Intel BL440ZX User Manual

BL440ZX Motherboard

Technical Product Specification

December 1998
Order Number 726092-001

The BL440ZX motherboard may contain design defects or errors known as errata that may cause the product to deviate from published specifications. Current characterized errata
are documented in the BL440ZX Motherboard Specification Update.

Revision History

Revision Revision History Date

-001 First release of the BL440ZX Motherboard Technical Product
Specification.

This product specification applies only to standard BL440ZX motherboards with BIOS identifier
4B4LZ0XA.86A.000X.P0X.

Changes to this specification will be published in the BL440ZX Motherboard Specification Update
before being incorporated into a revision of this document.

December 1998

Information in this doc ument is provided in connec tion with Intel product s. No license, express or impl ied, by est oppel or
otherwise, to any intellectual property rights is granted by this document. Except as provided in Intel’s Terms and
Conditions of Sale for such products, Intel ass umes no liability whatsoever, and Intel disc laims any express or implied
warranty, relating to sale and/or use of Intel products including liability or warranties relating to fitness for a particular
purpose, merchantability, or infringement of any patent, copyright or other intellectual propert y right Intel products are not
designed, intended or authorized for use in any medical, life saving, or life sustaining applications or for any other
application in which the failure of the Intel product could create a situation where personal injury or death may occur.

Intel retains the right to make changes to specifications and product descriptions at any time, without notice.
The BL440ZX motherboard may contain design defects or errors known as errata whi ch may cause the produc t to deviate

from published specifications. Current characterized errata are available on request.
Contact your local Intel sales office or your distributor to obtain the latest specifications before placing your product order.
Copies of documents whic h have an ordering number and are referenc ed in this docum ent, or other Intel lit erature, may be

obtained from:

Intel Corporation
P.O. Box 5937
Denver, CO 80217-9808

or call in North America 1-800-548-4725, Europe 44-0-1793-431-155, France 44-0-1793-421-777,
Germany 44-0-1793-421-333, other Countries 708-296-9333.

†

Third party brands and names are the property of their respective owners.

Copyright  Intel Corporation, 1998.

Preface

This Technical Product Specification (TPS) specifies the board layout, components, connectors,
power and environmental requirements, and BIOS for the BL440ZX motherboard. It describes the
standard motherboard product and available manufacturing options.

Intended Audience

The TPS is intended to provide detailed, technical information about the motherboard and its
components to the vendors, system integrators, and other engineers and technicians who need this
level of information. It is specifically not intended for general audiences.

What This Document Contains

Chapter Description

1 A description of the hardware used on this board
2 A map of the resources of the board
3 The features supported by the BIOS Setup program
4 The contents of the BIOS Setup program’s menus and submenus

5 A description of the BIOS error messages, beep codes, and Power On Self Tests

(POST) codes

6 A list of where to find information about specifications supported by the

motherboard

Typographical Conventions

This section contains information about the conventions used in this specification. Not all of these
symbols and abbreviations appear in all specifications of this type.

Notes, Cautions, and Warnings

NOTE

✏

Notes call attention to important information.

CAUTION

Cautions are included to help you avoid damaging hardware or losing data.

iii

BL440ZX Motherboard Technical Product Specification

WARNING

Warnings indicate conditions that, if not observed, can cause personal injury.

Other Common Notation

‡

# Used after a signal name to identify an active-low signal (such as USBP0#).
(NxnX) When used in the description of a component, N indicates component type, xn are the relative

KB Kilobyte (1024 bytes).
Kbit Kilobit (1024 bits).
MB Megabyte (1,048,576 bytes).
Mbit Megabit (1,048,576 bits).
GB Gigabyte (1,073,741,824 bytes).
xxh An address or data value ending with a lowercase h indicates a hexadecimal value.
x.x V Volts. Voltages are DC unless otherwise specified.

†

Indicates a feature that is implemented—at least in part—on a riser card.

coordinates of its location on the motherboard, and X is the instance of the particular part at that
general location. For example, J5J1 is a connector, located at 5J. It is the first connector in the
5J area.

This symbol is used to indicate third-party brands and names that are the property of their
respective owners.

iv

Contents

1 Motherboard Description

1.1 Overview ................................................................................................................... 10

1.2 Microprocessor.......................................................................................................... 13

1.3 Main Memory............................................................................................................. 13

1.4 Chipset......................................................................................................................15



1.4.1 Intel

1.4.2 Intel

1.5 I/O Interface Controller .............................................................................................. 18

1.5.1 Serial Port ................................................................................................... 18

1.5.2 Parallel Port................................................................................................. 19

1.5.3 Diskette Drive Controller.............................................................................. 19

1.5.4 PS/2 Keyboard and Mouse Interface........................................................... 19

1.6 Audio Subsystem....................................................................................................... 20

1.6.1 Creative Sound Blaster AudioPCI 64V AC ’97 v1.03 Digital Controller........ 20

1.6.2 Crystal CS4297 AC ’97 v1.03 Analog Codec............................................... 20

1.6.3 Audio Connectors........................................................................................ 20

1.6.4 Audio Drivers and Utilities ........................................................................... 21

1.7 ATI RAGE PRO TURBO 2X AGP Graphics Controller .............................................. 21

1.8 LAN Subsystem......................................................................................................... 21

1.8.1 Intel

1.8.2 LAN Subsystem Software............................................................................ 22

1.8.3 RJ-45 LAN Connector LEDs........................................................................ 22

1.9 Wake on LAN Technology......................................................................................... 22

1.10 Wake on Ring / Resume on Ring Technologies......................................................... 23

1.10.1 Wake on Ring Technology .......................................................................... 23

1.10.2 Resume on Ring Technology...................................................................... 23

1.11 Hardware Monitor Subsystem.................................................................................... 23

1.12 Fan Speed Control .................................................................................................... 23

1.12.1 Fan Header................................................................................................. 24

1.12.2 Fan Control Signal to the Riser Card........................................................... 24

1.12.3 System Management Support..................................................................... 24

1.13 Motherboard Connectors........................................................................................... 25

1.13.1 Back Panel I/O Connectors......................................................................... 26

1.13.2 Processor Fan Connector............................................................................ 29

1.13.3 NLX Card Edge Connector.......................................................................... 29

1.14 Jumper Blocks........................................................................................................... 39

1.14.1 Microphone Routing Jumper Block.............................................................. 40

1.14.2 BIOS Setup Configuration Jumper Block..................................................... 40

1.15 Mechanical Considerations........................................................................................ 41

1.15.1 Form Factor................................................................................................. 41

1.15.2 I/O Shield.................................................................................................... 42

82443ZX PCI/AGP Controller............................................................ 15



82371EB PCI ISA IDE Xcelerator...................................................... 16



82559 LAN Controller........................................................................ 21

v

BL440ZX Motherboard Technical Product Specification

1.16 Electrical Considerations........................................................................................... 43

1.16.1 Power Consumption.................................................................................... 43

1.16.2 Power Supply Considerations...................................................................... 44

1.17 Thermal Considerations............................................................................................. 45

1.18 Environmental Specifications..................................................................................... 47

1.19 Reliability................................................................................................................... 47

1.20 Regulatory Compliance ............................................................................................. 48

2 Motherboard Resources

2.1 Memory Map ............................................................................................................. 49

2.2 DMA Channels .......................................................................................................... 50

2.3 I/O Map ..................................................................................................................... 50

2.4 PCI Configuration Space Map ................................................................................... 52

2.5 Interrupts...................................................................................................................53

2.6 PCI Interrupt Routing Map......................................................................................... 54

3 Overview of BIOS Features

3.1 Introduction................................................................................................................ 55

3.2 BIOS Flash Memory Organization............................................................................. 56

3.3 Resource Configuration............................................................................................. 56

3.3.1 Plug and Play: PCI Autoconfiguration......................................................... 56

3.3.2 ISA Plug and Play ....................................................................................... 56

3.3.3 PCI IDE Support.......................................................................................... 57

3.4 System Management BIOS (SMBIOS)...................................................................... 57

3.5 Power Management .................................................................................................. 58

3.5.1 APM............................................................................................................ 58

3.5.2 ACPI............................................................................................................ 58

3.6 BIOS Upgrades ......................................................................................................... 60

3.6.1 Language Support....................................................................................... 61

3.6.2 OEM Logo or Scan Area............................................................................. 61

3.7 Recovering BIOS Data .............................................................................................. 61

3.8 Boot Options.............................................................................................................. 62

3.8.1 CD-ROM and Network Boot........................................................................ 62

3.8.2 Booting Without Attached Devices .............................................................. 62

3.8.3 Default Settings After Battery and Power Failure ........................................ 62

3.9 USB Legacy Support................................................................................................. 63

3.10 BIOS Security Features............................................................................................. 64

4 BIOS Setup Program

4.1 Introduction................................................................................................................ 65

4.2 Maintenance Menu.................................................................................................... 66

4.3 Main Menu................................................................................................................. 67

4.4 Advanced Menu......................................................................................................... 68

4.4.1 Boot Setting Configuration Submenu .......................................................... 68

4.4.2 Peripheral Configuration Submenu.............................................................. 69

4.4.3 IDE Configuration........................................................................................ 70

4.4.4 IDE Configuration Submenus...................................................................... 71

4.4.5 Diskette Configuration Submenu................................................................. 72

vi

4.4.6 Event Log Configuration.............................................................................. 72

4.4.7 Video Configuration Submenu..................................................................... 72

4.4.8 Resource Configuration Submenu............................................................... 73

4.5 Security Menu............................................................................................................ 73

4.6 Power Menu.............................................................................................................. 74

4.7 Boot Menu................................................................................................................. 74

4.8 Exit Menu .................................................................................................................. 75

5 Error Messages and Beep Codes

5.1 BIOS Error Messages................................................................................................ 77

5.2 Port 80h POST Codes............................................................................................... 79

5.3 Bus Initialization Checkpoints.................................................................................... 83

5.4 BIOS Beep Codes..................................................................................................... 84

6 Specifications and Customer Support

6.1 Online Support........................................................................................................... 85

6.2 Specifications ............................................................................................................ 85

Figures

1. Motherboard Components......................................................................................... 12

2. Motherboard Connectors........................................................................................... 25

3. Locations of the Jumper Blocks................................................................................. 39

4. Motherboard Dimensions........................................................................................... 41

5. Back Panel I/O Shield Dimensions ............................................................................ 42

6. Thermally-sensitive Components............................................................................... 46

Contents

Tables

1. Processors Supported by the Motherboard ............................................................... 13

2. RJ-45 LAN Connector LEDs...................................................................................... 22

3. Fan Speed Control under APM Operating System .................................................... 24

4. Fan Speed Control under ACPI Operating System.................................................... 24

5. Video Connector (J1K1) ............................................................................................ 26

6. Parallel Port Connector (J2K1).................................................................................. 27

7. Serial Port Connector (J3K1)..................................................................................... 27

8. RJ-45 LAN connector (J6K2)..................................................................................... 27

9. PS/2 Keyboard/Mouse Connectors (J5K1, J6K1)...................................................... 28

10. USB Connectors (J6K2) ............................................................................................ 28

11. Audio Line Out Connector (J7K1)............................................................................. 28

12. Audio Mic In Connector (J8K1)................................................................................. 28

13. Processor Fan Connector (J4D1).............................................................................. 29

14. Available PCI Bus Masters........................................................................................ 29

15. PCI Segment, NLX Card Edge Connector................................................................. 31

16. ISA Segment, NLX Card Edge Connector................................................................. 32

17. IDE, Floppy, and Front Panel Section; NLX Card Edge Connector............................ 34

18. Supplemental Section, NLX Card Edge Connector.................................................... 37

19. Microphone Routing Jumper (J8K2) .......................................................................... 40

20. BIOS Setup Configuration Jumper Settings............................................................... 40

21. Power Usage............................................................................................................. 43

vii

BL440ZX Motherboard Technical Product Specification

22. DC Voltage Tolerances.............................................................................................. 44

23. Thermal Considerations for Components .................................................................. 45

24. Environmental Specifications..................................................................................... 47

25. Safety Regulations .................................................................................................... 48

26. EMC Regulations....................................................................................................... 48

27. System Memory Map................................................................................................. 49

28. DMA Channels .......................................................................................................... 50

29. I/O Map ..................................................................................................................... 50

30. PCI Configuration Space Map ................................................................................... 52

31. Interrupts...................................................................................................................53

32. PCI Interrupt Routing Map......................................................................................... 54

33. Flash Memory Organization....................................................................................... 56

34. Effects of Pressing the Power Switch ........................................................................ 59

35. Power States and Targeted System Power ............................................................... 59

36. Wake-up Devices and Events.................................................................................... 60

37. Supervisor and User Password Functions................................................................. 64

38. Setup Menu Bar......................................................................................................... 65

39. Setup Function Keys.................................................................................................. 66

40. Maintenance Menu.................................................................................................... 66

41. Main Menu................................................................................................................. 67

42. Advanced Menu......................................................................................................... 68

43. Boot Setting Configuration Submenu......................................................................... 68

44. Peripheral Configuration Submenu............................................................................ 69

45. IDE Device Configuration .......................................................................................... 70

46. IDE Configuration Submenus .................................................................................... 71

47. Diskette Configuration Submenu............................................................................... 72

48. Event Log Configuration Submenu............................................................................ 72

49. Video Configuration Submenu................................................................................... 72

50. Resource Configuration Submenu............................................................................. 73

51. Security Menu............................................................................................................ 73

52. Power Menu.............................................................................................................. 74

53. Boot Menu................................................................................................................. 74

54. Exit Menu .................................................................................................................. 75

55. BIOS Error Messages................................................................................................ 77

56. Uncompressed INIT Code Checkpoints..................................................................... 79

57. Boot Block Recovery Code Checkpoints ................................................................... 79

58. Runtime Code Uncompressed in F000 Shadow RAM ............................................... 80

59. Beep Codes............................................................................................................... 84

60. Compliance with Specifications ................................................................................. 85

viii

1 Motherboard Description

What This Chapter Contains

1.1 Overview ................................................................................................................... 10

1.2 Microprocessor.......................................................................................................... 13

1.3 Main Memory............................................................................................................. 13

1.4 Chipset......................................................................................................................15

1.5 I/O Interface Controller .............................................................................................. 18

1.6 Audio Subsystem....................................................................................................... 20

1.7 ATI RAGE PRO TURBO 2X AGP Graphics Controller .............................................. 21

1.8 LAN Subsystem......................................................................................................... 21

1.9 Wake on LAN Technology......................................................................................... 22

1.10 Wake on Ring / Resume on Ring Technologies......................................................... 23

1.11 Hardware Monitor Subsystem.................................................................................... 23

1.12 Fan Speed Control .................................................................................................... 23

1.13 Motherboard Connectors........................................................................................... 25

1.14 Jumper Blocks........................................................................................................... 39

1.15 Mechanical Considerations........................................................................................ 41

1.16 Electrical Considerations........................................................................................... 43

1.17 Thermal Considerations............................................................................................. 45

1.18 Environmental Specifications..................................................................................... 47

1.19 Reliability................................................................................................................... 47

1.20 Regulatory Compliance ............................................................................................. 48

9

BL440ZX Motherboard Technical Product Specification

1.1 Overview

The BL440ZX motherboard is a versatile platform that offers a wide variety of features. Some of
the features are implemented—at least in part—on the riser card. Throughout this manual, the
symbol is used to indicate such a feature. Because there is no standard riser card, no detailed
description of an implementation can be given. See Section 6.2 to obtain NLX riser card design
information.

The BL440ZX motherboard’s features are summarized below.

Form Factor NLX (10.0 inches by 8.25 inches)
Processor

Chipset

Memory

I/O Control
Peripheral Interfaces

LAN Subsystem

Audio Subsystem

Graphics Subsystem

Expansion Capabilities
Offboard Chassis

Intrusion Detection
BIOS

• 370-contact processor pin grid array PGA370S socket

• Support for the Intel

• 128 KB of integrated L2 cache

Intel® 82440ZX AGPset (on the 66-Mhz host bus), consisting of:

• Intel

• Intel

• Two 168-contact DIMM sockets

• Support for up to 256 MB of 66-MHz, non-ECC, synchronous DRAM

• Support for serial presence detect (SPD) and non-SPD DIMMs

SMSC FDC37M807 I/O controller

• One serial port

• Two USB ports

• One parallel port

• PS/2

• PS/2 mouse

• Intel® 82559 10/100 Mbps PCI LAN controller

• RJ-45 LAN connector

Integrated PCI audio, consisting of:

• Creative Sound Blaster

• Crystal CS4297 AC ’97 v1.03 analog codec

• Integrated ATI RAGE PRO TURBO

• 8 MB SDRAM

Riser dependent
Support for chassis intrusion detection if available on the riser card (see also,

Manufacturing Options)

• Intel/AMI BIOS stored in Intel® E28F200B5 2 Mbit flash memory

• Support for SMBIOS, ACPI, APM, Management Level 3.0, and Plug and

®

82443ZX PCI/AGP controller (PAC)

®

82371EB PCI/ISA IDE Xcelerator (PIIX4E)

(SDRAM)

†

keyboard

ES1373 AC ’97 v1.03 digital controller

Play (see Section 6.2 for specification compliance levels)

®

Celeron™ processor on the 66-MHz host bus

†

AudioPCI† 64V audio using the Ensoniq

†

2X AGP controller

‡

10

Motherboard Description

Not all of the following manufacturing options are available in all marketing channels. Please
contact your Intel representative to determine what manufacturing options are available to you.

Manufacturing Options

Front Panel USB
Onboard Chassis

Intrusion Detection

‡

One of the two USB channels routed to the riser card
Photo sensor on the motherboard

11

BL440ZX Motherboard Technical Product Specification

Figure 1 shows the major components of the BL440ZX motherboard.

A

Q
P

O

B

C

D

E

N

F

G

M

J

L

A Back panel I/O connectors J BIOS Setup configuration jumper
B Microphone routing jumper K Hardware monitor component
C Crystal CS4297 audio codec L PGA370S processor socket
D Creative Sound Blaster AudioPCI 64V audio

controller

EFNLX card edge connector

Piezoelectric speaker
G Intel 82371EB PIIX4E P Intel 82559 LAN controller
H Processor fan connector Q SMSC FDC37M807 I/O controller
I Battery

MNDIMM sockets

O ATI RAGE PRO TURBO 2X AGP graphics

K

®

Intel

82443ZX PAC

controller

I

H

OM07455

12

Figure 1. Motherboard Components

Motherboard Description

1.2 Microprocessor

The motherboard supports a socketed Celeron processor. The processor’s VID pins automatically
program the voltage regulator on the motherboard to the required processor voltage. The processor
connects to the motherboard through the 370-pin PGA370S socket.

The motherboard supports the processors listed in Table 1.

Table 1. Processors Supported by the Motherboard

Processor Speed Host Bus Frequency Cache Size

300A MHz
333 MHz
366 MHz

66 MHz
66 MHz
66 MHz

128 KB
128 KB
128 KB

All supported onboard memory can be cached.

1.3 Main Memory

The motherboard has two dual inline memory module (DIMM) sockets. SDRAM can be installed
in one or both sockets. The motherboard also supports both serial presence detect (SPD) and non­SPD data structures.

2

Using the SPD data structure programmed into an E

PROM on the DIMM, the BIOS can
determine the SDRAM size and speed. Using the non-SPD data structure, the BIOS will
dynamically determine SDRAM size and speed. Minimum memory size is 16 MB; maximum
memory size is 256 MB. Memory size and speed can vary between sockets. The BIOS can
support an SPD SDRAM DIMM in one socket and a non-SPD SDRAM DIMM in the other.

CAUTION

BIOS recovery cannot be done using non-SPD DIMMs. SPD data structure is required for the
recovery process.

The motherboard supports the following memory features:

• 168-pin DIMMs with gold-plated contacts

• 66-MHz or 100-MHz unbuffered SDRAM on the 66-MHz host bus

• Non-ECC (64-bit) memory

• 3.3 V memory only

13

BL440ZX Motherboard Technical Product Specification

The motherboard supports single- or double-sided DIMMs in the following sizes:

DIMM
Capacity

16 MB 2 Mbit X 64 16 Mbit 1 M X 16 8
16 MB 2 Mbit X 64 16 Mbit 2 M X 8 8
16 MB 2 Mbit X 64 64 Mbit 2 M X 32 2
32 MB 4 Mbit X 64 16 Mbit 2 M X 8 16*
32 MB 4 Mbit X 64 64 Mbit 2 M X 32 4
32 MB 4 Mbit X 64 64 Mbit 4 M X 16 4
64 MB 8 Mbit X 64 64 Mbit 4 M X 16 8
64 MB 8 Mbit X 64 64 Mbit 8 M X 8 8
128 MB 16 Mbit X 64 64 Mbit 8 M X 8 16*

* If the number of SDRAMs is greater than nine, the DIMM will be double-sided.

NOTE

✏

DIMM
Organization

SDRAM
Density

SDRAM
Organization

Number of
SDRAMs

All memory components and DIMMs used with the BL440ZX motherboard must comply with the
PC SDRAM Unbuffered DIMM Specification. You can access this document through the Internet
at: http://www.intel.com/design/pcisets/memory/

See Section 6.2 for information about this SDRAM DIMM specification.

14

Motherboard Description

1.4 Chipset

The Intel 82440ZX AGPset includes a Host-PCI bridge integrated with both an optimized DRAM
controller and an Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP) interface. The I/O subsystem of the 82440ZX
is based on the PIIX4E, which is a highly integrated PCI-ISA/IDE Accelerator Bridge.

1.4.1 Intel 82443ZX PCI/AGP Controller

The Intel 82443ZX PCI/AGP controller (PAC) provides bus-control signals, address paths, and

data paths for transfers between the processor’s host bus, PCI bus, the AGP, and main memory.
The PAC features:

• Processor interface control

 Support for 66-MHz processor host bus
 32-bit addressing
 Desktop optimized GTL+ compliant host bus interface

• Integrated DRAM controller, with support for

 +3.3 V only DIMM DRAM configurations
 Up to two double-sided DIMMs
 100-MHz or 66-MHz SDRAM on the 66-MHz host bus
 DIMM serial presence detect via SMBus interface
 16- and 64-Mbit devices with 2 KB, 4 KB, and 8 KB page sizes
 x 4, x 8, x 16, and x 32 DRAM widths
 Symmetrical and asymmetrical DRAM addressing

• AGP interface

 Complies with the AGP specification (see Section 6.2 for specification information)
 Support for a 2X AGP device
 Synchronous coupling to the host bus frequency

• PCI bus interface

 Complies with the PCI specification Rev. 2.1, +5 V 33-MHz interface (see Section 6.2 for

specification information)

 Asynchronous coupling to the host-bus frequency
 PCI parity generation support
 Data streaming support from PCI-to-DRAM
 Support for four PCI bus masters in addition to the host and PCI-to-ISA I/O bridge
 Support for concurrent host, AGP, and PCI transactions to main memory

• Data buffering

 DRAM write buffer with read-around-write capability
 Dedicated host-to-DRAM, PCI0-to-DRAM, and PCI1/AGP-to-DRAM read buffers
 AGP dedicated inbound/outbound FIFOs, used for temporary data storage

• ACPI and APM power management compliance

• SMBus support for desktop management functions

• Support for system management mode (SMM)

15

BL440ZX Motherboard Technical Product Specification

1.4.2 Intel 82371EB PCI ISA IDE Xcelerator

The Intel 82371EB PCI ISA IDE Xcelerator (PIIX4E) is a multifunction PCI device implementing
the PCI-to-ISA bridge, PCI IDE functionality, Universal Serial Bus (USB) host/hub functionality,
and enhanced power management. The PIIX4E features:

• Multifunction PCI-to-ISA bridge

 Support for the PCI bus at 33 MHz
 PCI specification compliance (see Section 6.2 for specification information)
 Full ISA bus support

• USB controller

 Two USB ports (see Section 6.2 for specification information)
 Legacy support for USB keyboard and mouse
 Support for the Universal Host Controller Interface (UHCI) Design Guide, revision 1.1,

interface

• Integrated dual-channel enhanced IDE interface

 Support for up to four IDE devices
 PIO Mode 4 transfers up to 16 MB/sec
 Support for Ultra DMA/33 synchronous DMA mode transfers up to 33 MB/sec
 Bus master mode with an 8 x 32-bit buffer for bus master PCI IDE burst transfers

• Enhanced DMA controller

 Two 8237-based DMA controllers
 Support for PCI DMA with three PC/PCI channels and distributed DMA protocols

• Interrupt controller based on 82C59

 Support for 15 interrupts
 Programmable edge/level sensitivity

• Power management logic

 Sleep/resume logic
 Support for Wake on LAN
 Support for ACPI (see Section 6.2 for specification information)

• Real-Time Clock

 256-byte battery-backed CMOS SRAM
 Date alarm

• 16-bit counters/timers based on 82C54

†

technology

16

Motherboard Description

1.4.2.1 Universal Serial Bus (USB)

The motherboard has two USB ports; one USB peripheral can be connected to each port. For more
than two USB devices, an external hub can be connected to either port. The motherboard provides
the two USB ports on the back panel. For riser cards with front panel USB port support, a
motherboard manufacturing option is available that provides one USB port on the back panel and
the other USB channel routed to the riser card.

The motherboard fully supports the universal host controller interface (UHCI) and uses UHCI­compatible software drivers. See Section 6.2 for information about the USB specification.
USB features include:

• Self-identifying peripherals that can be plugged in while the computer is running

• Automatic mapping of function to driver and configuration

• Support for isochronous and asynchronous transfer types over the same set of wires

• Support for up to 127 physical devices

• Guaranteed bandwidth and low latencies appropriate for telephony, audio, and other

applications

• Error-handling and fault-recovery mechanisms built into the protocol

NOTE

✏

Computer systems that have an unshielded cable attached to a USB port may not meet FCC
Class B requirements, even if no device or a low-speed USB device is attached to the cable. Use
shielded cable that meets the requirements for full-speed devices.

1.4.2.2 IDE Support

The motherboard has two independent bus-mastering IDE interfaces. These interfaces support:

• ATAPI devices (such as CD-ROM drives)

• ATA devices using the transfer modes listed in Table 46

The BIOS supports logical block addressing (LBA) and extended cylinder head sector (ECHS)
translation modes. The drive reports the transfer rate and translation mode to the BIOS.

The motherboard supports laser servo (LS-120) diskette technology through its IDE interfaces.

The LS-120 drive can be configured as a boot device by setting the BIOS Setup program’s Boot
Device Menu (see Section 4.7) to one of the following:

• ARMD-FDD (ATAPI Removable Media Device - Floppy Disk Drive)

• ARMD-HDD (ATAPI Removable Media Device - Hard Disk Drive)

1.4.2.3 Real-Time Clock, CMOS SRAM, and Battery

The real-time clock is compatible with DS1287 and MC146818 components. The clock provides a
time-of-day clock and a multicentury calendar with alarm features and century rollover. The real­time clock supports 256 bytes of battery-backed CMOS SRAM in two banks that are reserved for
BIOS use.

The time, date, and CMOS values can be specified in the Setup program. The CMOS values can
be returned to their defaults by using the Setup program.

17

BL440ZX Motherboard Technical Product Specification

NOTE

✏

The recommended method of accessing the date in systems with Intel motherboards is from the
Real-Time Clock (RTC) via the BIOS. The BIOS on Intel motherboards contains a century
checking and maintenance feature that checks the least two significant digits of the year stored in
the RTC during each BIOS request (INT 1Ah). During this check, the BIOS reads the date and, if
less than 80 (i.e., 1980 is the first year supported by the PC), updates the century byte to 20. This
feature enables operating systems and applications using the BIOS date/time services to reliably
manipulate the year as a four-digit value.

For more information on proper date access in systems with Intel motherboards, please see

http://support.intel.com/support/year2000/motherboard.htm
A coin-cell battery powers the real-time clock and CMOS memory. When the computer is not

plugged into a wall socket, the battery has an estimated life of three years. When the computer is
plugged in, the 3.3 V standby current extends the life of the battery. The clock is accurate to ± 13

minutes/year at 25 ºC with 3.3 V applied.

1.5 I/O Interface Controller

The motherboard uses the SMSC FDC37M807 I/O controller, which features:

• Support for one diskette drive

• ISA Plug-and-Play compatible register set

• One serial port

• FIFO support on both serial port and diskette drive interfaces

• One parallel port with ECP and EPP support

• PS/2-style mouse and keyboard interfaces

• PCI PME interface to PIIX4E

• Intelligent automatic power management of devices when certain conditions are met. Support

includes:

 Shadowed write-only registers for ACPI compliance
 Programmable wake-up event interface

The Setup program provides configuration options for the I/O controller.

1.5.1 Serial Port

The motherboard has one serial port. The 9-pin D-sub connector for serial port A is located on the
back panel. The serial port has an NS16C550-compatible UART that supports data transfers at
speeds up to 115.2 Kbits/sec with BIOS support.

18

Motherboard Description

1.5.2 Parallel Port

The connector for the multimode bidirectional parallel port is a 25-pin D-Sub connector located on
the back panel of the motherboard. In the Setup program, there are four options for parallel port
operation:

• Output only (standard mode).

• Bidirectional (PS/2 compatible).

• Bidirectional Enhanced Parallel Port (EPP). A driver from the peripheral manufacturer is

required for operation. See Section 6.2 for EPP compliance.

• Bidirectional high-speed Extended Capabilities Port (ECP).

1.5.3 Diskette Drive Controller

The I/O controller is software-compatible with the 82077 diskette drive controller and supports a

†

single diskette drive in either PC-AT
interface can be configured for the following diskette drive capacities and sizes:

• 360 KB, 5.25-inch

• 1.2 MB, 5.25-inch

• 720 KB, 3.5-inch

• 1.2 MB, 3.5-inch (driver required)

• 1.25/1.44 MB, 3.5-inch

• 2.88 MB, 3.5-inch

or PS/2 mode. In the Setup program, the diskette drive

1.5.4 PS/2 Keyboard and Mouse Interface

PS/2 keyboard and mouse connectors are located on the back panel of the motherboard. The +5 V

†

lines to these connectors are protected with a PolySwitch
reestablishes the connection after an overcurrent condition is removed.

NOTE

✏

The mouse and keyboard can be plugged into either PS/2 connector. Power to the computer
should be turned off before a keyboard or mouse is connected or disconnected.

The keyboard controller contains code that provides the traditional keyboard and mouse control
functions and also supports Power On/Reset password protection. A Power On/Reset password
can be specified in the BIOS Setup program.

circuit that, like a self-healing fuse,

19

BL440ZX Motherboard Technical Product Specification

1.6 Audio Subsystem

The BL440ZX motherboard includes an Audio Codec ’97-compatible (AC ’97) audio subsystem
consisting of these devices:

• Creative Labs Sound Blaster AudioPCI 64V AC ’97 digital controller

• Crystal CS4297 AC ’97 V1.03 analog codec

The audio subsystem features include (with riser card dependencies noted):

• Split digital/analog architecture for improved S/N (signal-to-noise) ratio: > 80 dB—measured

at line out and from any analog input including line in, CD-ROM, auxiliary line in, and video
(stereo audio from a video source)

• Ensoniq 3D positional audio support

• Power management support for APM, ACPI, and PCI (see Section for 6.2 for specification

compliance levels)

• Audio inputs:

 Two analog line-level stereo inputs for connection from CD-ROM audio (from the riser

card)

 One mono analog line-level input for telephony (speakerphone input from the riser card)
 One mono microphone input (A motherboard jumper routes the signal from the back panel

or the riser card. See Table 19 for jumpering information.)

• Audio outputs:

 Stereo line-level output (shareable between the back panel and the riser card)
 Mono output for speakerphone (from the riser card)

1.6.1 Creative Sound Blaster AudioPCI 64V AC ’97 v1.03 Digital
Controller

Creative Sound Blaster AudioPCI 64V, using the Ensoniq ES1373 digital controller, provides the
following features:

• PCI compliance (see Section for 6.2 for specification compliance level)

• PCI bus master for PCI audio

• 64-voice hardware wavetable

†

• Aureal A3D

• Ensoniq 3D positional audio and Microsoft DirectSound

API, Sound Blaster Pro†, Roland MPU-401 MIDI, joystick compatibility

†

3D support

1.6.2 Crystal CS4297 AC ’97 v1.03 Analog Codec

The Crystal CS4297 AC ’97 v1.03 analog codec provides the following features:

• 18 bit stereo full-duplex codec

• Fixed 48 kHz sampling rate

1.6.3 Audio Connectors

See Section 1.13.1 for the location and pinouts of the motherboard audio connectors. Other audio
connectors may be supported on the riser card.

20

Motherboard Description

1.6.4 Audio Drivers and Utilities

Audio software and utilities are available from Intel’s World Wide Web site (see Section 6.1).

1.7 ATI RAGE PRO TURBO 2X AGP Graphics Controller

The ATI RAGE PRO TURBO 2X AGP graphics controller provides the following features:

• Comprehensive AGP support, including 2X (133 MHz) fully pipelined operation and sideband

support

• Full bus mastering support

• Triple 8-bit palette DAC with gamma correction. Pixel rates up to 230 MHz

• DDC1 and DDC2B+ for Plug and Play monitors

• Game acceleration including support for Microsoft’s DirectDraw†: double buffering, virtual

sprites, transparent blit, masked blit, and context chaining

• 4 KB on-chip texture cache

†

• Direct3D
The motherboard provides 8 MB of SDRAM graphics memory.

texture lighting

See Intel’s World Wide Web site (see Section 6.1) for graphics drivers.

1.8 LAN Subsystem

The Intel 82559 Fast Ethernet Wired for Management (WfM) PCI LAN subsystem provides both
10Base-T and 100Base-TX connectivity. Features include:

• 32-bit direct bus mastering on the PCI bus

• Shared memory structure in the host memory that copies data directly to/from host memory

• 10Base-T and 100Base-TX capability using a single RJ-45 connector with connection and

activity status LEDs

• IEEE 802.3µ Auto-Negotiation for the fastest available connection

• Jumperless configuration; the LAN subsystem is completely software-configurable

See Section 6.2 for Wired for Management specification information.

1.8.1 Intel 82559 LAN Controller

The integrated Intel 82559 LAN controller features include:

• 3.3 V operation

• CSMA/CD Protocol Engine

• PCI bus interface (see Section 6.2 for PCI specification information)

• DMA engine for movement of commands, status, and network data across the PCI bus

21

BL440ZX Motherboard Technical Product Specification

• Integrated physical layer interface, including:
 Complete functionality necessary for the 10Base-T and 100Base-TX network interfaces;

when in 10 Mbit/sec mode, the interface drives the cable directly

 A complete set of Media Independent Interface (MII) management registers for control

and status reporting

 802.3µ Auto-Negotiation for automatically establishing the best operating mode when

connected to other 10Base-T or 100Base-TX devices, whether half- or full-duplex capable

• Integrated power management features, including:
 Support for APM
 Support for Wake on LAN technology

1.8.2 LAN Subsystem Software

The Intel 82559 Fast Ethernet WfM PCI LAN software and drivers are available from Intel’s
World Wide Web site (see Section 6.1).

1.8.3 RJ-45 LAN Connector LEDs

Two LEDs are built into the RJ-45 LAN connector. They indicate the following LAN conditions.

Table 2. RJ-45 LAN Connector LEDs

LED Color LED State Indicates

Green Off 10 Mbit/sec speed is selected.

On 100 Mbit/sec speed is selected.

Yellow Off LAN link is not established.

On (steady state) LAN link is established.
On (brighter and pulsing) The computer is communicating with another computer on

the LAN.

1.9 Wake on LAN Technology

Wake on LAN technology enables remote wake-up of the computer through a network. This
feature can be implemented in one of two ways: using the onboard Intel 82559 LAN controller or,
if the riser card has a Wake on LAN technology connector, using a PCI add-in network interface
card (NIC) with remote wake-up capabilities. If using a NIC, the remote wake-up connector on the
NIC must be connected to the riser card Wake on LAN technology connector.

The onboard or NIC LAN controller monitors network traffic at the MII; upon detecting a Magic

†

Packet

CAUTION

Operation of this motherboard requires a power supply providing at least 720 mA of current on
the +5 VSB line. Failure to provide adequate standby current when implementing Wake on LAN
technology can damage the power supply.

, the controller asserts a wake-up signal that powers up the computer.

22

Motherboard Description

1.10 Wake on Ring / Resume on Ring Technologies

This section describes two technologies that enable telephony devices to access the computer when
it is in a power-managed state.

1.10.1 Wake on Ring Technology

The operation of Wake on Ring can be summarized as follows:

• Powers up the computer from the APM Soft-Off mode

• Requires two calls to access the computer:
 First call powers up the computer
 Second call enables access

• Implements incoming call differently for external as opposed to internal modems:
 For external modems, motherboard hardware monitors the ring indicate (RI) input of the

serial port

 For internal modems, a cable must be routed from the modem to the Wake on Ring

connector

1.10.2 Resume on Ring Technology

The operation of Resume on Ring can be summarized as follows:

• Resumes operation from the APM sleep mode or the ACPI S1 state

• Requires only one call to access the computer

1.11 Hardware Monitor Subsystem

The hardware monitor subsystem provides low-cost instrumentation capabilities. The features of
the hardware monitor subsystem include:

• An integrated ambient temperature sensor

• Fan speed sensors (see Figure 2 for the location of fan connector on the motherboard)

• Power supply voltage monitoring to detect levels above or below acceptable values

• Support for chassis intrusion detection using an optional onboard photo sensor or a two-pin

connector on the riser card

When suggested ratings for temperature, fan speed, or voltage are exceeded, an interrupt is
activated. The hardware monitor component connects to the SMBus.

1.12 Fan Speed Control

The motherboard includes two independent circuits for controlling various system cooling fans:
one is on the motherboard and the other is routed to the riser card.

23

BL440ZX Motherboard Technical Product Specification

1.12.1 Fan Header

The processor fan header (J4D1) on the motherboard is intended to drive a processor-mounted fan
either full-speed or off, depending on the operating state of the system. The fan speed is monitored

®

by the hardware monitor subsystem and can be read by applications such as Intel

LANDesk
Client Manager (LDCM) using the System Management BIOS (SMBIOS) described in
Section 3.4.

1.12.2 Fan Control Signal to the Riser Card

The NLX specification defines the fan control (FAN_CTL) signal as a means to control the speeds
of fans connected to an NLX riser card or power supply. The BL440ZX motherboard is capable of
driving FAN_CTL at different output levels, depending on the operating state of the system.
Initially, two levels are defined for high and low fan speed operation. Based on the cooling needs
and capabilities of a given system platform, the system OEM can redefine these output levels to
achieve a better balance of acoustic and thermal performance. Applications such as LDCM can
access the SMBIOS to redefine the FAN_CTL output levels.

1.12.3 System Management Support

®

While the system is running an APM operating system, the BIOS controls both fan circuits, as
shown in Table 3. With an ACPI operating system, the voltage to both circuits depends on the
system state, as shown in Table 4.

Table 3. Fan Speed Control under APM Operating System

Processor Fan Voltage

APM System States

Full On / Standby +12 V (default) OEM-definable “high speed”

Suspend 0 V (default) OEM-definable “low speed”

Table 4. Fan Speed Control under ACPI Operating System

ACPI Sleep States

S0 +12 V +12 V
S1 * *
S2 No support No support
S3 No support No support
S4 No support No support
S5 0 V 0 V

(connector J4D1, pin 2)

Processor Fan Voltage
(connector J4D1, pin 2)

FAN_CTL Signal to Riser Card
(current limit = 50 mA)

(default = +12 V)

(default = +8 V)

FAN_CTL Signal to Riser Card
(current limit = 50 mA)

* Controlled by the operating system.

24

1.13 Motherboard Connectors

Figure 2 show the location of the motherboard connectors.

N

M

L

Motherboard Description

A

1

H

GF B

I

JK

A DIMM sockets H USB Port 1
B Video I USB Port 0
C Parallel port J Audio Line Out
D Serial port K Audio Mic In
E RJ-45 LAN L NLX riser card edge
F PS/2 keyboard/mouse M Processor fan
G PS/2 keyboard/mouse N PGA370S processor socket

E D

C

OM08436

Figure 2. Motherboard Connectors

25

BL440ZX Motherboard Technical Product Specification

CAUTION

Only the back panel connectors of this motherboard have overcurrent protection. The internal
motherboard connectors do not have overcurrent protection; they should connect only to devices
inside the computer chassis, such as fans and internal peripherals. Do not use these connectors
for powering devices external to the computer chassis. A fault in the load presented by the
external devices could cause damage to the computer, the interconnecting cable, and the external
devices themselves.

1.13.1 Back Panel I/O Connectors

Table 5. Video Connector (J1K1)

Pin Signal Name

1 Red
2 Green
3 Blue
4 No connect
5 Ground
6 Ground
7 Ground
8 Ground
9 Fused VCC
10 Ground
11 No connect
12 MONID1
13 HSYNC
14 VSYNC

15 MONID2

26