Getting support from PcChips, especially when downloading files, can be challenging. Many times, international internet connections are slow and unreliable, although it seems that access may vary by ISP. Sometimes it is necessary to try several times before these sites can be accessed or before drivers can be downloaded. For the large ones, plan on leaving the connection up at night. Here are several official PcChips sites:
PcChips Hong Kong
PcChips Taiwan - M571 Page Driver page
PcChips UK
Amptron Website - Many drivers,
including Linux. Use the "support" selection
Alton Website - www.pcware.com
Most of the credit for these links belongs to Franc Zabkar. His most valuable information is now available on this site:
I am also
thankful to Brad of the EYO Tech Forum for his great help and valuable
technical observations in assembling this page.
The urls of
these files are posted to assist those who require further information
regarding the operation of their M571 board components.
Many of these
links change and I do the best I can to update them. Some of these liinks are
no longer accessable through the main pages of these companies. It is strongly
suggested that, if you have an interest in the M571 beyond that of the casual
user, you download these files to your own system for future reference. Socket
7 motherboards are no longer "cutting edge", and there is no telling
when these companies will see fit to remove older files from their servers.
AMD - K6 2 and K6 III processor descriptions (click here)
AMI - BIOS supplier
CET (Chino-Excel Technology) - Vcore power
supply CEB703AL MOSFET chopper
Integrated Technology Express - IT8770F I/O Chip (same as IT8661 but w/o RTC and KBC) (click here)
Linear Technology - LT1083 CP adjustable
linear I/O voltage regulator (click here)
NIKO -
P804008 adjustable linear I/O voltage regulator
Photron Semiconductor Corp. - PSR10C40CT Vcore power supply diode
Samsung/Fairchild
- KA7500B Vcore power supply PWM Regulator (click here)
SiS - 5597/5598 chipset - self expanding Wordpad
.DOC file. This link is no longer listed on the SiS site, but it is available
here. Download this file now, while it is still posted, since it is key to
tweaking chipset registers (click
here)
Texas
Instruments - GD75232 RS232 Line Driver/Reciever Chip (click here)
Due to the increasing age of M571 3.2, 3.2a, and 7.0 systems, it is suggested that you download the drivers you need and think you may need and store them for future use.
C-Media
8330 Sound Pro (click here) The 2.0 version drivers are beta.
SiS
5597/5598 IDE drivers - These drivers can be downloaded from the SiS site, but
I'm not posting the url here. If you are using Win 95 OSR2 or better, you
don't need the SiS IDE 2.13 version driver. (I stress this because
it has caused trouble for people in the past.) If you load it, you will have to
remove the controller in the device manager and let Windows find it again and
use Windows busmastering IDE driver. The SiS dirver will not provide a DMA box
to check, whereas the standard Windows driver will. For the majority of M571
users, you don't need the SiS IDE driver. See question #4: (click here)
SiS
5597/5598 VGA drivers (click here)
SiS IDE
drivers for Windows 2000; allows activation of DMA (IDE 2.02)
These links are vital resources for operating and upgrading M571 based systems. Place them in your bookmarks.
EYO
Tech Forum - The message board for M571 users. Ask all your
technical questions here. Read through the posts or do a search as there
is a good chance your question has already been answered.
EYO Tech Forum FAQ Page - Many common M571
questions are answered here. The url isn't listed on the EYO site anymore.
EYO Tech Forum Links Page - Very useful
links related to M571s, including this site!
Franc Zabkar's M571 Tech Files - Franc has assembled
an incredible treasure trove of M571 technical information in these text files.
These files were some of the first technical help for the M571, back in the
days when technical support was hard to find for this motherboard. Many M571 circuits
have been analyzed and presented here. Since Franc has removed these files from
his website, he has graciously consented to having them posted here, for your
use. Thanks, Franc!
7Volts - A very interesting site with all sorts of helpful information regarding case cooling and layout. also included are ideas on decorating your case, should that be a priority for you. I recommend you view this site!
98lite - Get rid of Microsoft bloat and slim down
your Windows installation. Also remove IE to eliminate the security compromise
it brings to your system. This was the software that revealed the truth about
IE being too integrated in Windows 98 to be removed. In case you have forgotten
this piece of ancient history, here is a link to Brian Livingston's Info World
article regarding 98lite and the "unbreakable" integration between
Windows 98 and IE (click
here)
Ace's Hardware - Hardware
reviews. The following links may be particularly interesting to those upgrading
with AMD K6 2 and K6 III processors:
AMD K6-3 Overclocking - One person's experiences with overclocking a K6 III 400. Pry off the top of your CPU at your own risk - I include this site FYI.
BMDrivers - a source of
miscellaneous drivers
Chipset Chart - a useful
compilation of various chipsets
c't Magazine comparison of K6
III with Intel P3 - An English version of the article from the German
magazine, with benchmarks
DIRT - A PCWorld
article about software used by law enforcement to surveil computer systems. DIRT
is sold by Codex Data Systems (click
here) to
"bona fide law enforcement, governmental and military agencies".
Echelon - what is it?
Citizens of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United
States of America might be interested in knowing. Check out this Wired Magazine
article
Echelon - A description from Covert Action
Quarterly
Gibson Research Corporation - Steve's not the
sort you meet everyday, but he's very smart. There are some good tips and
downloads here to protect your system.
Hardware Secrets - A
Brazilian site that includes this interesting comparison between K6 III, K6 2,
Celeron, and Pentium II 400 MHz processors (click here)
Home Theater - Haukap's site
has plenty of information about home theater and a few of the common Win 95/98
tips.
H. Oda's Home
Page - The download site for wpcrset and wpcredit. These applications are
used to tweak chipset registers.
Internet - who invented it?
Did Al Gore actually claim: "During my service in the United States
Congress, I took the initiative in creating the Internet." in a public
interview with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer? Unfortunately, yes. For the printed transcript of the
interview, (click
here). For a commentary from Wired magazine, (click here)
LeechFTP
- Serious downloading and uploading requires an FTP client. The process can be
confusing, but this German program does a good job of making it simple.
Lost Circuits - Another hardware
review site. Here are AMD related articles:
Microsoft support for K6 350 MHz processors and above in Windows 95 ONLY!! (click here)
Overclocking: here are links to
a number of overclocking sites. These sites can provide some useful information
regarding techniques and products.
Processor Chart - From 60 MHz Pentiums to 1.7 GHz
Athlons, this chart lists features of processors. Also includes some upgrade
convertors.
Radeon Tweaking – An open source tweaking utility is available here that can increase the performance of ATI’s Radeon gpu based video boards.
SiSoft Sandra - A commonly used
benchmarking application available for downloading
Tom's Hardware Guide - Old hardware
review site. It seems to have expanded beyond cutting edge articles, but old
Socket 7 reviews are interesting.
Tweak Files - Many miscellaneous downloads
USB Man - Helpful information regarding setting up
USB. Roberts has abandoned his earlier views and offered meaningful Windows 95
USB information, so Win 95 OSR 2 users should consider this page worthwhile
also.
USB.org - An industry group that sets standards
for USB products and interfaces. This site has technical documentation that can
be helpful for resolving USB related issues.
Wim's Bios Page- Very large resource
for AMIBIOS. Includes a forum frequented by many computer
technicians. The FAQ is also worth a look.
Windows
95 System Updates - If you are using Windows 95, this page should be your main
point of reference. Upgrading to DUN 2.0, USB issues, and many other problems
must be addressed to make Windows 95 viable. This page will help you sort out
the patches and versions you'll need to know about.
I cannot vouch for any of these vendors, unless there is a specific remark to that effect. These links are only provided as a first step for a search for equipment. A listing here DOES NOT constitute an endorsement of any firm in any way. (This site is strictly non-commercial.)
All Electronics - USA - Fans,
heatsinks, cables, and many other useful items are listed in the online
catalog.
ATX form factor card - USA - This is a
PcChips ATX form factor card listing from Directron. Someone remarked on an
Internet board that they had used this card.
Dallas Memory International - USA - I've
bought things from these folks and their prices are good, but I've always dealt
with them in person, not by mail.
Danger Den - USA - Supplies for water cooling
CPUs
eBay - Internet auction site. Search on
"AMD K6", or whatever else you are looking for. It is an
inconvenience if you don't use the various online payment systems. Though it is
often a source for things difficult to acquire otherwise, shipping costs make
items costly if you aren't careful.
EYO Technologies - Australia - Many supplies
for building systems
kitsrus - USA - Maker of many electronic kits. Kit
#98, the preamplifier, is the one Brad suggests using to correct the low gain
problem of onboard M571 sound.
Mendelson Electronics - USA - Another
great assortment of "junk" dear to the hearts of scroungers.
OverClockers Hideout - USA -
Water cooling for CPUs and video chips, memory heatsinks, kits, Arctic Silver
epoxy, and other cooling supplies
Pricewatch - USA - Listings from dealers allow
you to compare prices. Dealer websites are also listed, offering a convenient
way to find a dealer close by.
This page was last modified on 4
March 2003
PCChips Tech Support
bill@pcchips.com.tw
engineer@pcchips.com
