American Megatrends III User manual

Apollo III PCI Pentium
ISA Motherboard
User's Guide
MAN-752
12/6/96

Apollo III PCI Pentium ISA Motherboard User’s Guide
ii
© Copyright 1996 American Megatrends, Inc.
All rights reserved.
American Megatrends, Inc.
6145F Northbelt Parkway
Norcross, GA 30071
This publication contains proprietary information which is protected by copyright. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transcribed,
stored in a retrieval system, translated into any language or computer language, or transmitted in any form whatsoever without the prior written
consent of the publisher, American Megatrends, Inc.
Limited Warranty
Buyer agrees if this product proves to be defective, that American Megatrends, Inc. is only obligated to replace or refund the purchase price of
this product at American Megatrends’ discretion according to the terms and conditions on the motherboard warranty card. American Megatrends
shall not be liable in tort or contract for any loss or damage, direct, incidental or consequential. Please see the Warranty Registration Card
shipped with this product for full warranty details.
Limitations of Liability
In no event shall American Megatrends be held liable for any loss, expenses, or damages of any kind whatsoever, whether direct, indirect,
incidental, or consequential, arising from the design or use of this product or the support materials provided with the product.
Trademarks
Intel and Pentium are registered trademarks of Intel Corporation.
MS-DOS, Microsoft Word, and Microsoft are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.
SMC is a registered trademark of Standard Microsystems Corporation.
IBM, AT, VGA, PS/2, OS/2, and EGA are registered trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation. XT and CGA are trademarks
of International Business Machines Corporation.
Fujitsu is a registered trademark of Fujitsu America, Inc.
Motorola is a registered trademark of Motorola Corporation.
Hitachi is a registered trademark of Hitachi America, Ltd.
PNY is a registered trademark of PNY Corporation.
Oki is a registered trademark of Oki America, Inc.
NEC is a registered trademark of NEC Corporation.
Samsung is a registered trademark of Samsung Electronics Corporation.
Siemens is a trademark of Siemens Corporation.
Mitsubishi is a registered trademark of Mitsubishi Electronics of America.
Micron is a registered trademark of Micron Corporation.
SCO, UnixWare, and Unix are registered trademarks of The Santa Cruz Operation, Inc.
Toshiba is a registered trademark of Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba.
VESA is a trademark of the Video Electronics Standards Association.
All other brand and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.
Revision History
7/28/96 Initial release.
12/6/96 Updated manual for new version of BIOS.

Preface iii
Preface
To the OEM Thank you for purchasing the high performance American Megatrends
Apollo III PCI Pentium ISA motherboard. This product is a state of the art
motherboard that includes the famous AMIBIOS. It is assumed that you have
also licensed the rights to use the American Megatrends documentation for
the American Megatrends Apollo III motherboard
This manual was written for the OEM to assist in the proper installation and
operation of this motherboard. This manual describes the specifications and
features of the Apollo III motherboard. It explains how to assemble a system
based on the Apollo III motherboard and how to use the AMIBIOS that is
specifically designed for this motherboard.
This manual is not meant to be read by the computer owner who purchases a
computer with this motherboard. It is assumed that you, the computer
manufacturer, will use this manual as a sourcebook of information, and that
parts of this manual will be included in the computer owner's manual.

Preface iv
Packing List
You should have received the following:
• an Apollo III Pentium PCI ISA motherboard,
• an optional USB cable and mounting bracket,
• two serial cables,
• one parallel cable,
• a Warranty Card, and
• the American Megatrends Apollo III Pentium ISA Motherboard User's
Guide.
Static Electricity
The Apollo III motherboard can easily be damaged by static electricity. Make
sure you take appropriate precautions against static electric discharge:
• wear a properly-grounded wristband while handling the Apollo III
motherboard or any other electrical component,
• touch a grounded anti-static surface or a grounded metal fixture before
handling the Apollo III motherboard,
• handle system components by the mounting bracket, if possible.
Batteries Make sure you dispose of used batteries according to the battery
manufacturer’s instructions. Improper use of batteries may cause an
explosion. Make sure you follow the battery manufacturer’s instructions about
using the battery.
Replace used batteries with the same type of battery or an equivalent
recommended by the battery manufacturer.

Chapter 1 Hardware Installation 1
1Hardware Installation
Overview
The American Megatrends Apollo III PCI Pentium ISA motherboard includes
the following features.
CPU The motherboard supports an Intel® Pentium™ 75, 90, 100, 120, 133, 150,
166, 180, 200 MHz or higher speed CPU operating at Standard, VR, or VRE
voltages. The CPU speed and voltage are set via jumpers.
Upgrade CPU You can install an Intel P54C series, P54CT, or P55C CPU.
Chipset The Apollo III PCI Pentium ISA motherboard uses an Intel 82430HX,
including CPU interface controller, advanced cache controller, integrated
DRAM controller, synchronous ISA bus controller, PCI local bus interface,
and integrated power management unit.
Expansion slots The motherboard includes three 16-bit ISA expansion slots and four 32-bit
PCI expansion slots. The PCI local bus throughput can be up to 132
megabytes per second.
L1 Internal Cache The Intel Pentium on the motherboard has an 8 KB data cache and an 8
KB instruction cache.
L2 Secondary Cache The motherboard has either 256 KB or 512 KB of synchronous
PBSRAM, direct-mapped, write-back. L2 secondary cache memory. Cont’d

Apollo III PCI Pentium ISA Motherboard User’s Guide
2
Overview, Continued
DRAM Cached If 256 KB of L2 secondary cache memory is installed on the motherboard, up
to 128 MB of system memory can be cached.
If 512 KB of L2 secondary cache memory is installed on the motherboard, up
to 256 MB of system memory can be cached.
System Memory The motherboard supports up to 256 MB of system memory mounted on the
motherboard in two banks of 72-pin 4 MB, 8 MB, or 16 MB SIMMs.
Use Fast Page Mode or Extended Data Out (EDO) SIMMs operating at 60 ns.
Fast ATA The motherboard supports the Fast ATA specification using PIO mode 4 and
multiword DMA mode 2.
System BIOS This motherboard has a 128 KB AMIBIOS system BIOS on a Flash ROM
with built-in WINBIOS Setup.
BIOS Shadowing The system BIOS is always copied from ROM to RAM for faster execution.
The end user can shadow 16 KB ROM segments from C0000h – DCFFFh.
Motherboard Size The Apollo III Pentium PCI ISA motherboard is 10 inches by 8.625
inches. Cont’d

Chapter 1 Hardware Installation 3
Overview, Continued
AMIBIOS Features AMIBIOS features include:
• IDE block mode support,
• IDE 32-bit data transfer support,
• IDE Programmed I/O mode 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4 support,
• IDE LBA mode support,
• APM (Advanced Power Management) and Flash BIOS hooks,
• EPA Green PC-compliant,
• PCI and Plug and Play (PnP) support, and
• DIM (Device Initialization Manager) support,
• DMI (Desktop Management Interface) support,
• ATAPI support,
• can boot from a CD-ROM drive,
• automatically detects system memory, cache memory, and IDE drive
parameters,
• Intel NSP-compliant,
• Fast ATA IDE mode programming,
• Boot sector virus protection,
• instant-on support,
• automatically configures PnP and PCI devices.
IDE The Apollo III motherboard has two 40-pin IDE connectors onboard that
support up to four IDE drives. The IDE controller is on the PCI local bus.
Floppy The Apollo III motherboard has an onboard floppy controller that supports up
to two 360 KB, 720 KB, 1.2 MB, 1.44 MB, or 2.88 MB floppy drives.
Parallel Port The Apollo III motherboard has an onboard ECP and EPP-capable parallel
port connector.
Serial Ports The Apollo III motherboard has two onboard serial port connectors and two
16550 UART serial ports.
Keyboard The Apollo III motherboard Includes a standard miniDIN keyboard
connector. Cont’d

Apollo III PCI Pentium ISA Motherboard User’s Guide
4
Overview, Continued
Mouse The Apollo III motherboard includes a 5-pin berg mouse connector.
USB The Apollo III motherboard has two 4-pin USB connectors. USB allows
future generations of USB-compliant peripheral devices to be automatically
detected and configured through a single port. The AMIBIOS on the Apollo
III motherboard provides complete USB system BIOS support.
Infrared A 10-pin infrared connector is provided on the motherboard. The
motherboard and AMIBIOS comply with the IrDA SIR infrared device
standards and specifications.
Power Connectors The Apollo III motherboard has three power supply connectors.
RTC/CMOS RAM A real time clock and 128 bytes of CMOS RAM with a battery backup is
provided on the motherboard.
Power Management Power management services include:
• Green PC LED,
• power management signal to Green PC-aware power supplies,
• automatic IDE and video power down,
• monitor blanking,
• SMI (System Management Interrupt) support,
• APM, and
• system stop clock. Cont’d

Chapter 1 Hardware Installation 5
Overview, Continued
PCI Slots The motherboard conforms to the PCI Version 2.1 specification. The PCI
slots are automatically configured by the AMIBIOS. The PCI slots operate
synchronously with the CPU clock, as follows:
CPU External Clock Frequency PCI Expansion Slot Frequency
66 MHz 33 MHz
60 MHz 30 MHz
50 MHz 25 MHz
Onboard I/O The Apollo III Pentium ISA motherboard includes:
• two 40-pin IDE connectors on the PCI bus that support up to four IDE drives,
• a 34-pin floppy drive connector,
• two 10-pin serial port connectors (with 16550 UARTs),
• a 26-pin parallel port connector with ECP and EPP support,
• an infrared connectors,
• two USB connectors,
• a keyboard connector, and
• a PS/2 mouse connector.
Apollo III Dimensions
Expansion
Slots
0.62"
Keyboard
Connector
0.85"
SIMM
Sockets
2.5"
CPUHeatSink
1.75"
PowerConnectors
2.0"
10"
8.625"
HeatSink
1.5"

Apollo III PCI Pentium ISA Motherboard User’s Guide
6
Installation Steps
Step Action
1Unpack the motherboard.
2Configure the CPU.
Select the CPU voltage.
Select the CPU speed.
Install the CPU.
3Install memory.
Install system memory.
4Install the motherboard.
5Attach cables to connectors.
Connect the power supply.
Attach the keyboard cable.
Connect the mouse cable.
Attach cables.
6Connect onboard I/O.
Connect the serial ports.
Connect the parallel port.
7Connect floppy drive(s).
8Connect the IDE drive(s).
9Test and configure.
Warning
This motherboard contains sensitive electronic
components that can be easily damaged by static
electricity. Follow the instructions carefully to
ensure correct installation and to avoid static
damage.

Chapter 1 Hardware Installation 7
Apollo III Motherboard Layout
ASquarePadidentifiesPin1
inJumpersandConnectors.
Keyboard
PCI SLOT 1 PCI SLOT 2 PCI SLOT 3
PS/2Mouse
PCI SLOT 4
COM1
LPT1
Floppy
IDE1
IDE2
Fan
Bank0 Bank1
PowerSupply
VR1
EP1
COM2
M6
AMIBIOS
EP2
USB1
USB2
RPW_CON
IR
CLK2
CLK1
CPS
M5
TagRAM
VR2FREQ1
FREQ2M4M3
M1
M2
Theconnectors inthisBlock
Headeraredetailedbelow.
EP3
SpeakerIDE
LED
PWR
LEDKbd Lock
Reset
Susp.
Mode
Switch
Turbo
LEDSusp.
LED
Remote
Power
Switch

Apollo III PCI Pentium ISA Motherboard User’s Guide
8
Step 1 Unpack the Motherboard
Step Action
1Inspect the cardboard carton for obvious damage. If damaged,
call 770-246-8645. Leave the motherboard in its original
packing.
2Perform all unpacking and installation procedures on a ground-
connected anti-static mat. Wear an anti-static wristband
grounded at the same point as the anti-static mat. Or use a
sheet of conductive aluminum foil grounded through a 1
megohm resistor instead of the anti-static mat. Similarly, a
strip of conductive aluminum foil wrapped around the wrist
and grounded through a 1 megohm resistor serves the same
purpose as the wristband.
3Inside the carton, the motherboard is packed in an anti-static
bag, and sandwiched between sheets of sponge. Remove the
sponge and the anti-static bag. Place the motherboard on a
grounded anti-static surface component side up. Save the
original packing material.
4Inspect the motherboard for damage. Press down on all ICs
mounted in sockets to verify proper seating. Do not apply
power to the motherboard if it has been damaged.
5If the motherboard is undamaged, it is ready to be installed.

Chapter 1 Hardware Installation 9
Set Jumpers
Set all jumpers and install the CPU before placing the motherboard in the
chassis. Set jumpers by placing a shunt (shorting bridge) on the designated
pins of the jumper. A shunt and jumpers are shown below:
Shunt3-pinBerg2-pinBerg
Inthismanual,jumpersareshownintwo-dimensions,
asifviewedfromdirectlyabove,as shown below:
1
3
5
2
4
6
Theplacementofshuntsis
indicated byasolidline
between pins,as shown
betweenPins1-2
totheright:
1
3
5
2
4
6
3-dimensionalviewofmotherboardjumpersand ashunt.
Avoid Static Electricity
Static electricity can damage the motherboard and other computer
components. Keep the motherboard in the anti-static bag until it is to be
installed. Wear an anti-static wrist grounding strap before handling the
motherboard. Make sure you stand on an anti-static mat when handling the
motherboard.
Avoid contact with any component or connector on any adapter card, printed
circuit board, or memory module. Handle these components by the mounting
bracket.

Apollo III PCI Pentium ISA Motherboard User’s Guide
10
Step 2 Configure CPU
Important
Perform the following steps to configure the
motherboard before installing a CPU.
External and Internal CPU Clock CLK1, CLK2, FREQ1, and FREQ2 are 3-pin bergs that set
the CPU external and internal clock frequencies. FREQ1 and FREQ2 are next
to the CPU. CLK1 and CLK2 are towards the middle of the motherboard.
External Internal CLK1 CLK2 FREQ1 FREQ2
66 MHz 166 MHz Short Pins
1-2 Short Pins 2-3 Short Pins 2-3 Short Pins 2-3
60 MHz 150 MHz Short Pins
2-3 Short Pins 1-2 Short Pins 2-3 Short Pins 2-3
66 MHz 133 MHz Short Pins
1-2 Short Pins 2-3 Short Pins 2-3 Short Pins 1-2
60 MHz 120 MHz Short Pins
2-3 Short Pins 1-2 Short Pins 2-3 Short Pins 1-2
66 MHz 100 MHz Short Pins
1-2 Short Pins 2-3 Short Pins 1-2 Short Pins 1-2
60 MHz 90 MHz Short Pins
2-3 Short Pins 1-2 Short Pins 1-2 Short Pins 1-2
50 MHz 75 MHz Short Pins
2-3 Short Pins 2-3 Short Pins 1-2 Short Pins 1-2
60 MHz 180 MHz Short Pins
2-3 Short Pins 1-2 Short Pins 1-2 Short Pins 2-3
66 MHz 200 MHz Short Pins
1-2 Short Pins 2-3 Short Pins 1-2 Short Pins 2-3
Important
Please contact American Megatrends technical
support at 770-246-8645 if you need to support a
CPU running at a higher speed.
Cont’d

Chapter 1 Hardware Installation 11
Step 2 Configure CPU, Continued
JVR Set CPU Voltage Install Intel Pentium CPUs that adhere to either the standard or VRE
voltage specifications. VR1 and VR2 are 6-pin bergs that set CPU voltage.
VR1 is near the top of the CPU socket. VR2 is next to the CPU, near the edge
of the motherboard.
Standard and VRE Voltage This is the factory setting.
Pins7531
Pins8642
VR1VR2
3.49VStandardand VRE
forIntelP54CCPUs
Pins8642
Pins7531
Standard Voltage
VR1VR2
3.3VStandard
forIntelP54CCPUs
Pins7531
Pins8642
Pins7531
Pins8642
Mixed Voltage
VR1VR2
2.8Vand 3.3V
forIntelP55CCPUs
Pins7531
Pins8642Pins8642
Pins7531
Cont’d

Apollo III PCI Pentium ISA Motherboard User’s Guide
12
Step 2 Configure CPU, Continued
Important
If you are not sure about the voltage specification
for the CPU that will be installed in this
motherboard, please call Intel and make sure that
you set the voltage jumpers correctly. Selecting the
wrong voltage may damage the CPU.
Install CPU Install the CPU in the ZIF (zero insertion force) socket by performing the
following steps. The CPU socket is near one edge of the motherboard.
Warning
Improper CPU installation can damage the CPU
and the motherboard. You must follow the
procedures in this section exactly as documented.
Make sure you wear an antistatic wristband while
installing the CPU.
Step Action
1Lift the lever on the ZIF socket. The empty CPU socket
looks like this.

Chapter 1 Hardware Installation 13
Step Action
2Check for bent pins on the CPU. Gently straighten any bent
pins with pliers. Place the CPU in the middle of the socket,
as shown below. Make sure that pin 1 of the CPU is aligned
with pin 1 of the socket. Make sure you are properly
grounded while handling the CPU.
3Complete installation by lifting the ZIF lever to the other
side of the socket, as shown below.

Apollo III PCI Pentium ISA Motherboard User’s Guide
14
Step 3 Install Memory
System Memory The motherboard has four 32-bit SIMM – Single Inline Memory Module)
sockets. You can use Fast Page Mode or EDO (Extended Data Out) SIMMs.
Memory must be populated one bank at a time. Each bank has two sockets.
Each bank must be populated with the same type of SIMM. If a 1 MB SIMM
is installed in the first socket in Bank0, then the same type of 1 MB SIMM
must be installed in the second Bank0 SIMM socket. Each socket can hold
one 72-pin SIMM. You can use:
• 1 MB x 36,
• 4 MB x 36,
• 8 MB x 36, or
• 16 MB x 36 SIMMs.
The motherboard supports banks of fast page mode and EDO (Extended Data
Out) memory together operating at 60 ns (RAS access time).
Memory Display System memory is reported by AMIBIOS as it boots and again when
the AMIBIOS System Configuration Screen is displayed just before the
operating system boots. The memory displayed by AMIBIOS on the System
Configuration Screen is 384 KB less than the total memory installed.
SIMM Part Numbers
Type Manufacturer Part Number
4 MB x 36 Micron MT12D436M-6
“Mitsubishi MH4M36SAJ-6
“Motorola MCM36400S-60
“PNY P364000-60
“Samsung KMM5364100-6
8 MB x 36 Motorola MCM36800S-60
“PNY P368000-60
“Samsung KMM5368100-6
Cont’d

Chapter 1 Hardware Installation 15
Step 3 Install Memory, Continued
DRAM Configurations Valid memory configurations include:
Total RAM Bank0 Bank0 Bank1 Bank1
8 MB 4 MB 4 MB None None
16 MB 8 MB 8 MB None None
24 MB 8 MB 8 MB 4 MB 4 MB
32 MB 8 MB 8 MB 8 MB 8 MB
40 MB 16 MB 16 MB 4 MB 4 MB
48 MB 16 MB 16 MB 8 MB 8 MB
64 MB 16 MB 16 MB 16 MB 16 MB
64 MB 32 MB 32 MB None None
72 MB 32 MB 32 MB 4 MB 4 MB
80 MB 32 MB 32 MB 8 MB 8 MB
96 MB 32 MB 32 MB 16 MB 16 MB
128 MB 32 MB 32 MB 32 MB 32 MB
136 MB 64 MB 64 MB 4 MB 4 MB
144 MB 64 MB 64 MB 8 MB 8 MB
160 MB 64 MB 64 MB 16 MB 16 MB
192 MB 64 MB 64 MB 32 MB 32 MB
256 MB 64 MB 64 MB 64 MB 64 MB
Cont’d

Apollo III PCI Pentium ISA Motherboard User’s Guide
16
Step 3 Install Memory, Continued
Installing SIMMs The motherboard has four x 36 SIMM sockets. These sockets can be filled
with either 1 MB x 36, 4 MB x 36, 8 MB x 36, or 16 MB x 36 SIMMs.
Place the motherboard on an anti-static mat. With the component side of the
SIMM facing you, firmly push the SIMM into the socket at an angle, then
push it up. When properly inserted, the SIMM clicks into place as the
latching pins engage. The SIMM installation process is shown below:
Cont’d