield
Processor, Intel® Smart 8MB Cache. Please follow the instruction to install the CPU
properly.
Unlock wa
1. Use the flat-type screw
drive to unlock the CPU
socket
2. Follow the pin direction to install
the processor on the socket
Check point
3. Lock the socket
4. CPU socket has 988 pins
PGA 988 CPU Check point
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2.4.2 <Memory Setup>
The board provides 2 x 204-pin DDR3 SO-DIMM to support 800/10 66MHz DDR3 memory
module up to 8GB.
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SO-DIMM2
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2.5 <CMOS Setup>
The board’s data of CMOS can be setting in BIOS. If the board refuses to boot due to
inappropriate CMOS settings, here is how to proceed to clear (reset) the CMOS to the
default values.
Jumper: JRTC
Type: Onboard 3-pin jumper
JRTC Mode
1-2 Clear CMOS
2-3 Normal Operation
Default setting: 2-3
JRTC
1 3
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2.6 <Serial ATA Interface>
FS-A73 has Six Serial ATA II interfaces with RAID function, the transfer rate of the Serial
ATA II can be up to 300MB/s. Please go to http://www.serialata.org/
ATA technology information. Based on Int el® ICH10DO, it supports Intel® Matrix Storage
Technology with combination of RAID 0, 1, 5 and 10. The main features of RAID on PCH
are listed below:
1. Supports for up to RAID volumes on a single, two-hard drive RAID array.
2. Supports for two, two-hard drive RAID arrays on any of six Serial ATA ports.
3. Supports for Serial ATA ATAPI devices.
4. Supports for RAID spares and automatic rebuild.
5. Supports on RAID arrays, including NCQ and native hot plug.
For more information please visit Intel’s official website.
For more about the system setup for Serial ATA, please check the chapter of SATA
configuration.
S_ATA1~6
for more about Serial
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2.7 <Ethernet Interface>
The board integrates with two Intel 82574L Gigabit Ethernet controllers, as the PCI Express
bus. The Intel 82574L supports triple speed of 10/100/1000Base-T, with IEEE802.3
compliance and Wake-On-LAN supported
LAN_2 LAN_1
LAN_1
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2.8 <Onboard Display Interface>
Based on Intel Arrandale CPU with built-in HD Graphic, the board provides one DB15
connector on real external I/O port, one 40-pin LVDS interface with 5-pin LCD backlight
inverter connector optional or Secondary CRT connector (FS-A73T2XG/G2) and provides
optional 26-pin DVI interface. (FS-A73TXDG/G2).
The board provides dual display function with clone mode and extended desktop mode for
CRT, LCD and DVI.
2.8.1 <Analog Display>
Please connect your CRT or LCD monitor with DB15 male connector to the onboard DB15
female connector on rear I/O port or optional Secondary CRT connector Dip 10 Pin
2 CRT2 DDC_DA1 CRT2 DDC_DC
4 CRT2 R 3 GND
6 CRT2 G 5 CRT2 B
8 CRT2 HSYNC7 CRT2 VSYNC
10 GND 9 GND
10
2
1
9
2
10
CN_CRT2
1
9
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2.8.2 <Digital Display>
The board provides one 40-pin LVDS connector for 24-bit single/dual channel panels,
supports up to 1920 x 1200 (UXGA) resolutions, with one LCD backlight inverter connector
and one jumper for panel voltage setting.
5
CN_INV
1
22
1
5
CN_LVDS
40
39
Effective patterns of connection: 1-2 / 3-4 / 5-6
Warning: others cause damages
2
1
2
6
1
4
3
JVLCD
2
6
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Connector: CN_INV Connector: JVLCD
Type: 5-pin LVDS Power Header Type: 6-pin Power select Header
For the cables, please follow the pin assignm ent of the connector to make a cable, because
every panel has its own pin assignment, so we do not provide a standard cable; please find a
local cable manufacture to make cables.
LCD Installation Guide:
1. Preparing the FS-A73, LCD panel and the backlight inverter.
2. Please check the datasheet of the panel to see the voltage of the panel, and set
the jumper JVLCD to +12V or +5V or +3.3V.
3. You would need a LVDS type cable.
Panel side
For sample illustrator only
4. To connect all of the devices well.
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After setup the devices well, you need to select the LCD panel type in the BIOS.
The panel type mapping is list below:
BIOS panel type selection form (BIOS Version:1.0)
18-bit Single channel 24-bit Dual channel
NO. Output format NO.Output format
1 640 x 480 111280 x 768
2 800 x 480 121280 x 1024
3 800 x 600 131600 x 1200
4 1024 x 768 141920 x 1080
5 1280 x 800 151920 x 1200
18-bit Dual channel
6 1280 x 768
24-bit Single channel
7 1024 x 768
8 1280 x 768
9 1280 x 800
10 1366 x 768
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2.8.3 <DVI Interface>
The board provides an option 26-pin DVI interface (FS-A73TXDG2/FS-A73TXDG)
The board integrates onboard audio interface with REALTEK ALC888 codec, with Intel next
generation of audio standard as High Definition Audio, it offers more sound and other
advantages than former HD Audio compliance.
The main specifications of ALC888 are:
z High-performance DACs with 100dB S/N ratio
z 2 DAC channels support 16/20/24-bit PCM format for 2 audio solution
z 16/20/24-bit S/PDIF-OUT supports 44.1K/48K/96kHz sample rate
z Compatible with AC'97
z Meets Microsoft WHQL/WLP 2.0 audio requirements
The board provides 2 channels audio phone jacks on rear I/O port, and Line-in/MIC-in ports
for front I/O panel through optional cable.
Connector: CN_SMBUS
Type: 5-pin header for SMBUS Ports
Pin Description
1 VCC
2 N/C
3 SMBDATA
4 SMBCLK
5 Ground
CN_DIO
2
12
11
1
1
CN_SMBUS
5
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2.11 <Switch and Indicator>
The JFRNT provides front control panel of the board, such as power button, reset and
beeper, etc. Please check well before you connecting the cables on the chassis.
Connector: JFRNT
Type: onboard 14-pin (2 x 7) 2.54-pitch header
Function Signal PIN Signal Function
IDE LED
Reset
Power
Button
HDLED+ 1 2 PWRLED+
HDLED- 3 4 N/C
Reset+ 5 6 PWRLED-
Reset- 7 8 SPK+
N/C 9 10 N/C
PWRBT+ 1112N/C
PWRBT- 1314SPK-
2
1
JFRNT
14
13
Power
LED
Speaker
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2.12 <USB Installation>
FS-A73 integrates eight USB2.0 ports. The specifications of USB2.0 are listed below:
Interface USB2.0
Controller Intel QM57 PCH
Transfer Rate Up to 480Mb/s
Voltage 5V
The Intel® QM57 PCH contains two Enhanced Host Controller Interface (EHCI) and fiv e
Universal Host Controller Interfaces (UHCI), it can determine whether your connected
device is for USB1.1 or USB2.0, and change the transfer rate automatically.
The FS-A73 provides a standard ATX power supply with 4-pin ATX connector and the
board provides one 4-pin fan connector supporting smart fan for CPU cooler and one 3- pin
cooler fan connectors for system and Northbridge chip. please connect this well before yo u
finishing the system setup.
DC_IN
CPUFAN
4
4
1
3
SYSFAN
CN_PS
1 3
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Connector: DC_IN
Type: 4-pin P-type connector for +5V/+12V input
1 Ground 2 +12V
3 Fan Speed Detection4 Fan Control
Connector: SYSFAN
Type: 3-pin fan wafer connector
Pin Description Pin Description Pin Description
1 Ground 2 +12V 3 Sense
Connector: CN_PS
Type: 3-pin connector
Pin Description Pin Description Pin Description
1 5VSTBY 2 Ground 3 PSON
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2.14 <Serial Port>
The board supports Five RS232 serial port and one jumper select able RS232/422/485
serial ports. The jumper JCSEL1 & JCSEL2 can let you configure the communicating
modes for COM2.
Connector: CN_COM2
Type: 9-pin D-sub male connector on bracket for COM2
The JFRNT provides front control panel of the board, such as power button, reset and
beeper, etc. Please check well before you connecting the cables on the chassis.
Connector: JFRNT
Type: onboard 14-pin (2 x 7) 2.54-pitch header
Function Signal PIN Signal Function
IDE LED
Reset
Power
Button
HDLED+ 1 2 PWDLED+
Power
HDLED- 3 4 N/C
LED
Reset+ 5 6 PWDLED-
Reset- 7 8 SPKIN+
N/C 9 10 N/C
Speaker
PWRBT+ 1112N/C
PWRBT- 1314SPKIN-
2 14
JFRNT
1 13
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Chapter 3 <System Setup>
3.1 <Audio Configuration>
The board integrates Intel® QM57 with REALTEK® ALC888 codec. It can support
2-channel sound under system configuration. Please follow the steps below to setup your
sound system.
1. Install REALTEK HD Audio driver.
2. Lunch the control panel and Sound Effect Manager.
3. Select Speaker Configuration
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3.2 <Display Properties Setting>
Based on Intel HD Graphic, the board supports two DACs for display device as d ifferent
resolution and color bit.
Please install the Intel Graphic Driver before you starting setup display devices.
1. Click right button on the desktop to lunch display properties
2. Click Advanced button for more specificity setup.
Click Graphics Properties... for
advanced setup
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3. This setup options can let you define each device settings.
Click Monitor to setup the CRT
monitor for Resolution and
Refresh Rate
Click Intel® Dual Display
Clone to setup the dual
display mode as same screen
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Chapter 4 <BIOS Setup>
The motherboard uses the Phoenix BIOS for the system configuration. T he Phoenix BIOS
in the single board computer is a customized version of the industrial standard BIOS for IBM
PC AT-compatible computers. It supports Intel x86 and compatible CPU architecture base d
processors and computers. The BIOS provides critical low-level support for the system
central processing, memory and I/O sub-systems.
The BIOS setup program of the single board computer let the customers modify the basic
configuration setting. The settings are stored in a dedicated battery-backed memory,
NVRAM, retains the information when the power is turned off. If the battery runs out of the
power, then the settings of BIOS will come back to the default setting.
The BIOS section of the manual is subject to change without notice and is provid ed here for
reference purpose only. The settings and configurations of the BIOS are c urrent at the ti me
of print, and therefore they may not be exactly the same as that displayed on your screen.
To activate CMOS Setup program, press <DEL> key immediately after you turn on the
system. The following message “Press DEL to enter SETUP” should appear in the lower left
hand corner of your screen. When you enter the CMOS Setup Utility, the Main Menu will be
displayed as Figure 4-1. You can use arrow keys to select your function, press <Enter>
key to accept the selection and enter the sub-menu.
The GPIO can be programmed with the MSDOS debug program using simple
IN/OUT commands. The following lines show an example how to do this.
GPIO0…..GPIO7 bit0……bit7
-o 2E 87 ; enter configuration
-o 2E 87
-o 2E 07
-o 2F 09 ; enable GPIO function
-o 2E 30
-o 2F 02 ; enable GPIO configuration
-o 2E F0
-o 2F xx ; set GPIO as input/output; set ‘1’ for input,’0’for output
-o 2E F1
-o 2F xx ; if set GPIO’s as output, in this register its value can be set
Optional :
-o 2E F2
-o 2F xx ; Data inversion register ; ‘1’ inverts the current valus of the bits ,’0’
leaves them as they are
-o 2E 30
-o 2F 01 ; active GPIO’s
For further information, please refer to Winbond W83627DHG datasheet.
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Appendix E <Watch Dog timer Setting >
The watchdog timer makes the system auto-reset while it stops to work for a period. The
integrated watchdog timer can be setup as system reset mode by program.
Timeout Value Range
- 1 to 255
- Second or Minute
Program Sample
Watchdog timer setup as system reset with 5 second of timeout
2E, 87
2E, 87
2E, 07
2F, 08 Logical Device 8
2E, 30 Activate
2F, 01
2E, F5 Set as Second*
2F, 00
2E, F6 Set as 5
2F, 05
* Minute: bit 3 = 0; Second: bit 3 = 1
You can select Timer setting in the BIOS, after setting the time options, the system will
reset according to the period of your selection.
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Contact Information
Any advice or comment about our products and service, or anything
we can help you please don’t hesitate to contact with us. We will do
our best to support you for your products, projects and business.
Taiwan Commate Computer Inc.
19F . , No.94, Sec. 1, Xintai 5th Rd., Xizhi Dist., New Taipei City