EPOX EP-6CXA2C User Manual

TRADEMARK

All products and company names are trademarks or registered
trademarks of their respective holders.

These specifications are subject to change without notice.

Manual Revision 1.0

October 26, 1999

EP-6CXA2CEP-6CXA2C

EP-6CXA2CEP-6CXA2C

EP-6CXA2C

A PA P

A PA P

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II or P II or P

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III III

III III

III

Slot1 Processor based AGP (4X)Slot1 Processor based AGP (4X)

Slot1 Processor based AGP (4X)Slot1 Processor based AGP (4X)

Slot1 Processor based AGP (4X)
mainboarmainboar

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d (100/133MHz)d (100/133MHz)

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EP-6CXA2C

User Notice

No part of this product, including the product and software may be reproduced,
transmitted, transcribed, stored in a retrieval system, or translated into any
language in any form without the express written permission of EPoX Computer
Company (hereinafter referred to as EPoX) except for documentation kept by the
purchaser for backup purposes.

We provide this manual “as is” without warranty of any kind, either expressed or
implied, including but not limited to the implied warranties or conditions of
merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. In no event shall EPoX be
liable for any loss of profits, loss of business, loss of use or data, interruption of
business or for indirect, special incidental, or consequential damages of any kind,
even if EPoX has been advised of the possibility of such damages arising from any
defect or error in the manual or product. EPoX may revise this manual from time
to time without notice. For updated BIOS, drivers, or product release information
you may visit our websites at http://www.epox.com or http://www.epox.com.tw.

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. The product name and revision

number are both printed on the mainboard itself.

Handling Procedures

Static electricity can severely damage your equipment. Handle the EP-6CXA2C
and any other device in your system with extreme care and avoid unnecessary
contact with system components on the mainboard. Always work on an antistatic
surface to avoid possible damage to the mainboard from static discharge. Always
have the power supply unplugged and powered off when inserting and removing
devices within the computer chassis. EPoX assumes no responsibility for any
damage to the EP-6CXA2C mainboard that results from failure to follow instruc­tion or failure to observe safety precautions.

CAUTION

The EP-6CXA2C mainboard is subject to

damage by static electricity. Always

observe the handling procedures.

EP-6CXA2C

T echnical Support Services

If you need additional information, help during installation or normal use of this
product, please contact your retailer. Your retailer will have the most current
information about your configuration. If your retailer cannot help, you may visit
our online technical support website and/or contact our support technicians at the
locations listed below.

Record your serial number before installing your EP-6CXA2C mainboard. (The
serial number is located near the PCI slots at the edge of the board.)

EP-6CXA2C serial number: _________________________________

Contacting Technical Support

EPoX technical support is working hard to answer all of your questions online.
From our website you can find answers to many common questions, drivers, BIOS
updates, tech notes, and important technical bulletins. If you are still unable to
locate the solution you are seeking, you always have the option to contact our
support technicians directly.

North American website (English language)

http://www.epox.com
[e-mail]
[e-mail]

European website (Multi-language)

http://www.epox.nl
[e-mail]
[e-mail]

Taiwan website (Chinese language)

http://www.epox.com.tw
[e-mail]
[e-mail]

Thank you for using EPoX mainboards!

Copyright 1999 EPoX Computer Company. All rights reserved.

EP-6CXA2C

Table of Contents

Section 1 Introduction

Components Checklist ................................... 1-1

Overview

Terminology.................................................... 1-2

System Overview ............................................ 1-2

Chipset Components ......................................1-2

Pentium® II or Pentium® III Processor.......... 1-2

S.E.C. Cartridge Terminology ........................ 1-3

Direct Rambus ................................................1-2

Bandiwdth Overview ....................................... 1-2

Accelerated Graphics Port............................. 1- 4

Utlra ATA/66 ................................................... 1-2

Hardware Monitoring .....................................1 -4

EP-6CXA2C Form-Factor ............................. 1- 5

I/O Shield Connector ..................................... 1- 6

Power-On/Off (Remote)................................ 1 -6

System Block Diagram................................... 1-7

Section 2 Features

EP-6CXA2C Features ....................................2 -1

Section 3 Installation

EP-6CXA2C Detailed Layout........................3-2

Easy Installation Procedure

Configure Jumpers .........................................3 -3

System RIMM Memory Module Configuration

.........................................................................3-5

Installing a Pentium® II/III Processor............3-8

Device Connectors ......................................... 3-10

External Modem Ring-in Power ON and

Keyboard Power ON Function (KBPO) ........ 3-12

STR Function .................................................. 1-7

Section 4 Award BIOS Setup

Main Menu......................................................4-1

Standard CMOS Setup ....................................4-3

Page

EP-6CXA2C

Advanced BIOS Features................................ 4-7

Advanced Chipset Features ............................4-10

Integrated Peripherals .................................... 4-13

Power Management Setup..............................4-17

PNP/PCI Configuration Setup ....................... 4-20

PC Health Status.............................................4-21

Frequency/Voltage Control............................ 4-23

Defaults Menu ................................................ 4-24

Supervisor/User Password Setting ................ 4-25

Exit Selecting .................................................4-26

Section 5 Driver Installation

820 and Sound Driver Installation .................5 -1

Section 6 PCI Audio Sound

CMI8738 Features ......................................... 6-1

Section 7 Appendix

Appendix A

Memory Map .................................................. A-1

I/O Map ........................................................... A-1

Timer & DMA Channels Map ........................A-2

Interrupt Map .................................................. A-2

R TC & CMOS RAM Map............................... A-3

Appendix B

POST Codes.................................................... A-5

Appendix C

Load Setup Defaults ....................................... A-13

Appendix D

GHOST 5.1 Quick User’s Guide.................... A-15

EP-6CXA2C

Page Left Blank

IntroductionEP-6CXA2C

Page 1-1

Section 1

INTRODUCTION

Components Checklist

üü

üü

ü A. (1) EP-6CXA2C mainboard

üü

üü

ü B. (1) EP-6CXA2C user’s manual

üü

üü

ü C. (1) Floppy ribbon cable

üü

üü

ü D. (1) Hard drive ribbon cables

üü

üü

ü E. (1) Foldable Retention Module

F. (1 ) Continuity Modules (optional)
G. (1) PS/2 to AT keyboard connector adapter (optional)

üü

üü

ü H. (1) Bus master drivers

(1) USDM

USER’S

MANUAL

EP-6CXA2C

BA

G

C

D

E

H

or

F

Introduction EP-6CXA2C

Page 1-2

Overview

Terminology

ww

ww

w Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP)

The AGP interface that is in the MCH, it supports a subset of 3.3V, 66MHz
components, 3.3V 66/133 MHz AGP 2.0 compliant components, and the new 1.
5V 66/266 MHz components.

ww

ww

w CMD, SCK, SIO

CMOS side-band signals that make up the side-band bus used to communicate
with the RDRAM devices without using the normal channel interface. CMD is
the signal used for framing operations on SIO. SCK is the clock of the side-band
bus, and SIO is the bidirectional data signal of the side-band bus.

ww

ww

w Continuity Module/C-RIMM

A RIMM module that does not have any memory devices on the module. This
module serves as a pass through to propagate the Rambus channel to the next
RIMM 184-pin socket.

ww

ww

w Core

The internal base logic in the MCH.

ww

ww

w Device

A single Direct RDRAM Device.

ww

ww

w DRCG

Direct Rambus Clock Generator. The DRCG provides the 300/356/400MHz
channel clock for the mainboard Rambus Channel.

ww

ww

w LPC I/O

The Low Pin Count interface super I/O component.

ww

ww

w Host Bus

This term bus is used synonymously with CPU.

IntroductionEP-6CXA2C

Page 1-3

ww

ww

w Rambus channel

Common name referring to the high speed interface between the system
memory controller MCH(820) and RDRAM devices.

ww

ww

w RDRAM

Rambus Dynamic Random - Access Memory.

ww

ww

w RIMM

Rambus Interface Memory Module.

ww

ww

w RSL

Rambus Signal Level is the name of the signaling technology used by Rambus.

ww

ww

w SC242

The connector that is the S.E.C. Cartridge 2 plugs into, just as the Pentium Pro
processor used socket 8.

ww

ww

w STR (Suspend-To-RAM)

A lower power state than active. In the STR state, the system state is stored in
main memory and all unnecessary system logic is turned off. Only main
memory and logic required to wake the system remain powered.

Introduction EP-6CXA2C

Page 1-4

System Overview

The EP-6CXA2C is designed with Intel® 820 chipset. The Intel® 820 chipset
includes MCH(FW82820), ICH(FW82801) and FWH (N82802AB) three chips.
The Intel® 820 chipset is the third generation desktop chipset designed for Intel’s
SC242 architecture and the first chipset to support the 4X capability of the AGP

2.0 Interface Specification and 400MHz Direct RDRAM. The 400MHz, 16bit,
double clocked Direct RDRAM interface provides 1.6GB/s access to main
memory. A new chipset component interconnect, the hub interface, is designed
into the Intel® 820 chipset to provide more efficient communication between
chipset components.

Support of AGP 4X, 400MHz Direct RDRAM and the hub interface provides a
balanced system architecture for the Pentium® III or later SC242 architecture
processor minimizing bottlenecks and increasing system performance. By
increasing memory bandwidth to 1.6GB/s through the use of AGP 4X, the Intel

®

820 chipset will deliver the data throughput necessary to take advantage of the
high performance provided by the powerful Pentium® III or later SC242 architec­ture processor.

The Intel® 820 chipset architecture removes the requirement for the ISA expan­sion bus that was traditionally integrated into the I/O subsystem of Intel chipsets.
This removes many of the conflicts experienced when installing hardware and
drivers into legacy ISA systems. The elimination of ISA will provide true plug-and
play for the Intel® 820 platform.

Intel® 820 chipset contains three core components: the Memory Controller Hub
(MCH), the I/O Controller Hub (ICH) and the Firmware Hub (FWH). The MCH
integrates the 133MHz, Pentium® II/III processor bus controller, AGP 2.0
controller, 400MHz direct RDRAM controller and a high-speed hub interface for
communication with the ICH. The ICH integrates an UltraATA/66 controller, USB
host controller, LPC interface controller, FWH interface controller, PCI inter­face controller, and a hub interface for communication with the MCH. The Intel

®

820 chipset will provide the data buffering and interface arbitration required to
ensure that system interfaces operate efficiently and provide the system bandwidth
necessary to obtain peak performance the Pentium® III or later SC242
architecture.

IntroductionEP-6CXA2C

Page 1-5

Chipset Components

The Intel® 820 chipset consists of the Memory Controller Hub (MCH), the I/O
Controller Hub (ICH) and the Firmware Hub (FWH).

ww

ww

w Memory Controller Hub (MCH)

The MCH provides the interconnect between the Direct RDRAM and the
system logic. It integrates:

- Support for single SC242 processor with 100MHz or 133MHz System Bus.

- 300MHz, 356MHz or 400MHz Direct RDRAM interface supporting 1GB of
Direct RDRAM.

- 4X, 1.5V AGP interface (3.3V 1X, 2X and 1.5V 1X, 2X devices also
supported).

- Downstream hub link for access to the ICH.

ww

ww

w I/O Controller Hub (ICH)

The I/O controller Hub provides the I/O subsystem with access to the rest of
the system. Additionally, it integrates may I/O functions. The ICH integrates:

- Upstream hub link for access to the MCH

- 2 Channel Ultra ATA/66 Bus Master IDE controller

- USB controller

- SMBus controller

- FWH interface

- LPC interface

- PCI 2.2 interface

- Integrated System Management Controller

ww

ww

w Firmware Hub (FWH)

The FWH component is a key element to enabling a new security and manage­ability infrastructure for the PC platform. The device operates under the FWH
interface and protocol. The hardware features of this device include a unique a
Random Number Generator (RNG), register-based locking, and hardware­based locking.

Introduction EP-6CXA2C

Page 1-6

Pentium® II or Pentium® III Processor

The Pentium® II or Pentium® III Processor (The Pentium® III Processor as 350~600/
100MHz and 533~667/133MHz speed or above with 512K/256K-L2 cache
Versions.) is the follow-on to the Pentium® Processor. The Pentium® II or Pentium

®

III Processor, like the Pentium® Pro processor, implements a Dynamic Execution
micro-architecture -- a unique combination of multiple branch prediction, data flow
analysis, and speculative execution. This enables the Pentium® II/III Processor to
deliver higher performance than the Pentium® processor, while maintaining binary
compatibility with all previous Intel architecture processors.

A significant feature of the Pentium® II or Pentium® III Processor, from a system
perspective, is the built-in direct multiprocessing support. In order to achieve mul­tiprocessing, and maintain the memory and I/O bandwidth to support it, new system
designs are needed. For systems with dual processors, it is important to consider
the additional power burdens and signal integrity issues of supporting multiple loads
on a high speed bus. The Pentium® II or Pentium® III Processor card supports both
uni-processor and dual processor implementations.

The Pentium® II or Pentium® III Processor utilizes Single Edge Contact (S.E.C.)
(Figure 1) cartridge packaging technology. The S.E.C. cartridge allows the L2
cache to remain tightly coupled to the processor, while maintaining flexibility
when implementing high performance processors into OEM systems. The second
level cache is performance optimized and tested at the cartridge level. The S.E.C.
cartridge utilizes surface mounted core components and a printed circuit board
with an edge finger connection. The S.E.C. cartridge package introduced on the
Pentium® II Processor will also be used in future Slot 1 processors.

The S.E.C. cartridge has the following features: a thermal plate, a cover and a PCB
with an edge finger connection. The thermal plate allows standardized heatsink
attachment or customized thermal solutions. The thermal plate enables a reusable
heatsink to minimize fit issues for serviceability, upgradeability and replacement.
The full enclosure also protects the surface mount components. The edge finger
connection maintains socketabilty for system configuration. The edge finger
connector is denoted as ‘Slot 1 connector’ in this and other documentation.

The entire enclosed product is called the Pentium® II or Pentium® III Processor.
The packaging technology and each of the physical elements of the product are
referred to using accurate technical descriptions. This allows clear reference to

IntroductionEP-6CXA2C

Page 1-7

the products as just a processor. This is the model used in past packaging tech­nologies like PGA, TCP, PQFP, DIP, etc.

S.E.C. Cartridge Terminology

• Pentium® II or Pentium® III Processor

The new enclosed card packaging technology is called a “Single Edge
Contact cartridge.” This is similar to previous names for packaging
technology such as PGA or TCP.

• Processor card

The green PCB (with or without components on it)

• Processor core

The silicon on the PLGA package on the PCB

• Cover

The plastic cover on the opposite side from the thermal plate.

• Slot 1

The slot that the S.E.C. cartridge plugs into, just as the Pentium® Pro
processor uses Socket 8.

• Retention mechanism

Formerly ‘retention module’ the dual posts, etc. that holds the cartridge in
place.

• Thermal plate

The heatsink attachment plate.

• Heat sink supports

The support pieces that
are mounted on the
mainboard to provide
added support for
heatsinks.

Figure 1: Pentium® II/III Processor CPU
with S.E.C.C. or S.E.C.C.2 Package

Pentium® II Processor
in an S.E.C.C. Package

Pentium® III Processor
in an S.E.C.C.2 Package

Introduction EP-6CXA2C

Page 1-8

The L2 cache (TagRAM, PBSRAM) components keep standard industry names.
The Pentium® II or Pentium® III Processor is the first product to utilize the S.E.C.

cartridge technology and Slot 1 connector. Unless otherwise noted, any refer­ences to “Pentium® II Processor,” “Pentium® II or Pentium® III Processor/Slot 1
processor” or “Pentium III Processor” will apply to both the Pentium® II Proces­sor desktop processors.

Direct Rambus

The Direct Rambus (RDRAM) initiative will provide the memory bandwidth
necessary to obtain optional performance from the Pentium III or later SC242
processor as well as a high-performance AGP graphics controller. The MCH
RDRAM interface supports 300MHz, 356MHz and 400MHz operation; the latter
delivers 1.6GB/s of theoretical memory bandwidth; twice the memory bandwidth
of 100MHz SDRAM system. Coupled with the greater bandwidth, the RDRAM
protocol, which is heavily pipelined, provides substantially more efficient data
transfer. The RDRAM memory interface can achieve greater than 95% utilization
of the 1.6GB/s theoretical maximum bandwidth. The Figure 2 is the example
picture for RIMM Module to plug in the RIMM socket.

Figure 2: RIMM Module

IntroductionEP-6CXA2C

Page 1-9

Accelerated Graphics Port
(AGP or A.G.P.)

Typically, 3D graphics rendering requires a tremendous amount of memory, and
demands ever increasing throughput speed as well. As 3D products for the
personal computer become more and more popular, these demands will only
increase. This will cause a rise in costs for both end users and manufacturers.
Lowering these costs as well as improving performance is the primary motivation
behind AGP. By providing a massive increase in the bandwidth available between
the video card and the processor, it will assist in relieving some of these pressures
for quite sometime.

The EP-6CXA2C provides the AGP 2.0 interface. The AGP Interface Specifica­tion revision 2.0 enhances the functionality of the original AGP Interface Specifi­cation (revision 1.0) by allowing 4X data transfers (4 data samples per clock) and

1.5 volt (power supply) operation. The AGP 2.0 interface, along with Direct
Rambus memory technology, allows graphics controllers to access main memory
at over 1GB/s. In order to match the 1X, 2X and 4X AGP Card. The EP-6CXA2C
used the Universal AGP connector. To maximize add-in flexibility. (such as 1.5
volt for 1X, 2X and 4X or 3.3 volt for 1X and 2X AGP Card).

Bandwidth Overview

Table 1 provides a summary of the bandwidth requirements for the Intel® 820 chipset.

Table 1: Intel® 820 platform Bandwidth Summary

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3.3313.334331

Introduction EP-6CXA2C

Page 1-10

Ultra ATA/66

The ICH provides two channel Ultra ATA/66 Bus Master IDE controller, that
support Ultra ATA/66 protocols, perfect for such demanding applications as real­time video, multimedia, and high performance operating system. A new IDE cable
is required for Ultra ATA/66. This cable is an 80 conductor cable; however the
connectors are, of course, backwards compatible with ATA/33.

Hardware Monitoring

Hardware monitoring allows you to monitor various aspects of your systems
operations and status. The features include CPU temperature, voltage and RPM of
fan.

IntroductionEP-6CXA2C

Page 1-11

EP-6CXA2C Form-Factor

The EP-6CXA2C is designed with ATX form factor - the latest industry
standard of chassis. The ATX form factor is essentially a Baby-AT baseboard
rotated 90 degrees within the chassis enclosure and a new mounting configura­tion for the power supply. With these changes the processor is relocated away
from the expansion slots, allowing them all to hold full length add-in cards.
ATX defines a double height aperture to the rear of the chassis which can be
used to host a wide range of onboard I/O. Only the size and position of this
aperture is defined, allowing PC manufacturers to add new I/O features (e.g.;
TV input, TV output, joystick, modem, LAN, audio, etc.) to systems. This will
help systems integrators differentiate their products in the marketplace, and
better meet your needs.

• By integrating more I/O down onto the board and better positioning the
hard drive and floppy connectors material cost of cables and add-in cards is
reduced.

• By reducing the number of cables and components in the system, manufac­turing time and inventory holding costs are reduced and reliability will
increase.

• By using an optimized power supply, it's possible to reduce cooling costs
and lower acoustical noise. An ATX power supply, which has a side­mounted fan, allows direct cooling of the processor and add-in cards
making a secondary fan or active heatsink unnecessary in most system
applications.

Full length
slots

Expandable I/O

Figure 3: Summary of ATX chassis features

CPU located near
Power Supply

Single chassis fan
for system

ATX power
connector

Floppy / IDE
connectors close to
peripheral bays

5 1/4"

Bay

3 1/2"

Bay

ATX
Power

Supply

Introduction EP-6CXA2C

Page 1-12

I/O Shield Connector

The EP-6CXA2C is equipped with an I/O back panel. Please use the appropriate I/
O shield (figure 4).

ATX
POWER SUPPLY

Power-On/Off (Remote)

The EP-6CXA2C has a single 20-pin connector for ATX power supplies. For ATX
power supplies that support the Remote On/Off feature, this should be connected to
the systems front panel for system Power On/Off button. The systems power On/
Off button should be a momentary button that is normally open.

The EP-6CXA2C has been designed with “Soft Off" functions. You can turn Off the
system from one of two sources: The first is the front panel Power On/Off button,
and the other is the "Soft Off" function (coming from the EP-6CXA2’s onboard
circuit controller) that can be controlled by the operating system. Windows 95/98
will control this when the user clicks that they are ready to Shutdown the system.

Note: For maintaining the RDRAM power during STR (ACPI S3) function, it

is strongly recommend to use ATX power supplies that have a +5VSB
current of (>=) 1A (1000mA). Please check the 5VSB’s specification
that has been printed on the ATX power supply’s outer case.

Case (chassis) Power
ON/OFF button

Figure 5: Simple ATX Power

ON/OFF Controller

J3

Figure 4: I/O back panel layout

PS/2 Mouse

PS/2

KEYBOARD

USB port

COM1 COM2

parallel port

Speaker

Line_in

MIC

Joystic/Midi port

IntroductionEP-6CXA2C

Page 1-13

Figure 6: System Block Diagram

System Block Diagram

Pentium II or
Processor

P entium III

MCH

(Memory

Controller

Hub)

ICH

(I/O

Controllrer

Hub)

300/356/400MHz

RIMM Modules

100/133MHz

66MHz

4X, 2X

AMR Slot

FWH (Firm Ware Hub)

Flash memory

LPC I/O
Winbond
83627HF

Serial Port 1
serial Port 2
LPT Port
PS/2 Mouse
PS/2 Keyboard

PCI

Sound

Terminator

Introduction EP-6CXA2C

Page 1-14

Page Left Blank

FeaturesEP-6CXA2C

Page 2-1

Section 2

FEATURES

EP-6CXA2C Features:

• EP-6CXA2C is based on the Pentium® II or Pentium® III Processor operat­ing at 350 ~ 667MHz (100/133MHz) on Slot 1. The board is configured by
a BIOS setting to match your CPU and Direct RDRAM clock speed.

• Designed with Intel’s 820 Chipset.

• Supports up to 1GB of Direct RDRAM (minimum of 64 MB) on board, You
can use 184-pin RIMM x 2 or use continuity module (C-RIMM) and RIMM
module to plug in the RIMM socket (please see Section 3-2).

• EP-6CXA2C will support Non-ECC or ECC (Error Checking and
Correction). In ECC mode of operation, all RDRAMs in the system must
have a byte width of 9 bit. The MCH provides auto-correction of the data
read from memory. Non-ECC or ECC configuration options are set by the
BIOS setup.

• Supports Universal AGP connector for 1X, 2X or 4X AGP Card.

• Supports (5) 32 bit PCI slots, (1) AGP slot and provides (2) independent
high performance PCI IDE interfaces capable of supporting PIO Mode 3/4
and Ultra DMA 33/66 devices. The EP-6CXA2C supports (5) PCI Bus
Master slots and a jumperless PCI INT# control scheme which reduces
configuration confusion when plugging in PCI card(s).

• Supports ATAPI (e.g. CD-ROM) devices on both Primary and Secondary
IDE interfaces.

• Designed with Winbond W83627HF LPC I/O: (1) floppy port, (1) parallel
port (EPP, ECP), and (2) serial ports (16550 Fast UART).
Note: Japanese “Floppy 3 mode” is also supported

• Advanced Configuration Power Interface (ACPI) Ready.

• Y2K Compliant.

• Features Award Plug & Play BIOS. With Flash Memory you can always
upgrade to the current BIOS as they are released. (http://www.epox.com
please visit our Technical Support section for the latest updates).

Features EP-6CXA2C

Page 2-2

• EP-6CXA2C utilizes a Lithium battery which provides environmental
protection and longer battery life.

• Supports the Universal Serial Bus (USB) connector. The onboard ICH chip
provides the means for connecting PC peripherals such as; keyboards,
joysticks, telephones, and modems.

• Built-in ATX 20-pin power supply connector.

• Software power-down when using Windows® 95/98.

• Supports ring-in feature (remote power-on through external modem, allows
system to be turned on remotely).

• Resume by Alarm - Allows your system to turn on at a preselected time.

• Supports CPU Hardware sleep and SMM (System Management Mode).

• Supports Hot key, Any key or password Keyboard power ON function
(KBPO).

• Supports USDM software to offer motherboard various status on Windows

®

95/98.

• Supports the CPU, PWR and Chassis fan Auto stop in sleep mode.

• Supports the onboard standby and blinks in suspend green or STR mode
LED (D11).

• Supports the STR (Suspend To RDRAM) power management by ACPI’s S3.

• Supports the STR indicator red LED (D17) to avoid pluging or un-pluging
RIMM modules when in a STR mode.

• Supports the System Power LED (PANEL) blinking in the sleep mode.

• Built-in WOL (Wake On Lan) Connector.

• Supports an AMR Connector for use with a software AMR modem card.
(AMR card is Primary only).

• Built-in C-Media CMI8738 PCI Sound Onboard.

• True Full Duplex playback and recording, built-in 16 bits CODEC.

• HRTF 3D positional audio, supports both Direct Sound 3D® & A3D

®

interface, two and four channel speaker mode.

• Supports OPL3, MPU401 UART mode and Joystick function.

• Downloadable Wave Table Synthesizer, supports Direct Music®.

• Supports Digital Audio (SPDIF IN/OUT) module (Optional).

InstallationEP-6CXA2C

Page 3-1

Section 3

INSTALLATION

Installation EP-6CXA2C

Page 3-2

Figure 7

EP-6CXA2C Detailed Layout

InstallationEP-6CXA2C

Page 3-3

Easy Installation Procedure

Easy Installation Procedure

The following must be completed before powering on your new system:

3-1. Configure Jumpers
3-2. System RIMM Memory Module Configuration
3-3. Install Pentium® II/III Processor
3-4. Device Connectors
3-5. External Modem Ring-in Power ON and Keyboard Power ON

Function (KBPO)

3-6. STR (Suspend To RAM) Function

Section 3-1

Configure Jumpers

We have designed this mainboard with the fewest jumpers as possible to make your
installation fast and easy.

The following will describe all of the jumpers that you are required to set.

JP13

(D efau lt)

K eyboard Pow er-ON function (refer the sectio n 3-5)
JP13 = 1-2 - En abled

= 2 -3 - Dis a ble d

1

3

J7 W OL (Wakup On Lan) Connector

R eserved for N IC (Netw ork Interface Ca rd) to
W ak e the S ystem .

JP1 = 1-2 - Run Mod e (D efault)

= 2 -3 - Cle a r CM OS (mom en t ar ily)

JP7 = 1-2 - En abled PCI Soun d (Default)

= 2 -3 - Dis a ble d P CI So u n d

JP1 C M O S C lear

JP7 On B oard PC I Sound

1

3

1

3

Installation EP-6CXA2C

Page 3-4

noitceleSMARDR&UPC

BSF*

)kcolCtsoH(

zHM001zHM331

MARDR

003004662653004

kcolCsuB*

)006CP()008CP()335CP()117CP()008CP(

* The FSB clock and RDRAM bus clock are set using the “Frequency/

Voltage Control” option in the CMOS SETUP UTILITY menu.

The mainboard is designed to set the CPU Host/AGP/PCI and RDRAM Bus Clock
at jumper-free. Based on the implementation of Intel 820 chipset, EP-6CXA2C is
able to provides two host bus frequencies--either 100 or 133MHz for PII/III slot1
processors. The RDRAM interface supports 300/400MHz (100MHz FSB) or 266/
356/400MHz (133MHz FSB) operation. The CPU Host/AGP/PCI clock and
RDRAM Bus Frequency are selected using the “Frequency/Voltage Control”
option in the CMOS SETUP Utility menu. Check your CPU, RDRAM and set this
frequency accordingly.

Note: For CPU/AGP/PCI and RDRAM over-clocking requirement which can

chosen and set by BIOS, it is advised that over-clocking use these only
for testing since this is not stable as the CPU/AGP/PCI/RDRAM is not
designed for these over-clocking frequencies.

The RDRAM Bus memory timing is difference with SDRAM. If you set
the RDRAM Bus Frequency to be too high, then the system will not turn
on again (no display). You can clear CMOS by shorting JP1’s 2-3 pin
(momentarily), while the system is off. The system will be turn on by
the CMOS default value.

InstallationEP-6CXA2C

Page 3-5

Section 3-2

System RIMM Memory Module Configuration

Memory Layout

The EP-6CXA2C supports (2) 184-pin RIMMs (Rambus Interface Memory
Module) as shown in Figure 9. The RIMMs can be RIMM and C-RIMM
(Continuity RIMM) only . RIMM modules have Rambus channel signals as their
memory interface. A RIMM module may contain up to a maximum of 16 RDRAM
devices. All RDRAM devices on a RIMM must have the same timing
characteristics. Empty RIMM sockets must be populated with continuity modules
(C-RIMM). These modules have no memory on them and are used to propagate
the channel to the next RIMM socket. Figure 11, 12, 13 & 14 provide a general
diagram of a RIMM module and installations of RIMM/C-RIMM modules.

l The EP-6CXA2C supports a maximum of 32 devices on a RDRAM channel

A Channel os defined as the three RIMM Slots on the motherboard added
together. Thus the motherboard has one channel. See Figure 10 for
RDRAM interconnections.

l No support for EDO/SDRAM DIMM Modules.
l The EP-6CXA2C supports 16/18 (ECC) - bit RDRAM configurations.
l The RIMM modules and continuity RIMM (C-RIMM) spec. should be

Revision Number 1.0. For more detailed “RIMM Modules spec.” informa­tion you may visit the following Web Site: http//www.rimm.com.

l 64MB, 128MB or 256MB DRAM technology that supports 256MB,

512MB, 1GB (in the feature devices) max. memory size module produced.
The Max. memory information show in Table 2.

l Direct Rambus Channel operating at a clock rate of 300/356/400MHz which

enables a data rate of 600/711/800MHz (data is clocked on both clock
edges).

RIMM 1 (M1)

RIMM 2 (M2)

RIMM Module and
C-RIM M in socket

Figure 9

Installation EP-6CXA2C

Page 3-6

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tibM46BM652

tibM821

BM215

tibM652

BG1

Table 2: Maximum memory support on EP-6CXA2C with RDRAM populated

on a channel.

The figure 10 below shows the RSL interconnections between 820 (MCH) and one
RDRAM channel. This figure describes the logical interconnections, and is not a
physical representation of RDARM devices on a motherboard.

Figure 10: MCH/RDRAM Interconnections

InstallationEP-6CXA2C

Page 3-7

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The table 3 below shows the onboard RIMM memory socket population.

Table 3: Onboard RIMM memory socket population.

RIMM# :RIMM in Socket
C-RIMM% : Continuity Module in Socket
* : That will be to supporting in the feature devices

Installation EP-6CXA2C

Page 3-8

RIMM/C-RIMM Module Installation

This section describes some basic RIMM/C-RIMM installations as described in
table 3. Note that continuity Modules are required in empty sockets. Figure 11, 12
and 13 display common installations including an example of a incorrect one (see
figure 11). RIMM or RDRAM signals are daisy-chained through each device on
RIMM and memory module.

Figure 11: Wrong Configuration

Figure 12: Base Configuration

InstallationEP-6CXA2C

Page 3-9

Figure 13: Upgrade Configuration

Installation EP-6CXA2C

Page 3-10

Figure 15 displays the notch marks and what they should look like on your RIMM
memory module.

RIMMs have 184-pins and two notches that will match with the onboard RIMM
socket. RIMM modules are installed by placing the chip firmly into the socket at a
90 degree angle and pressing straight down (figure 16) until it fits tightly into the
RIMM socket (figure 17).

Figure 15

Figure 16

RIMM Module clip before installation

RIMM Module clip after installation

To remove the RIMM module simply press down both of the white clips on either
side and the module will be released from the socket.

Figure 17

InstallationEP-6CXA2C

Page 3-11

Figure 15a displays the notch marks and what they should look like on your C-RIMM
memory module.

C-RIMMs have 184-pins and two notches that will match with the onboard C-RIMM
socket. C-RIMM modules are installed by placing the chip firmly into the socket at a
90 degree angle and pressing straight down (figure 16a) until it fits tightly into the
RIMM socket (figure 17a).

Figure 15a

Figure 16a

C-RIMM Module clip before installation

C-RIMM Module clip after installation

To remove the C-RIMM module simply press down both of the white clips on
either side and the module will be released from the socket.

Figure 17

Installation EP-6CXA2C

Page 3-12

Section 3-3

Installing a Pentium® II/III Processor

The EP-6CXA2C uses the Single Edge Contact (SEC) slot for a Pentium® II/III
processor packaged in an SEC cartridge. The SEC slot is not compatible with other
non-Pentium® II/III processors.

Please have ready the following list of components so that we may install the
processor onto the motherboard.

1. Pentium® II/III processor heat sink

2. Intel Pentium® II/III Processor

OK, now that you have all of your components ready, we can start.

First, please refer to figure 18 below, and follow the direction to lift up the
fixed foldable pentium® II/III Retention Mechanism. This pre-installed
device is designed for you to install Pentium® II/III CPU more easier and to
avoide any damage on the board due to overtightening the four screws.

One thing must be kept in your mind that please make sure to lift upright the
foldable parts of the Retention module to fit and install CPU properly.

Figure 18

Now we are going to put the heatsink or cooler onto Pentium® II/III processor.
Due to the processor faster and more powerful features. The power consumption is
larger than past processor. We strongly recommend a good attached fan/heatsink
or cooler onto the processor’s OLGA package.

The Pentium® II/III processor may also be offered as Intel® boxed processors. The
boxed processor’s fan heatsink requires a +12V power supply. A fan power cable

InstallationEP-6CXA2C

Page 3-13

will be shipped with the boxed processor to draw power from a power header on
the mainboard’s J4.

Now we are ready to install the SEC Cartridge (Pentium II/III Processor) into the
Retention Module. The SEC Cartridge is mounted by sliding the SEC Cartridge into
the Retention Module and letting it slide all the way down. Once it reaches the bot-

tom make sure you press firmly on SEC cartridge to firmly secure into the Slot 1
Socket.

Installation EP-6CXA2C

Page 3-14

Section 3-4

Device Connectors

Please install the motherboard into the chassis.

Now that your motherboard is installed you are ready to connect all your connec­tions (figure 19).

J2,J3: Chassis Panel Connector

• Power LED, Keylock, Speaker, Reset, Sleep, Turbo LED and HDD LED

J4: CPU Fan Power

• A plug-in for the CPU Fan Power

J5: Power Supply Fan Monitoring

• A plug-in for the Power supply so that BIOS can monitor the RPM’s

J6: Chassis Fan Power

• A plug-in for the chassis Fan Power

J7: WOL (Wake On Lan) Connector
PW1: ATX Power Connector

• 20-pin power connector

IDE1: Primary IDE Connector
IDE2: Secondary IDE Connector
FDD1: Floppy Controller Connector
CD-IN: CD Audio_IN Connector

• Pin1(CD_IN_Left), Pin2/Pin3(GND), Pin4(CD_IN_Right)

AUX_IN: Auxiliary Line_IN Connector

• Pin1(Left Line_IN), Pin2/Pin3(GND), Pin4(Right Line-IN)

MODEM_IN: Telephony Connector

• Pin1(Audio_in), Pin2/Pin3(GND), Pin4(Mic-out to Modem)

JX2: OPTICAL SPDIF-I/O

Figure 19

PS/2 Mouse

PS/2

KEYBOARD

USB port

COM1 COM2

parallel port

Speaker

Line_in

or

Rear speaker

MIC

Joystic/Midi port

InstallationEP-6CXA2C

Page 3-15

Device Connectors (continued)

(This is connected to the power button on the case. Using the Soft-Off
by Pwr-BTTN feature, you can choose either Instant Off (turns system
off immediatly), or 4 sec delay (you need to hold the button down for
4 seconds before the system turns off). When the system is in 4 sec
delay mode, there is a special feature to make the system to go into
suspend mode when the button is pressed momentarily.)

Turbo LED indicator - LED ON when higher speed is selected
IDE LED indicator - LED ON when Onboard PCI IDE Hard disks

is activate

J3

1

+

+

IR Connector

1. VCC 4. GND

2. NC 5. IRTX

3. IRRX

1

Power On/Off

J2

Speaker -

Connect to the system's speaker for beeping

1. Speaker 3. GND

2. N/C 4. GND

Reset - Closed to restart system.

KeyLock - Keyboard lock switch & Power LED connector

1. Power LED(+) 4. KeyLock

2. N/C 5. GND

3. GND

1

1

1

* The power LED lights when the

system is powered on and blinks in
SLEEP MODE (Suspend mode).

Installation EP-6CXA2C

Page 3-16

Device Connectors (continued)

The EP-6CXA2C supports one AMR1 connector to provide a Modem Code (MC)
or an Audio/Modem Codec (AMC) configuration. Note the AMR1 connector
supports Modem Riser Card (MR), Modem Code (MC) or Audio/Modem Code
(AMC) as primary only.

AMR1 Connector

InstallationEP-6CXA2C

Page 3-17

Section 3-5

External Modem Ring-in Power

ON and Keyboard Power ON

Functions (KBPO)

On the basis of bounded functions in I/O chipset, the two serial ports are able to support
the External Modem Ring-in Power ON function. Once users connect the external
modem to COM1 or COM2, the EP-6CXA2C mainboard allows users to turn on their
system through the remote and host's dial-up control.

Exclusive Keyboard Power ON Function

To innovate a unique feature to benefit users, we devoted the easiest and most
convenient way to turn on your system based on the the ATX power supply.

How to work with it

Step 1: Please check that JP13 is at position 1-2 after you finished the system

installation.

Step 2: Push the momentary switch (J3 PW-ON) to turn on your system and then push

again and hold for more than 4 seconds to turn it off affter counting memory.

Step 3: You can enjoy the Keyboard Power ON function (KBPO) by pressing any 1

key, Hot key (Ctrl-F1, F2.....F12), Password (A maximum of 5 charac ters can

be entered.) and BUTTON only to turn on your system. Please refer to the BIOS
Integrated peripherals setup for detail (Page 4-23).The BIOS Default is
keyboard Hot key <Ctrl> - <F1> to turn on the system. Your system will be

turned on automatically, after releasing the keys. To power off you system,
you can use the Soft-OFF function under Windows 95.

Notes:

1. Intel ATX version 2.01 specification has recommended you use the power supply
with 1.0A in 5.0VSB. With our EP-6CXA2C mainboard, the 5.0VSB standby power
only has to be > = 1A (1000mA) then you can enjoy this function.

JP1 3 Keyboard P ow er-ON F un ction Sele ction

1-2 : Enabled
2-3 : Disabled (Default)

Installation EP-6CXA2C

Page 3-18

3-6 STR (Suspend To RAM) Function

The EP-6CXA2C supports the STR power management state by maintaining
the appropriate states on the RDRAM interface signals. The power source must
be kept alive to the RDRAM during STR (ACPI S3). Advanced Configuration
Power Interface (ACPI) provides more Energy Saving Features for operating
systems that support OS such as ON and QuickStartTM function.

1. To enable the ACPI function and use the STR functionally to save your system
energy, you are recommended to confirm the following requirements:

a. Please make sure the VGA card in your system is ACPI fully supported.

Some VGA cards or drivers do not provide ACPI function. It is suggested
you contact with VGA card vendors to get the right information and
technical support.

b. In BIOS, please select “ ACPI function: Enable” and “ACPI Suspend Type:

S3(STR)” in the Power Management Setup menu.

c. Then, please type the following before installing the Windows® 98:

{Drive}:> Setup /p j

If Windows® 98 was installed in your system without the parameters above,
please do refer to your software manual or contact Microsoft for more

details on how to upgrade to ACPI support.
d. Restart your system and install VGA card driver properly.
e. Go in to the “Advanced” section of the Power Management icon of Control

Panel, and select “Stand By” in the Power Buttons.

2. To start the STR mode, please click the START button and choose Shut Down
icon. Then, select the Stand By option in the Shut Down Windows box to let
system go to STR mode. In the mean time, the onboard STR indicator - Green
LED(D11 position) begins to blinking to show your system is under STR mode.
Here are the differences between STR power saving mode and Green (or
Suspend) mode:

a. It is the most advanced Power Management mode
b. It cuts all the power supplied to peripherals except to Memory - max. power

saving

InstallationEP-6CXA2C

Page 3-19

ACPI Onboard’s LED Status Indicator Table

Status

Onboard’s

LED

Location

Plug in the ATX

Power Core

Power ON

J3(PW-ON)

Green Mode

(S1)

STR
(S3)

Shutdown

(Soft-OFF)

(S5)

D11

(Green LED)

ON O N Blanking Blanking ON

D17

(Red LED)

ON ON ON ON OFF

J2

PW_LED

OFF ON Blanking OFF OFF

c. It saves and keeps all on-screen data including any executed applications to

RDRAM.

d. You must push the Power button connected with onboard J3 pin to wake up

you system (not to click to mouse or press keyboard to wake up the system.)

Just pushing Power button, your system will quickly back to the last screen for you.

The “LED Indicator for ACPI Status” table shown below will guide you and give
you a reference for ACPI status on this mainboard.

Installation EP-6CXA2C

Page 3-20

Page Left Blank

BIOSEP-6CXA2C

Page 4-1

Main Menu

Once you enter the AwardBIOS™ CMOS Setup Utility, the Main Menu will appear
on the screen. The Main Menu allows you to select from several setup functions and
two exit choices. Use the arrow keys to select among the items and press <Enter>
to accept and enter the sub-menu.

Note that a brief description of each highlighted selection appears at the bottom of
the screen.

Setup Items

The main menu includes the following main setup categories. Recall that some
systems may not include all entries.

Standard CMOS Features

Use this menu for basic system configuration.

Section 4

BIOS SETUP

BIOS EP-6CXA2C

Page 4-2

Advanced BIOS Features

Use this menu to set the Advanced Features available on your system.

Advanced Chipset Features

Use this menu to change the values in the chipset registers and optimize your
system’s performance.

Integrated Peripherals

Use this menu to specify your settings for integrated peripherals.

Power Management Setup

Use this menu to specify your settings for power management.

PnP / PCI Configuration

This entry appears if your system supports PnP / PCI.

PC Health Status

This item is only show the system health status (include Voltage, Fan speed, CPU
temperature...)

Frequency/Voltage Control

Use this menu to specify your settings for frequency/voltage control.

Load Fail-Safe Defaults

Use this menu to load the BIOS default values for the minimal/stable perfor­mance for your system to operate.

Load Optimized Defaults

Use this menu to load the BIOS default values that are factory settings for opti­mal performance system operations. While Award has designed the custom BIOS
to maximize performance, the factory has the right to change these defaults to
meet their needs.

Supervisor / User Password

Use this menu to set User and Supervisor Passwords.

Save & Exit Setup

Save CMOS value changes to CMOS and exit setup.

Exit Without Save

Abandon all CMOS value changes and exit setup.

BIOSEP-6CXA2C

Page 4-3

4-1 Standard CMOS Setup

The items in Standard CMOS Setup Menu are divided into 10 categories. Each cat­egory includes no, one or more than one setup items. Use the arrow keys to high­light the item and then use the <PgUp> or <PgDn> keys to select the value you want
in each item.

Figure 1: The Main Menu

BIOS EP-6CXA2C

Page 4-4

Item Options Description

Date Month DD YYYY Set the system date. Note that

the ‘Day’ automatically hanges
when you set the date

Time HH : MM : SS Set the system time

IDE Primary Maste r

Options are in its sub menu

(described in Table 3)

Press <Enter> to enter the sub
menu of detailed options

IDE Primary Slave

Options are in its sub menu

(described in Table 3)

Press <Enter> to enter the sub
menu of detailed options

IDE Secondary Master

Options are in its sub menu

(described in Table 3)

Press <Enter> to enter the sub
menu of detailed options

IDE Secondary Master

Options are in its sub menu

(described in Table 3)

Press <Enter> to enter the sub
menu of detailed options

Drive A

Drive B

None

360K, 5.25 in

1.2M, 5.25 in
720K, 3.5 in

1.44M, 3.5 in

2.88M, 3.5 in

Select the type of floppy disk
drive install ed in you r sys t em

Video

EGA/VGA

CGA 40
CGA 80

MONO

Select the defaul t vid eo devi c e

Halt On

All Errors
No Errors

All, but Keyboard

All, but Diskette

All, but Disk/Key

Select the situation in which
you want the BIOS to stop the
POST process and notify you

Base Memory N/A

Displays the amount of
conventional m em ory det e cted
during boot up

Extended Memory

N/A

Displays the amount of
extended memory detected
during boot up

Total Memory N/A

Displays the total memory
available in the system

Main Menu Selections

This table shows the selections that you can make on the Main Menu

Table 2 Main Menu Selections

BIOSEP-6CXA2C

Page 4-5

IDE Adapters

The IDE adapters control the hard disk drive. Use a separate sub menu to configure
each hard disk drive.

Figure 2 shows the IDE primary master sub menu.

Figure 2 IDE Primary Master sub menu

BIOS EP-6CXA2C

Page 4-6

Use the legend keys to navigate through this menu and exit to the main menu. Use
Table 3 to configure the hard disk.

Item Options Description

IIDE HDD Auto-detection Press Enter Press Enter to auto-detect the HDD

on this channel. If detection is
successful, it fills th e remai nin g
fields on this menu.

IDE Primary Master None

Auto

Manual

Selecting ‘manual’ lets you set the
remaining fields on this scre en.
Selects the type of fixed disk. "User
Type" will let you select the number
of cylinders, heads, etc.
Note: PRECOMP=65535 means
NONE !

Capacity Auto Display your disk

drive size

Disk drive capacity
(Approximated). No te th at this
size is usually slightly greater than
the size of a formatted disk given by
a disk checking program.

Access Mode Normal

LBA

Large

Auto

Choose the access mode for this
hard disk

The following options are selectable only if the ‘IDE Primary Master’ item is set to ‘Manual’

Cylinder Min = 0

Max = 65535

Set the number of cylinde r s for thi s
hard disk.

Head Min = 0

Max = 255

Set the number of read/write heads

Precomp Min = 0

Max = 65535

****

Warning

: Setting a value of

65535 means no hard disk

Landing zone Min = 0

Max = 65535

****

Sector Mi n = 0

Max = 255

Number of sectors per track

Table 1 Hard disk selections

BIOSEP-6CXA2C

Page 4-7

4-2 Advanced BIOS Features

This section allows you to configure your system for basic operation. You have the
opportunity to select the system’s default speed, boot-up sequence, keyboard
operation, shadowing and security.

Virus Warning

Allows you to choose the VIRUS Warning feature for IDE Hard Disk boot sector
protection. If this function is enabled and someone attempt to write data into this
area, BIOS will show a warning message on screen and alarm beep.

Enabled: Activates automatically when the system boots up causing a warning

message to appear when anything attempts to access the boot sector
or hard disk partition table.

Disabled: No warning message will appear when anything attempts to access the

boot sector or hard disk partition table.

BIOS EP-6CXA2C

Page 4-8

CPU Internal Cache/External Cache

These two categories speed up memory access. However, it depends on CPU/chipset
design.

Enabled: Enable cache
Disabled: Disable cache

CPU L2 Cache ECC Checking

This item allows you to enable/disable CPU L2 Cache ECC checking.

The choice: Enabled, Disabled.

Processor Number Feature

Pentium III or later CPU new feature. The default is Enabled.

Enabled: Processor serial number readable.
Disabled: Processor serial number disabled.

Quick Power On Self Test

This category speeds up Power On Self T est (POST) after you power up the computer.
If it is set to Enable, BIOS will shorten or skip some check items during POST.

Enabled: Enable quick POST
Disabled: Normal POST

First/Second/Third/Other Boot Device

The BIOS attempts to load the operating system from the devices in the sequence
selected in these items.
The Choice: Floppy, LS/ZIP, HDD, SCSI, CDROM, Disabled.

Swap Floppy Drive

If the system has two floppy drives, you can swap the logical drive name assignments.
The choice: Enabled/Disabled.

Boot Up Floppy Seek

Seeks disk drives during boot up. Disabling speeds boot up.
The choice: Enabled/Disabled.

Boot Up NumLock Status

Select power on state for NumLock.
The choice: Enabled/Disabled.

BIOSEP-6CXA2C

Page 4-9

Gate A20 Option

Select if chipset or keyboard controller should control GateA20.

Norma l : A pin in the keyboard controller controls GateA20
Fast: Lets chipset control GateA20

Typematic Rate Setting

Key strokes repeat at a rate determined by the keyboard controller. When enabled,
the typematic rate and typematic delay can be selected.
The choice: Enabled/Disabled.

Typematic Rate (Chars/Sec)

Sets the number of times a second to repeat a key stroke when you hold the key
down.
The choice: 6, 8, 10, 12, 15, 20, 24, 30.

Typematic Delay (Msec)

Sets the delay time after the key is held down before it begins to repeat the keystroke.
The choice: 250, 500, 750, 1000.

Security Option

Select whether the password is required every time the system boots or only when
you enter setup.

System The system will not boot and access to Setup will be denied if the

correct password is not entered at the prompt.

Setup The system will boot, but access to Setup will be denied if the

correct password is not entered at the prompt.

Note: To disable security, select PASSWORD SETTING at Main Menu and

then you will be asked to enter password. Do not type anything and
just press <Enter>, it will disable security. Once the security is

disabled, the system will boot and you can enter Setup freely.

OS Select For DRAM > 64MB

Select the operating system that is running with greater than 64MB of RAM on the
system. The choice: Non-OS2, OS2.

Report No FDD For Win 95

Whether report no FDD for Win 95 or not.
The choice: Yes, No.

BIOS EP-6CXA2C

Page 4-10

4-3 Advanced Chipset Features

This section allows you to configure the system based on the specific features of
the installed chipset. This chipset manages bus speeds and access to system memory
resources, such as DRAM and the external cache. It also coordinates communica­tions between the conventional ISA bus and the PCI bus. It must be stated that these
items should never need to be altered. The default settings have been chosen be­cause they provide the best operating conditions for your system. The only time you
might consider making any changes would be if you discovered that data was being
lost while using your system.

DRAM Settings (This field is no function)

The first chipset settings deal with CPU access to dynamic random access memory
(DRAM). The default timings have been carefully chosen and should only be altered
if data is being lost. Such a scenario might well occur if your system had mixed
speed DRAM chips installed so that greater delays may be required to preserve the
integrity of the data held in the slower memory chips.

BIOSEP-6CXA2C

Page 4-11

SDRAM CAS Latency Time (This field is no function)

When synchronous DRAM is installed, the number of clock cycles of CAS latency
depends on the DRAM timing.
The Choice: 2, 3

RDRAM Device Napdown

Select Enabled the RDRAM channel inactivity counter to start counting the continu­ous inactivity time.
The Choice: Enabled, Disabled

System BIOS Cacheable

Selecting Enabled allows caching of the system BIOS ROM at F0000h-FFFFFh,
resulting in better system performance. However, if any program writes to this
memory area, a system error may result.
The choice: Enabled, Disabled.

Video BIOS Cacheable

Select Enabled allows caching of the video BIOS , resulting in better system
performance. However, if any program writes to this memory area, a system error
may result.
The Choice: Enabled, Disabled.

Video RAM Cacheable

This option allows the CPU to cache read/writes of the video RAM. The default is
Enabled.
Enabled: This option allows for faster video access.
Disabled: Reduced video performance.

Memory Hole At 15M-16M

You can reserve this area of system memory for ISA adapter ROM. When this area
is reserved, it cannot be cached. The user information of peripherals that need to use
this area of system memory usually discusses their memory requirements.
The Choice: Enabled, Disabled.

Delay Transaction

The chipset has an embedded 32-bit posted write buffer to support delay transac­tions cycles. Select Enabled to support compliance with PCI specification
version 2.1.
The Choice: Enabled, Disabled.

BIOS EP-6CXA2C

Page 4-12

AGP Aperture Size

The amount of system memory that the AGP card is allowed to share. The default
is 64.

4: 4MB of systems memory accessable by the AGP card.
8: 8MB of systems memory accessable by the AGP card.
16: 16MB of systems memory accessable by the AGP card.
32: 32MB of systems memory accessable by the AGP card.
64: 64MB of systems memory accessable by the AGP card.
128: 128MB of systems memory accessable by the AGP card.
256: 256MB of systems memory accessable by the AGP card.

BIOSEP-6CXA2C

Page 4-13

OnChip Primary/Secondary PCI IDE

The integrated peripheral controller contains an IDE interface with support for two
IDE channels. Select Enabled to activate each channel separately.
The choice: Enabled, Disabled.

IDE Primary/Secondary Master/Slave PIO

The four IDE PIO (Programmed Input/Output) fields let you set a PIO mode (0-4)
for each of the four IDE devices that the onboard IDE interface supports. Modes 0
through 4 provide successively increased performance. In Auto mode, the system
automatically determines the best mode for each device.
The choice: Auto, Mode 0, Mode 1, Mode 2, Mode 3, Mode 4.

IDE Primary/Secondary Master/Slave UDMA

Ultra DMA/33 implementation is possible only if your IDE hard drive supports it
and the operating environment includes a DMA driver (Windows 95 OSR2 or a third­party IDE bus master driver). If your hard drive and your system software both sup­port Ultra DMA/33, select Auto to enable BIOS support.

The Choice: Auto, Disabled.

4-4 Integrated Peripherals

BIOS EP-6CXA2C

Page 4-14

USB Controller

Select Enabled if your system contains a Universal Serial Bus (USB) controller and
you have USB peripherals.
The choice: Enabled, Disabled.

USB Keyboard Support

Select Enabled if your system contains a Universal Serial Bus (USB) controller and
you have a USB keyboard.
The choice: Enabled, Disabled.

Init Display First

This item allows you to decide to active whether PCI Slot or on-chip VGA first
The choice: PCI Slot, Onboard .

AC97 Modem

This item allows you to decide to enable/disable the ICH chipset family to support
AC97 Modem.
Select Enable of AC97 Modem item, you must be primary Modem Riser Card
(MR) in hardware.
The choice: Enabled, Disabled.

IDE HDD Block Mode

Block mode is also called block transfer, multiple commands, or multiple sector
read/write. If your IDE hard drive supports block mode (most new drives do), select
Enabled for automatic detection of the optimal number of block read/writes per
sector the drive can support.
The choice: Enabled, Disabled

Power On Function

There are “Button Only”, “Hot Key” and “Any key” can be chosen by this field that
allows users to select one of these various functions as Power On Method for their
requirement. The default value in this selection is “ Hot Key”. (Ctrl-F1)
Hot Key: User can press “Control Key” (Ctrl) and “Function Key” (from F1

to F12) individually to power on the system. The interval between

“Ctrl” key and function Key (F1-F12)must be short.
Anykey: Press anykey to power on the system.
Button Only: This power on function controlled by J3 (pw-on.) Use Power On

Button to power on the system.

BIOSEP-6CXA2C

Page 4-15

Password: User can Power On the System by password, the password can be

entered from 1 to 5 characters. The maximum of password is 5

characters. If user forget / lost the password, please turn off the

system and open case to clear CMOS by JP1 to re-setting the

power on function. When set the password to turn on the system,

than can’t power on by J3(PW-ON).

KB Power On Password

When the option of “Power On Function” is password selected, user uses the item to
key in password.

Hot Key Power On

Use this option with the above “Power On Function” to set a combination of keys
that can be used to power the system on. The default is Ctrl-F1.
Options: Ctrl-F1, Ctrl-F2, Ctrl-F3, Ctrl-F4, Ctrl-F5, Ctrl-F6, Ctrl-F7, Ctrl-F8, Ctrl-

F9, Ctrl-F10, Ctrl-F11, and Ctrl-F12.

Onboard FDC Controller

Select Enabled if your system has a floppy disk controller (FDC) installed on the
system board and you wish to use it. If you install and-in FDC or the system has no
floppy drive, select Disabled in this field.
The choice: Enabled, Disabled.

Onboard Serial Port 1/Port 2

Select an address and corresponding interrupt for the first and second serial ports.
The choice: 3F8/IRQ4, 2E8/IRQ3, 3E8/IRQ4, 2F8/IRQ3, Disabled, Auto.

UART Mode Select

This filed allows the users to configure what IR mode the 2nd serial port should use.
The default is Normal.
Optional: Normal, IrDA and ASKIR.

RxD, RxD Active

This field configures the receive and transmit signals generated from the IR port.
The default is Hi Lo (when UART Mode Select is not set to Normal).
Options: Hi Hi, Hi Lo, Lo Hi, and Lo Lo.

IR Transmission delay

The default is Enabled (when UART Mode Select is not set to Normal).
Options: Enabled and Disabled.

BIOS EP-6CXA2C

Page 4-16

Onboard Parallel port

This field allows the user to configure the LPT port.
The default is 378H / IRQ7.

378H: Enable Onboard LPT port and address is 378H and IRQ7.
278H: Enable Onboard LPT port and address is 278H and IRQ5.
3BCH: Enable Onboard LPT port and address is 3BCH and IRQ7.
Disabled: Disable Onboard LPT port.

Parallel Port Mode

This field allows the user to select the parallel port mode.
The default is ECP+EPP.

Normal: Standard mode. IBM PC/AT Compatible bidirectional parallel port.
EPP: Enhanced Parallel Port mode.
ECP: Extended Capabilities Port mode.
EPP+ECP: ECP Mode & EPP Mode.

ECP Mode Select

This item allows you to determine the IR transfer mode of onboard I/O chip.
options: EPP1.9, EPP1.7.

ECP Mode USE DMA

This field allows the user to select DMA1 or DMA3 for the ECP mode.
The default is DMA3.

DMA1: This field selects the routing of DMA1 for the ECP mode.
DMA3: This field selects the routing of DMA3 for the ECP mode.

PWRON After PW-Fail

The system will stay of or power on after a power interrupte.
The default is Fomer-Status.

Fomer-Status: Stay off or power on depend on system safe shut-down or

power fail.

ON: System always power on after a power interrupte.
OFF: System always stay off after a power interrupte.

BIOSEP-6CXA2C

Page 4-17

4-5 Power Management Setup

The Power Management Setup allows you to configure you system to most effec­tively save energy while operating in a manner consistent with your own style of
computer use.

ACPI Function

This item allows you to enable/disable the Advanced Configuration and Power Man­agement (ACPI).
The choice: Enabled, Disabled.

ACPI Suspend Type

This item allows you to select S1(POS) or S3(STR) function.
The choice: S1(POS), S3(STR).

Power Management

This category allows you to select the type (or degree) of power saving and is di­rectly related to the following modes:

1. HDD Power Down

2. Doze Mode

3. Suspend Mode

BIOS EP-6CXA2C

Page 4-18

There are four selections for Power Management, three of which have fixed mode
settings.

Disable (default) No power management. Disables all four modes
Min. Power Saving Minimum power management. Doze Mode = 1

hr. Standby Mode = 1 hr., Suspe nd Mode = 1 hr.,
and HDD Power Down = 15 min.

Max. Power Saving

Maximum power management --

ONLY

AVAILABLE FOR SL CPU’s

. Doze Mode = 1
min., Standby Mode = 1 min., Suspen d M ode = 1
min., and HDD Power Down = 1 min.

User Defined Allows you to set each mode individually. When

not disabled, each of the ranges are from 1 min. to
1 hr. except for HDD Power Down which ranges
from 1 min. to 15 min. and disable.

Video Off Method

This determines the manner in which the monitor is blanked.

V/H SYN C+Blank This selectio n will cause the system to turn off the

vertical and horizontal synchronization ports and
write blanks to the video buffer.

Blank Screen This option only writes blanks to the video buffer.
DPMS Initial display power management signaling.

Video Off In Suspend

This determines the manner in which the monitor is blanked.
The choice: Yes, No.

Suspend Type

Select the Suspend Type.
The choice: PWRON Suspend, Stop Grant.

MODEM Use IRQ

This determines the IRQ in which the MODEM can use.
The choice: 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11, NA.

Suspend Mode

When enabled and after the set time of system inactivity, all devices except the CPU
will be shut off.
The choice: Enabled, Disabled.

BIOSEP-6CXA2C

Page 4-19

HDD Power Down

When enabled and after the set time of system inactivity, the hard disk drive will be
powered down while all other devices remain active.
The choice: Enabled, Disabled.

Soft-Off by PWRBTN

Pressing the power button for more than 4 seconds forces the system to enter the
Soft-Off state when the system has “hung.” The default is Instant-off.
The choice: Delay 4 Sec, Instant-Off.

PowerOn By Ring

This option is used to set the remote ring in and Wake on LAN (WOL) features.
The choice: Enabled, Disabled.

CPU THRM-Throttling

Select the CPU THRM-Throttling rate.
The choice: 25.0%, 37.5%, 50.0%, 62.5%, 75.0%, 87.5%.

**

PM Events

**
PM events are I/O events whose occurrence can prevent the system from entering a
power saving mode or can awaken the system from such a mode. In effect, the
system remains alert for anything which occurs to a device which is configured as
Enabled , even when the system is in a power down mode.

Primary IDE 0
Primary IDE 1
Secondary IDE 0
Secondary IDE 1
FDD, COM, LPT Port

PCI PIRQ[A-D] #

BIOS EP-6CXA2C

Page 4-20

4-6 PnP/PCI Configuration Setup

This section describes configuring the PCI bus system. PCI, or Personal Computer
Interconnect, is a system which allows I/O devices to operate at speeds nearing the

speed the CPU itself uses when communicating with its own special components.
This section covers some very technical items and it is strongly recommended that
only experienced users should make any changes to the default settings.

Reset Configuration Data

Normally, you leave this field Disabled. Select Enabled to reset Extended System
Configuration Data (ESCD) when you exit Setup if you have installed a new add-on
and the system reconfiguration has caused such a serious conflict that the operating
system can not boot.
The choice: Enabled, Disabled .

Resource controlled by

The Award Plug and Play BIOS has the capacity to automatically configure all of the
boot and Plug and Play compatible devices. However, this capability means abso­lutely nothing unless you are using a Plug and Play operating system such as

BIOSEP-6CXA2C

Page 4-21

CPU Warning Temperature

This is the temperature that the computer will respond to an overheating CPU. The
default is Disabled.
Enabled: Temperature is monitored on the CPU, default is 95oC/205oF.
Disabled: This feature is turned off.

Current System Temp

This is the Current temperature of the system.

Windows95. If you set this field to “manual” choose specific resources by going
into each of the sub menu that follows this field (a sub menu is preceded by a “Ø”).
The choice: Auto(ESCD), Manual.

PCI/VGA Palette Snoop

Leave this field at Disabled.
Choices are Enabled, Disabled.

4-7 PC Health Status

33oC/91oF

59

o

C/138oF
0 RPM
0 RPM

0 RPM

1.53V

2.09V

3.42V

4.97V

12.16V

12.28V

5.09V

3.48V

4.89V

BIOS EP-6CXA2C

Page 4-22

Current CPU Temperature

This is the current temperature of the CPU.

Current CPU Fan/ Power Fan/ Chassis Fan Speed

The current CPU fan speed in RPMs.

CPU(V)

The voltage level of the Vtt, Vcore, Vcc.
+5V, +12V, -12V, -5V, VBAT, 5VSB: The voltage level of the switch power supply.

Shutdown Temperature

This is the temperature that the computer will turn off the power to combat the
effects of an overheating system. (requires ACPI to be enabled in Power Manage­ment BIOS and ACPI compliant operating system.) The default is 100oC/212oF.
Options available are 60oC/140oF to 100oC/212oF in increments of 5oC.

BIOSEP-6CXA2C

Page 4-23

RDRAM Bus Frequency

This item allows you to select the RDRAM’s running frequency. The RDRAM
timing are very tight. Make sure the correct RDRAM speed and choice the right
item for more stable in the system.
The choice: This item according the difference of CPU’s FSB that is 100MHz or
133MHz.

Note: The RDRAM Bus memory time is difference with SDRAM. If you set

the RDRAM Bus Frequency to be too high, then the system will not
turn on again (no display). You can clear CMOS by shorting JP1’s 2-3
pin (momentarily), while the system is off. The system should be turn
on by the default value.

Auto Detect DIMM/PCI Clk

This item allows you to enable/disable auto detect DIMM/PCI Clock.
The choice: Enabled, Disabled.

4-8 Frequency/Voltage Control

Defaultd

2.00V

0.00V

2.00V

BIOS EP-6CXA2C

Page 4-24

CPU Host/AGP/PCI Clock

The mainboard is designed to set the CPU Host/AGP/PCI clock at jumperfree. This
item allows you to select the CPU Host speed and PCI clock speed by “Enter” key.
If “default” is means the CPU Host speed that depend on the CPU is 100MHz or
133MHz.

CPU Clock Ratio

This item allows you to select the CPU ratio. If the CPU ratio is fixed. This item
was no function. Configuration options: [3.x]...[7x], [7.5x], [8.x].

CPU Vcore Voltage

This item allows you to increase the CPU Vcore Voltage.

4-9 Defaults Menu

Selecting “Defaults” from the main menu shows you two options which are described
below

Load Fail-Safe Defaults

When you press <Enter> on this item you get a confirmation dialog box with a
message similar to:

Load Fail-Safe Defaults (Y/N) ? N

Pressing ‘Y’ loads the BIOS default values for the most stable, minimal-perfor­mance system operations.

Load Optimized Defaults

When you press <Enter> on this item you get a confirmation dialog box with a
message similar to:

Load Optimized Defaults (Y/N) ? N

Pressing ‘Y’ loads the default values that are factory settings for optimal perfor­mance system operations.

BIOSEP-6CXA2C

Page 4-25

4-10 Supervisor/User Password Setting

You can set either supervisor or user password, or both of then. The differences
between are:

supervisor password : can enter and change the options of the setup menus.
user password : just can only enter but do not have the right to change the

options of the setup menus. When you select this function, the following message
will appear at the center of the screen to assist you in creating a password.

ENTER PASSWORD:

Type the password, up to eight characters in length, and press <Enter>. The pass­word typed now will clear any previously entered password from CMOS memory.
You will be asked to confirm the password. Type the password again and press
<Enter>. You may also press <Esc> to abort the selection and not enter a password.
To disable a password, just press <Enter> when you are prompted to enter the
password. A message will confirm the password will be disabled. Once the pass­word is disabled, the system will boot and you can enter Setup freely.

P ASSWORD DISABLED.

When a password has been enabled, you will be prompted to enter it every time you
try to enter Setup. This prevents an unauthorized person from changing any part of
your system configuration.
Additionally, when a password is enabled, you can also require the BIOS to request a
password every time your system is rebooted. This would prevent unauthorized use
of your computer.
You determine when the password is required within the BIOS Features Setup Menu
and its Security option (see Section 3). If the Security option is set to “System”, the
password will be required both at boot and at entry to Setup. If set to “Setup”, prompt­ing only occurs when trying to enter Setup.

BIOS EP-6CXA2C

Page 4-26

4-11 Exit Selecting

Save & Exit Setup

Pressing <Enter> on this item asks for confirmation:

Save to CMOS and EXIT (Y/N)? Y

Pressing “Y” stores the selections made in the menus in CMOS – a special section
of memory that stays on after you turn your system off. The next time you boot your
computer, the BIOS configures your system according to the Setup selections stored
in CMOS. After saving the values the system is restarted again.

Exit Without Saving

Pressing <Enter> on this item asks for confirmation:

Quit without saving (Y/N)? Y

This allows you to exit Setup without storing in CMOS any change. The previous
selections remain in effect. This exits the Setup utility and restarts your computer.

Drivers InstallationEP-6CXA2C

Page 5-1

Section 5

820 and Sound Driver Installation

Step 1 : To Click the Intel 810 and 820 Chipset INF Files that enable the Intel(R)

810 Chipsets to be recognized by listed operating systems. This installer
will unpack updated .INF files into a specified folder. Supported operat­ing systems: Microsoft Windows* 95 OSR 2.1+ and Windows* 98 oper­ating systems.

Step 2 : To Click the Intel 810 and 820 INF Installation Utility. This installer will

install updated .INF files onto the target machine. Supported operating
systems: Microsoft Windows* 95 OSR 2.1+ and Windows* 98 operating
systems. This procedure will Re-start the system.

Step 3 : To Click the Audio Driver/Utilities to installation the Audio Sound Driver

in operating system.

Easy Driver Installation

Drivers Installation EP-6CXA2C

Page 5-2

Page Left Blank

PCI Audio SoundEP-6CXA2C

Page 6-1

Section 6

PCI Audio Sound

CMI8738 Features:

ll

ll

l Special Features

PCI Plug and Play (PnP) bus interface, 32 bit PCI bus master.
Full duplex playback and recording, built-in 16 bits CODEC.
HRTF 3D positional audio, supports both Direct Sound 3D® & A3D

®

interfaces, supports earphones, two and four channel speakers mode.
Support Windows 3.1 / 95 / 98 and Windows NT 4.0.
Built-in 32 OHM Earphone buffer and 3D surround.
MPU-401 Game/Midi port and legacy audio SB16 support.
Downloadable Wave Table Synthesizer, supports Direct Music®.







ll

ll

l Digital Audio (SPDIF IN/OUT)-(Optional)

Up to 24 bit stereo 44KHz sampling rate voice playback/recording.
Full duplex playback and recording, 120dB audio quality measured.
Auto detectable SPDIF/IN signal level from 0.5V to 5V.







ll

ll

l Stereo Mixer and FM Music Synthesizer

Stereo analog mixing from CD-Audio, Line-in
Stereo digital mixing from Voice, FM/Wave-table, Digital CD-Audio
Mono mixing from MIC and software adjustable volume
OPL3 FM synthesizer (4 operators)
Up to 15 melody sounds and 5 rhythm sounds (20 voices)







ll

ll

l Game and Midi Interface

Fully compatible with MPU-401 Midi UART and Sound Blaster Midi
mode/ Standard IBM PC joystick/game port (dual channels)

PCI Audio Sound EP-6CXA2C

Page 6-2

Connector Function

AUX-IN AUX_IN Port ( Signals: L – G – G – R )

CD-IN

Analog CD/IN Port ( Signals:

L-G-G-R

)

MODEM-IN Telephony Connector (Signals Audio-In-G-G-Mic-out to Modem

JX2 OPTICAL SPDIF- I/O

LINE_IN Connect with the audio output port of stereo or nomal line in.

Turn on or turn off by 4SPK in the Audio Rack Appc.

MIC Connect with the Microphone ( Mono )

LINE_OUT Output to speakers with t he ampli fier or earphone s or Audio_I N of

home stereo

SPDIF_OUT Connect with Mini Disk, LD Play er or AC3 Amplifier

GAME/MIDI Connect with Joystick or devices that use MIDI interface

Connectors and Jumper setting informations

PCI Audio SoundEP-6CXA2C

Page 6-3

Dos Installation

Before beginning the installation, please make sure that your hard disk has sufficient
space(min. 4MB). Insert the Driver CD into the CD-ROM Drive.

1. Change directory to PCI audio DOS drivers folder (ex. D:\DOSDRV) at DOS
prompt, and type:

INSTALL [Enter]

2. Type DOS utilities path which you want to install.

3. Program will expand the file to the path which you’ve specified.

4. Install program will add initial drivers into AUTOEXEC.BAT file.

Win95/98 Installation

We recommend that you install Microsoft Windows before you install this PCI
sound card, and you not install any other sound card device drivers in your current
system.

1. Power off your system, install the PCI sound card, audio cable, speaker,

microphone, and insert driver CD into the CD-ROM drive.

2. Turn on the computer, and enter the Microsoft Windows 95 / 98.

3. You will see a windows prompt like this:

“New Hardware Found
PCI Multimedia Audio Device
Windows has found new hardware and is installing the software for it”, then the
dialog box shown. Click “Next” button to go on.

4. Click on “Other Locations…” button to specify drivers path.

5. When CMI8738/C3DX PCI Audio Device found, click “Finish”.

6. Now, system is installing device drivers automatically. After a while, the system

will finish the installation includs the following device drivers.
CMI8738/C3DX PCI Audio Device
CMI8738/C3DX PCI Audio Joystick Device
CMI8738/C3DX PCI Audio Legacy Device
DOS mode MPU-401 Emulator

PCI Audio Sound EP-6CXA2C

Page 6-4

Win95/98 Un-Installation

If you install Win95/98 and a sound card at the same time, you might experience
some technical difficulties(the device might not function properly). It is suggested
that you proceed with the un-install procedure:

1. Click “start” button.

2. Select “run” item.

3. Find UINSTDRV.EXE in driver disk under Win95/98 drivers folder.

4. Run it.

5. Follow the on-screen instructions to re-install the hardware.

If you want to completely remove the drivers, you can also run the un-install proce­dure as described previously. Remove the sound card from the slot, and then reboot
the system.

8. Click “start” key

9. Select “Run”

10. Key in the drive and path for Windows application installation program, for

example, “D:\W95-98\APP\SETUP.EXE”

11.Click “OK” to start the installation procedure, and follow the on-screen

instructions to finish the installation. When all the application softwares have
been installed, please shut down Windows 95/98 system, and reboot your
system.

PCI Audio SoundEP-6CXA2C

Page 6-5

Windows NT 4.0 Installation

We recommend that you install Windows NT 4.0 before you install this onboard’s
PCI audio , and you not install any other sound card device drivers in your current
system.

1. Click “Start” button, move the highlight bar to “Setting” item, and select the

“Control Panel”.

2. Double-click “Multimedia” icon.

3. Select “Devices” page, and press “Add” button.

4. Select “Unlisted or Updated Driver” item in “List of Drivers”.

5. Specify the drive and the path where NT drivers are in (such as D:\NT40\DRV).

6. Select “C-Media CM8738” item and press “OK” button.

7. Select proper I/O value.

8. Press “OK” button.

9. Restart the system when being asked.

10 .Now, you have already installed the PCI Audio Adapter under Microsoft

Windows NT 4.0 successfully. if you want to install the Windows applications,
continue the following steps:

11.Click “start” key.

12.Select “Run” item.

13.Key in drive and path for Windows NT application installation program, for

example, “D:\NT40\APP\SETUP.EXE”

14.Click “OK” to start the installation procedure, and follow the on-screen

instructions to finish the installation. When all of application softwares have
been installed, shut down the Windows NT system, and then reboot your
system.

PCI Audio Sound EP-6CXA2C

Page 6-6

Windows Appc. (The Audio Rack)

Introduction

By means of a user-friendly interface(as easy as operating your home stereo system),
this PCI audio rack provides you with the control over your PC’s audio functions,
including the advantage of four speakers mode enable/ disable.

PCI Audio SoundEP-6CXA2C

Page 6-7

This Audio Rack consists of several major components:

Control Center: Controls the display of the PCI Audio Rack’s components.

MIDI Player: Plays MIDI music files, and allows you to create your personal song

playlists, and play the song files.
MP3/Wave Player: Records and plays digital audio (mp3/wave) files. Allows you

to create wave file playlists, and playback the wave files.
CD Player: Plays standard audio CDs. Allows you to create your favorite song

playlists.
System Mixer: Controls the volume level of your audio inputs and outputs.

Showing or Hiding Audio Rack Components

To remove or add a component from the display, click on the component’s button on
the Control Center’s Button Bar or toggle it off.

MIDI Player, Wave Player, and CD Player

CD Player (above, similar to Wave Player and MIDI Player)

Sel (or Trk) field: If you have multiple selections in your playlist, this shows the
number of the current selection or CD track.

Current File or Track: The name of the current MIDI file, wave audio file, or CD
track.

Total Length field: displays the total length of files or tracks in minutes and
seconds.
Current Time field: displays the current time of files or tracks in minutes and
seconds when playback or recording.

Please refer to the help screen for more detail button function descriptions.
(click on help “ ” button on the player)

PCI Audio Sound EP-6CXA2C

Page 6-8

System Mixer

System Mixer allows you to control all the audio output and input levels.
System Mixer displays the volume controls which your audio drivers make available.

The names for these controls may vary.

Volume Control: Clicking on this button shows and allows you to use the output
level controls.

Recording Control: Clicking on this button shows and allows you use the input level
controls.

Mixer panel while the four speakers mode is enabled.

Mixer panel while the four speakers mode is disabled.

Input and Output Level Sliders and Buttons: For each input or output signal type,
the control slider controls the loudness whereas the horizontal slider controls the
balance between the two speakers. The mute button temporarily stops input or
output without changing slider positions.

Control types and names might vary. The common types are listed below:

ll

ll

l Vol: The master control for all outputs. The strength of an output signal is deter-

mined by both the Vol slider and the slider for the individual output. To af fect all
outputs, move the Vol slider. To change the output of an individual output type,
move its slider.

ll

ll

l Line-in/Rear: Controls the audio hardware’s Line In or Line Out levels. Line

levels might be for an externally attached cassette player, for instance, while the
four speakers mode is enabled, this control becomes the Rear speaker volume
control.

PCI Audio SoundEP-6CXA2C

Page 6-9

ll

ll

l Mic: Controls the microphone input level.

ll

ll

l Wave: Controls wave (voice) playback or the recording levels.

ll

ll

l FM: Controls the FM music playback or the recording level.

ll

ll

l Aux-in: Controls the Aux-in music play or the recording level.

ll

ll

l CD: Controls the CD drive output level, for CD drives configured to play their

audio output through the PC’s audio hardware.

ll

ll

l 4SPK: Turn on or turn off the Rear speakers effect.

ll

ll

l Surround: Turn on or turn off the 3D surround sound effect.

ll

ll

l SPDIF-in: Turn on or turn off the SPDIF digital signal input.

ll

ll

l Advanced: Check the SPDIF status, HRTF 3D sound CPU Utilization, turn on

th Microphone Booster.

Mute Buttons: Toggle between muting and enabling the signal. A button with a lit
LED is enabled, and when it is not lit, it means it is mute. Several output signals can
usually be enabled at once.

PCI Audio Sound EP-6CXA2C

Page 6-10

MP3 Player

MP3 player can play both wave files and MP3 files.

MP3 player while the loop function enables.

The settings’ window while one of the SPDIF functions is enable.

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The 4 Speakers System

This Audio Adapter provides 2 wave channels(front/rear), known as the 4 speakers
system. When games or application programs via DirectSound® 3D or A3D

®

interface locate the sound sources to the listener’s back, the two rear speakers
will work to enhance the rear audio positional effect, so as to complement the
insufficiency of using only two front speakers to emulate the audio effect. The
following is the hardware installation and the software setups:

1.The speaker installation.

Connect the front pair speakers to the Line-out jack of the audio adapter, and
then connect rear pair speakers to Line-in/Rear jack of the audio adapter. The
original Line-in can be moved to Aux-in.

2.The positions of the speakers

Put your speakers the way the following picture suggests, so as to avail yourself
to the best audio result.

3. The mixer setup

There is a 4 speakers option in the volume control of the mixer, and when you
enable this option, it means the rear speakers are connected to Line-in/Rear
jack. When Line-in/Rear jack is connected to other external Line-in sources,
please DO NOT enable this option in order to avoid hardware conflicts. Regard­ing rear speaker option, you can turn on or turn off the output of the back
speakers, and adjust the volume, to have the rear/front speakers have the same
volume.

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4.The demo

Execute the “Helicopter” demo within the C3D HRTF Positional Audio Demos
of this audio adapter. When the helicopter flies behind you, the rear speakers
will work.

DEMO1: Present to you the complete 4-speaker surround sound effect.
DEMO2: Present to you the sound effects of each speaker.
You may also use the mouse to select any speaker and click it to make it work.

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Optical Fiber Application in CMI8738 SPDIF/OUT

(MD/Onboard’s Sound/MP3 Player Setup)

Optical SW Setting

OPTICAL IN

SPDIF-OUT

OPTICAL OUT

SPDIF-IN from
CD-ROM
DIGIT AL OUT

OPTICAL SPDIF-I/O from M.B’s JX2

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An optical fiber is used to connect the onboard’s sound and the MD.

EP-SPDIF0

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The application program setup
(please install CMI8738 application program first)

When the connection is done,please go to the Start menu and select PCI Audio
Applications\Audio Environment Setting.

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When all the procedures have been completed, there will be an infrared signal
coming from the SPDIF/OUT of the optical fiber of the sound card.

Please note that signal beam may cause severe damage to the eyes. For your
safety,please point the output end to a piece of white paper to check if thebeam is
in function.

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Please connect the output signal to the MD input,then play the music via the MP3
player:

Please note that in playback, if there is no gap longer than three seconds between
each track, the MD can not recognize the tracks and will record all of them into one.
It is recommended that you set the gap time to 3~5 seconds to meet all type of MD

requirements.

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About Recording 24bit Audio Setting

24-bit audio can only be applied to SPDIF IN/OUT mode; it does not apply to
other modes such as the four channels or the analog. No sound will be heard while
in playback, yet it can be recorded.

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The un-selected area will be grayed out.

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The un-selected area will be grayed out.

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The un-selected area will be grayed out.

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You can double-click this circuit icon to have the following setting box. By means
of this setting box, you can also complete the above-mentioned setting
procedures.

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CMI8738 SPDIF/IN

Portable CD Player(Output) to CMI8738(Optical Input)Setup

OPTICAL IN

OPTICAL IN

OPTICAL OUT

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When the connection is done,please go to the Start menu and select PCI Audio
Applications\Audio Environment Setting

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Loopback(bypass)mode setup

CD ROM(Digital Output) to CMI8738(SPDIF/IN)Setup

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When the connection is done,please go to the Start menu and select PCI Audio
Applications\Audio Environment Setting

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Please follow these setting procedures.

Now you can insert the CD into the CD ROM drive,then activate C-MEDIA CD
player and push the ”play” button to do the recording job.

Please note that you have to set the MD in the simultaneous-recording mode.

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