Octek Panther II User manual

P A N T H E R - I I

The material in this manual is for information only and is subject to change without notice.
REVISION : 1.0
IBM, IBM PC/XT/AT, PC-DOS, MS-DOS, OS/2, UNIX, XENIX, MR BIOS, AMI BIOS,
INTEL, 386SX, 386 and 286 ARE THE TRADEMARKS OR REGISTERED
TRADEMARKS OF THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNERS.

RADIO FREQUENCY INTERFERENCE STATEMENT
This equipment generates and uses radio frequency energy and if not
installed and used properly, that is, in strict accordance with the
manufacturer's instructions, may cause interference with radio and
television reception.
If this equipment does cause interference to radio or TV reception, which
can be determined by turning the equipment off and on, the user is
encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of the
following measures :
*Reorient the receiving antenna.
*Relocate the computer away from the receiver.
*Move the computer away from the receiver.
*Plug the power cord of computer into a different outlet so that computer
and receiver are on different branch circuits.
*Ensure that card slot covers are in place when no card is installed.
*Ensure that card mounting screws, attachment connector screws, and
ground wires are tightly secured.
*If peripherals are used with this system, it is suggested to use shielded,
grounded cables, with in-line filters if necessary.
If necessary, the user should consult the dealer service representative for
additional suggestions.
The manufacturer is not responsible for any radio or TV interferences
caused by unauthorized modifications to this equipment. It is the
responsibility of the user to correct such interferences.

Note
1. Be certain that the BIOS Setup is properly initialized before actual
operation, otherwise performance degrade and/or reliability
problem may result.
a)For optimum performance, select "0 W/S" for DRAM Read &
Write Wait State under the "Advanced Chipset Setup" of the
BIOS Setup Utility.
b)Never allow the "I/O-Bus Speed" to exceed 8.33MHz in the
"Advanced Chipset Setup" unless you are so sure that the
I/O cards installed are capable of running at such high
speed. (Refer to A-16 for details)
2. Electronic components are sensitive to dust and dirt. Do inspect
and clean the computer system regularly.
3. Turn off the power whenever you install or remove any connector,
memory module and add-on card. Before turning on the
power, make sure that all the connectors, memory modules and
add-on cards are well secured.
4. The SIMM sockets are fragile device. Do not force the SIMM
modules into the sockets. It may break the locking latches.

Preface
This manual covers the necessary information to operate the
Panther-II system board. In-depth explanations of the functions of the
motherboard are provided. The table of contents gives detailed
information about the arrangement of this manual. The system BIOS
setup is further discussed in the appendix.
The content in this manual is only for reference and is intended
to provide basic information for the general users. Basic technical
informations however, are also provided for hardware and software
engineers.
The manual compose of 4 chapters, Chapter 1 contains a brief
introduction of Panther-II motherboard. In Chapter 2, specifications and
functions of Panther-II are discussed. It also outlines many advanced
features of the CPU and the system architecture. Chapter 3 deals with
the installation of coprocessor, DRAM modules, jumpers and the
memory configurations. Technical information is provided in Chapter 4.
System BIOS and the system setup are further discussed in the
appendix A. Detailed setup procedures are explained.
Note :
Panther-II is available in three operating speeds, 16Mhz, 20Mhz and 25Mhz. Features and
functions described in the manual is identical for both versions except for their
operating frequencies.

CONTENT
Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION 1-1
Chapter 2 GENERAL FEATURES 2-1
Specification 2-1
Processor 2-3
Math Coprocessor 2-6
Memory System 2-8
I/O Subsystem 2-11
System Functions 2-12
Chapter 3 INSTALLING COMPONENTS 3-1
Installing 80387SX Math Coprocessor 3-1
System Memory Configuration 3-3
Control of System Speed 3-8
System Board Jumper Setting 3-10
System Board Connectors 3-11

Chapter 4 TECHNICAL INFORMATION 4-1
Memory Mapping 4-1
I/O Address Map 4-2
System Timers 4-4
System Interrupts 4-6
Direct Memory Access (DMA) 4-7
Real Time Clock and CMOS RAM 4-9
CMOS RAM Address Map 4-10
Real Time Clock Information 4-11
System Expansion Bus 4-12
APPENDIX A SYSTEM BIOS A-1
Self-Test A-1
System Setup A-4
APPENDIX B OPERATION & MAINTENANCE B-1
Keeping the System Cool B-2
Cleaning the "Golden Finger" B-2
Cleaning the Motherboard B-3
APPENDIX C SYSTEM BOARD LAYOUT C-1

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Chapter 1
Introduction
_______________________________
The Panther-II system board is a high performance system board
that represents a significant technological advance over the conventional
386SX designs. It offers an increased power and flexibility architecture
by supporting 80386SX processor speeds up to 25 Mhz (See NOTE on
preface). The design utilizes advanced main frame techniques such as
two or four way interleaving along with high speed page mode capability.
The Panther-II offers an inexpensive entrance to 386-specific
applications. It combines the abilities of the 80386 and the 80286
machines. Like an 80386 machine, it processes instructions internally in
32-bit chunks. Like an 80286 machine, it operates with a 16-bit data bus
and a 24-bit address bus. This constructions allows the Panther-II
system to run 386 software in essentially a 286 hardware environment.
For the memory system, It supports up to 16 MByte of DRAMs
on the system board. System and Video shadowing features are
supported on all 16K boundaries between 640K and 1M. It is also
optimized to allow mixing of DRAM types to give end user the
maximum flexibility in choosing the correct memory capacity for their
applications. This flexibility in configuration allows you to select an
ideal cost/performance combination.

INTRODUCTION
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The Panther-II is a fully PC/AT compatible system board
implemented with a highly integrated chip sets to provide high
performance, reliability and compatibility. It is based on the 386SX
CPU which can access the world's largest existing microcomputer
software base, including the growing 32-bit software.
To speed up the switching of CPU between protected and real
mode, a special feature known as 'OS/2 Optimization' is also
incorporated. This provides an unique method to handle the mode
switching which will improve the performance for advanced operating
system and expanded memory manager applications.
Regarding to the issue of compatibility, Panther-II system is
fully hardware and software compatible with associated PC-AT products.
This means that virtually all the hardware and software that is available
for the PC/AT can also be run on a system you build around the
Panther-II system. It supports MS-DOS, Xenix, Unix and all PC/AT
application programs. Users can run applications designed for the
PC/AT on Panther-II without any modification. Multi-tasking and
multi-user capabilities are fully functional on this system board.
In addition, the Panther-II provides standard ISA expansion bus
connectors so that add-on cards developed for the PC/AT will be fully
functional. On-board power good generator is also implemented to
ensure the reliability of the system and is capable of working with any
power supplies.
Panther-II is a perfect choice for CAD/CAM workstation, file
server and end user applications. It is designed for the most advanced
computer-based applications for today and in the future.

INTRODUCTION
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THIS PAGE IS INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK

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Chapter 2
General Features
_______________________________
SPECIFICATION
Processor Subsystem :
Intel 80386SX CPU
Optional 80387SX Co-processor
Speed :
Turbo/normal speed
Software/hardware selectable
Memory Subsystem :
16MB maximum using 4M SIMMs
2MB using 256Kbx4 DRAM chips
Page/Interleave memory:
- Page mode memory
- 2-way and 4-way interleave mode
System BIOS shadow
Video BIOS shadow
Parity Check option
512K Eprom BIOS

GENERAL FEATURES
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I/O Subsystem :
Compatible to standard AT bus
Four 16-bit expansion slots
Two 8-bit expansion slots
System Support Functions :
-8-Channel DMA (Direct Memory Access)
-16-level interrupt
-3 programmable timers
-CMOS RAM for system configuration
-Real time clock with battery backup
-OS/2 Optimization (Fast A20 gate and fast reset)
Other Features :
-On board POWERGOOD test circuit
-External battery connector
-Hardware turbo switch

GENERAL
FEATURES
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PROCESSOR
The 80386SX Microprocessor is a 32-bit CPU with a 16-bit
external data bus and a 24-bit external address bus. The 386SX CPU
brings the high-performance software of the Intel386 Architecture to
mid-range systems. It provides the performance benefits of a 32-bit
programming architecture with the cost saving associated with 16-bit
hardware systems.
The 386SX Microprocessor is 100% object code compatible
with the 386DX, 286 and 8086 microprocessors. It provide 386DX
based systems optimized for performance and 386SX CPU based systems
optimized for cost, both sharing the same operating systems and
application software. Unlike the 286-based systems against which it
competes, the 386SX inherits the 386's protected and virtual 8086 modes
and internal 32-bit processing.
Instruction pipeling, high bus bandwidth, and a very high
performance ALU ensure short average instruction execution times and
high system throughput. The 386SX CPU is capable of execution at
sustained rates of 2.5-3.0 million instructions per second.
The integrated memory management unit (MMU) includes an
address translation cache, advanced multi-tasking hardware, and a
four-level hardware-enforced protection mechanism to support operating
systems. The virtual machine capability of the 386SX CPU allows
simultaneous execution of applications from multiple operating systems
such as MS-DOS and UNIX.
80386SX is not only an enhanced version of 80286, but
designed to overcome the deficiencies of 80286. It allows you to make
use of application software that a 286 just can't handle. For example, a

GENERAL FEATURES
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very important attribute of any multi-tasking/multi-user operating system
is its ability to rapidly switch between tasks or processes. The 386SX
Microprocessor directly supports this operation by providing a task
switch instruction in hardware.
The 386SX Microprocessor has two modes of operation: Real
Address Mode (Real Mode), and Protected Virtual Address Mode
(Protected Mode). Real Mode has the same base architecture as the
8086, but allows access to the 32-bit register set of the 386SX
Microprocessor.
The complete capabilities of the 386SX Microprocessor are
unlocked when the processor operates in Protected Virtual Address
Mode. Protected Mode vastly increases the linear address space to four
gigabytes and allows the running of virtual memory programs of almost
unlimited size. In addition, Protected Mode allows the 386SX
Microprocessor to run all of the existing 386DX CPU, 80286 and 8086
CPU's software, while providing a sophisticated memory management
and a hardware-assisted protection mechanism. Protected Mode allows
the use of additional instructions specially optimized for supporting
multitasking operating system.
The 386SX Microprocessor also offers four levels of protection
which are optimized to support a multi-tasking operating system and to
isolate and protect user programs from each other and the operating
system.

GENERAL
FEATURES
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MATH COPROCESSOR
The demand for sophisticated, number-crunching scientific and
business applications has rapidly increased in recent years. 80386SX
features an integer Arithmetic Logic Unit which only handles simple
integer operations such as addition and multiplication. Floating-point
operations which are actually utilized by applications must be
accomplished through software routines.
To overcome this obstacle, external Math coprocessor is
necessary. The Math coprocessor contains complex hardware and large
data registers for floating-point numeric operations.
The 387SX Math CoProcessor is an extension to the Intel 386
microprocessor architecture. The combination of the 387SX with the
386SX Microprocessor dramatically increases the processing speed of
computer application software which utilizes mathematical operations.
This makes an ideal computer workstation platform for applications such
as financial modelling and spreadsheet, CAD/CAM, or graphics.
The 387SX Math CoProcessor adds over seventy mnemonics to
the 386SX Microprocessor instruction set. Specific 387SX math
operations include logarithmic, arithmetic, exponentional, and
trigonometric functions. The 387SX supports integer, extended integer,
floating point and BCD data formats, and fully conforms to the
ANSI/IEEE floating point standard. The math coprocessor offloads the
complicated math functions from the CPU. Therefore, it handles in one
instruction what would have required many steps with the CPU. So you
can save time on your favourite spreadsheet, database, engineering,
scientific and graphics packages.
The 387SX CoProcessor is object code compatible with the

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387DX and upward object code compatible from the 80287 and 8087
Math Co-processors.
In real-address mode and virtual-8086 mode, the 386SX
Microprocessor and 387SX Math Coprocessor is completely upward
compatible with software for the 8086/8087 and 80286/80287
real-address mode systems.
In protected mode, the 386SX Microprocessor and 387SX Math
Coprocessor is completely upward compatible with software for the
80286/80287 protected mode system.
In all modes, the 386SX Microprocessor and 387SX Math
Coprocessor is completely compatible with software for the 386
Microprocessor/387 Math Coprocessor system.

GENERAL
FEATURES
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MEMORY SYSTEM
Panther-II supports the use of 256K, 1M and 4M DRAMs
device configurations for up to 16MB of on-board system memory.
Both page mode and interleave operation are incorporated on
the system board DRAM. Page mode is enabled or disabled for each
pair of DRAM banks independently. When on, it is active on all
memory maps for the enabled bank pairs. Interleaving requires pairs of
banks. Both page mode and interleave are automatically enabled. One
bank of memory refers to as 2 modules of SIMM or 4 pieces of DIP
DRAM. Detailed operation of each is given in the following sections.
Interleave Operation
Two-way interleaving is automatically enabled whenever both
memory banks of a pair are populated with same DRAM types. If all
four banks are populated with same DRAMs, four-way interleaving
automatically occurs. If the four memory banks are not populated with
same DRAMs, two-way interleaving occurs on pairs that are of the same
type.
In a system with three banks populated, the first two banks
perform two-way interleave if they are of the same DRAM type. Next
table shows the automatic interleaving options that occur versus the
number of populated banks. In the table, Bank 0,1,2 and 3 are the
designations for each of the four DRAM banks. In the columns below
these designators, "Yes" or "No", indicate whether the bank is
populated.

GENERAL FEATURES
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Automatic Interleave vs Memory Map
Ba
nk
Ba
nk
0 1 A Bank Address Mode 2 3 B Bank Address Mode
Yes No Linear No No N/A
Yes Yes 2-Way Interleave No No N/A
Yes Yes 2-Way Interleave Yes No Linear
Yes Yes 2-Way Interleave 0 and 1* Yes Yes 2-Way Interleave 2 and 3*
*This is for the case where Banks A and B contain different types of DRAMS. If all four
banks contain the same DRAM type then four-way interleaving is automatically
activated.
Page Mode Operation
Memory Interleaving operates independently of page mode.
Page mode is active whether one bank or both are populated. The page
mode operation results in no additional wait state penalty for either reads
or writes which immediately follow reads to the same DRAM page.
When pairs of banks are installed interleaving is automatically
enabled. The combination of page mode with interleaving results in the
best possible combination of fast system memory operation using the
most cost effective DRAMs.
Shadow RAM
To further enhance the system performance, shadow RAM is