Resource Center AMD Machines 
The Board of Directors has approved four new machines for the Resource Center Basics Lab.  I have set them up this past month with help from members.  Again, these are 400 MHZ/100 MHz AT style machines.  The setup is the same as with my machine, except all new components are being used as we build from scratch.  This is another method of upgrading.  Simply build yourself a new machine. 

I will review this process as well so that we have a record of how to build a machine from scratch.  There are some benefits as well as drawbacks to building or upgrading computers from scratch.  Benefits include getting the higher speed CPU and latest technology including the newest BIOS EPROM.  If the CPU is the only change, then there may be a drawback because the motherboard clock speed is something less than optimum for the new CPU, i.e., a P-5 233 MHz MMX socket seven CPU in a 33 MHz clock speed motherboard may not perform as well as you would like.  Old motherboards may have BIOS chips with less than up to date BIOS firmware installed.  The old BIOS may not be Y2K complaint.  This may be cause for having to flash the BIOS EPROM.  Real benefit may come from replacing both the CPU and motherboard.  The main consideration in a CPU/motherboard replacement is that the case power supply is adequate to handle all the additional peripherals you can now add.  Late manufacture motherboards also may have USB connections, which may be added.  Another benefit is that you get to start with the latest components such as large HDDs, RW-CD-ROMs, USB, video, sound, etc. 

The general direction of this article series can be applied to any new build computer.  Read the directions and do what they say. 

Component Specifics 
Planning really becomes necessary when the objective is building a new computer.  What do you want the machine to do?  What size, capacity, speed, security, visibility, connectivity, operability, and cost do you want in this new machine?  You need to think about the type of software applications to be run on the new machine. 

Once all this pre-planning is out of the way select the hardware components, which meet your specifications.  For example, the over-all mission of these APCO machines is to function as operating system and application training devices in an NT LAN environment.  They will use Windows 98 as the network ready operating system and have Microsoft Works and/or Microsoft Office installed as applications.  There may also be Coral WordPerfect Office installed.  There is not a pressing requirement for very large HDD or mega-graphic needs for RAM.  The network is 10BaseT Ethernet.  The computers will function within an NT BackOffice environment.  Internet access is provided through the network via an ISDN connection offering mainly browser services. 

Since this build is starting with the CPU and motherboard, the remaining components for the build include a mini-tower 200 plus watt case, 64 MB SDRAM 100 MHz RAM, 8.4 GB Western Digital IDE HDD, Diamond Speedstar A50 8 MB AGP video card, Acer 40x IDE CD-ROM, Creative 16-bit sound card, 14 watt speakers, PS-2 keyboard, PS-2 2 button mouse, Mitsumi 1.44 GB FDD, SMC 10/100 PCI NIC, and KDS 17" monitor.  The cost of these components was approximately $600.00 plus the CPU and motherboard, which would add approximately $140.00 to the build price.  As can be seen, there is not any complication in this build.  It is quite simple in the scheme of things. 

The main thing is to follow the motherboard installation directions to the letter.  In this case, the EFA Viking 3 set.  EFA has done a fairly good job in their manual.  It contains a complete set of board specifications, installation guide, and BIOS setup instructions. 
  

The FDD was installed in the 3-½ inch bay, usually at the bottom slot. Screw it in the bay.  The FDD ribbon cable is marked like the IDE cable, but has different size connectors.  Use the connectors, which fit. 

Next, size the case motherboard backplane, remove it from the case, and install the motherboard using the brass standoff nuts in the matching threaded holes on the backplane.  Set the backplane/motherboard in the case and make sure that the motherboard and the case slots are aligned.  Then use screws to install the motherboard to the backplane by screwing them into the brass standoff nuts. 

Now, it is jumper time.  Before the motherboard/backplane is re-installed, use the manual and/or any additional installation sheets to set the motherboard jumpers to configure the motherboard to the CPU and power requirements.  This motherboard had a separate Viking 3 AMD K6-2/400 MHz processor jumper guide sheet for the settings.  The jumper settings for this motherboard, and most other motherboards, are numbered as JP n, with n being the number of the jumper.  Jumpers are two or three pronged wires on which a plastic encased metal clip can be inserted to cause the jumper to be turned on Off is when the jumper clip is not set on two of the prongs.  In the case of the Viking 3, there are choices concerning the motherboard clock speed and memory settings.  The clock speed can be set at 66 MHz or 100 MHz.  The RAM memory settings can be set at 100 MHz also.  I chose the 100 MHz settings for both the CPU and the RAM to take full advantage of the K6-2 400 MHz capability. 

The manual will have a jumper pin, plug, and socket board layout diagram.  Study it to determine where pin one is on every connector or jumper pin setting.  The Viking 3 manual has a good layout diagram.  Check off each setting you make by entering the date in the manual.  Do not leave anything to your memory, but document each setting. 
  

Next, it is time to plug the case wire plugs into the motherboard pin-outs.  Again, review the manual settings and diagram to determine where each plug will fit.  Another caution note is to look carefully at the case at the time of purchase to make sure that the wiring plugs are marked.  Most are, but take no chances.  In these cases, the wiring plugs were identified.  Next, find the Multifunction connector on the motherboard and in the diagram and other document printouts.  Most manuals indicate which pin is the positive voltage pin and mark or indicate it.  In the Viking 3 case, the positive pin is noted as black for the positive.  The case wiring plugs usually have black and another color wiring.  The black wire side is the positive.  There are case plugs for Speaker, power LED, Turbo LED, HDD LED, and Reset button in the systems we assembled.  The Multifunction connector diagram was well marked, making the actual plug-in easy.  Remember, black is positive most of the time. 

Now, it is time to install the case power cables, ribbon cables, PS-2 mouse cable, COM1 and COM2 cables.  It is easiest to start at the motherboard corner closest to the keyboard connection where the power connector is located.  Start with the case power cables, there are two six wire cables.  Tilt and press each cable into its pin slot, remembering to place the outside black cables next to one another in the middle of the twelve-pin motherboard power connector.  The PS-2 mouse plug is next, then the FDD ribbon cable, then the COM1 and 2 ribbon cables, then the parallel (LPT1) ribbon cable, and last in this group, the IDE 1 ribbon cable.  Watch for the red mark on all ribbon cables and make the connection-matching pin one to pin one in each connection. 

Install the RAM memory stick in one of the DIMM slots at this time.  There are connector slots in the memory board to help correctly align the memory in the motherboard slot.  DIMM memory can be inserted in any of the slots.  The K6-2 CPU and fan assembly is placed in the Socket 7 connector next, remembering to align pin one.  The pin one corner of the Socket 7 connector and the CPU is the one where the pins are slanted. 

I/O cards are now ready for installation. I Installed the video card in the AGP slot.  The network interface card was installed in a PCI slot, and the sound card in a ISA slot.  One of the case backplane slots was used for the PS-2 mouse connector. 

Now, look over the entire assembly for loose connections or hardware.  Do not leave a screwdriver in the case. 

I then plugged the monitor, keyboard, and mouse into their connectors and place the power cable at its connection on the back of the machine.  I next powered up to see if all the lights came on and there was a boot up on the monitor.  I then turned the machine off before it finished booting. 

BIOS and Operating System Setup 
Next, comes the Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) and operating system setup.  This moves the assembly from hardware to software, both built-in as the EPROM BIOS software and the operating system, Windows 98.  The BIOS software routines, which control the hardware in the transfer of information between memory, disks, keyboard, mouse, and monitor on the motherboard must be setup to meet those I/O parameters.  The Viking 3 motherboard uses the Award BIOS chipset, which is EPROM software upgradeable.  For our purposes, the Award EPROM routines are up to date.  We needed only to make specific changes from the default settings to meet our installed hardware.  There are twelve separate setup pages to scroll through in the BIOS setup.  Press <DEL> immediately on boot up to enter the Award BIOS setup menu.  Scroll through each page and make changes as necessary to meet the machine’s requirements.  RAM memory and HDD recognition are most likely the main changes to be made.  It is necessary for the BIOS to recognize the HDD in order for the system to function later. 

After the machine has recognized the HDD, then boot up with the operating system start-up disk in Drive A:\.  Follow the setup instructions to install the operating system, as in our case, Windows 98.  Have the device driver disks available to insert when the PnP components are recognized.  Start with  the Win 98 Install Wizard to install each component using the vendor device drivers as necessary.  For this machine, these included the video card, NIC, and sound card. 

Conclusion 
The AMD K6-2 3D/400 MHz CPU and EFA Viking 3 AT style motherboard combination have made a strong addition to the Alamo PC organization Basic Lab.  All that is left is to make the network connections for each of the machines hardware and software wise.  This review has also given the membership a fairly detailed look at the new machine approach to upgrades.  The detailed areas covered in this review can be translated to other CPU and motherboard manufacturers.