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Originally published at Internet.com * Specifications * CPU Soft Menu * BIOS Options * Documentation * Performance * Advantages/Disadvantages * Overall Report * Contacting ABIT Computer Corp. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Specifications: ----------------------------------------------------------------- CPU:
* Supports Intel Pentium CPUs from 75MHz to 200MHz including the P55C MMX CPUs. * Supports all AMD-K5 CPUs from 75MHz to 100MHz, and AMD K6 CPUs (all speeds). * Supports all Cyrix 6x86 CPUs: P120+, P133+, P150+, P166+, P200+. * Reserved circuitry for future sixth generation CPUs. * New revisions support 75MHz and 83MHz bus speeds in addition to the standard 66MHz. * CPU type, voltage, and bus speed / clock multiplier are set through the Soft Menu BIOS Setup.
Chipset
* Intel Triton 430VX * Supports PCI 2.1
L2 Cache Memory
* Supports 256K or 512K Pipeline Burst SRAM (NOTE: If the motherboard has 256k on-board, the board will contain a COAST socket to allow you to upgrade to 512k. If the motherboard has 512k on-board, then the IT5V will not have a COAST socket.)
System DRAM
* Four 72-pin SIMM sockets that support Fast Page and EDO DRAM. * Two 168-pin DIMM sockets that support Fast Page, EDO, and Synchronous DRAM (SDRAM). * Supports 128MB Maximum Memory BIOS
* Award BIOS * Supports Plug-and-Play (PNP) * Supports Advanced Power Management (APM) * Supports Desktop Management Interface (DMI) Multi I/O
* Two Universal Serial Bus (USB) ports * Infrared remote Connector * PS/2 Style Mouse Port * Standard AT Keyboard Connector * Four fast IDE channels (PIO mode 0-4 and Bus Mastering) * One EPP/ECP parallel port and one 16550 serial port * Two floppy disk drive connectors (FDD) (360K, 720K, 1.2M, 1.44M, and 2.88M) Other features
* Dimensions: 13in. x 8.7in. * Four (4) ISA bus slots and four (4) PCI bus slots, * Supports 3-MODE for Japanese floppy disk drive, * Supports two bootable hard disks - enables the use of two different operating systems.
CPU Soft Menu (TM) ----------------------------------------------------------------- The CPU Soft Menu is a menu within the BIOS Setup that allows you to setup the speed and voltage of the CPU, as well as the bus speed and multiplier factor. Because the CPU is setup completely through the Soft Menu, there is no need for jumpers or DIP switches.
Soft Menu's outstanding features:
* The ability to specify the the CPU speed and have the external clock and multiplier settings automatically set, * The ability to manually specify the external clock settings. The supported speeds are: 50MHz, 55MHz, 60MHz, 66MHz, 75MHz, and 83MHz. * The ability to manually specify the clock multiplier settings: 1.5x, 2.0x, 2.5x, 3.0x, and 3.5x, * The ability to manually specify the voltage from single or dual. Single processors such as the Pentium P54C, the Cyrix 6x86, and the AMD-K5, use only one voltage. However, future processors such as the P55C MMX Pentium, the Cyrix 6x86L, and the M2, require dual voltages - one for the internal processing of the CPU and one for external processing.
The single voltage options are: 3.38v, 3.52v, and 3.6v. The Dual, Core Plane Voltage options are: 2.50v, 2.70v, 2.80v, 2.93v, and the I/O Plane voltage options are: 3.30v, 3.38v, 3.52v.
One additional feature of the CPU Soft Menu is the Turbo Frequency Setting. This setting allows you to speed up the external clock by 2.5%, thereby increasing the CPU speed as well. Take note however, tthe turbo frequency feature is only an option at a bus speed of 66MHz. The feature is designed to be used as an important tool for test units to verify CPU stability, and it is reccomended that it not be used for normal operation. However, the IT5V performed flawlessly with the feature enabled - even in Windows 95.
The table below is a reproduction of the Soft Menu in the BIOS Setup:
ROM PCI/ISA BIOS !! CPU SOFT MENU !! AWARD SOFTWARE, INC. CPU Name Is : Intel Pentium MMX CPU Type (Speed) : 200 (66x3) -Turbo Frequency : Enable -External Clock : 66MHz -Multiplier Factor : 2 CPU Power Plane : Dual Voltage -Core Plane Voltage : 2.80v - I/O Plane Voltage : 3.30v
BIOS Options ----------------------------------------------------------------- Besides the Soft Menu Setup, the BIOS Setup contains a Chipset Features Setup Menu, a Power Management Setup menu, and a PCI & Onboard I/O Setup Menu. The BIOS Setup menus and options are detailed in the tables below.
ROM PCI/ISA BIOS CMOS SETUP UTILITY AWARD SOFTWARE, INC. ! ! CPU SOFT MENU ! ! LOAD SETUP DEFAULTS STANDARD CMOS SETUP LOAD BIOS DEFAULTS BIOS FEATURES SETUP PASSWORD SETTING CHIPSET FEATURES SETUP IDE HDD AUTODETECTION POWER MANAGEMENT SETUP SAVE & EXIT SETUP PCI & ONBOARD I/O SETUP EXIT WITHOUT SAVING
ROM PCI/ISA BIOS CHIPSET FEATURES SETUP AWARD SOFTWARE, INC. Auto Configuration :Enabled DRAM Timing :60ns DRAM RAS# Precharge Time :4 DRAM R/W Leadoff Timing :6 Fast RAS# to CAS# Delay :3 DRAM Read Timing (EDO/FP) :x222/x333 DRAM Write Timing :x222 Fast EDO Path Select :Disabled ISA Bus Clock :PCICLK/3 Refresh RAS# Assertion :5 Clks
Author: Scott Wainner
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