NEXTSTEP for Intel Processors

Title: NEC Express/II P60ST
Entry Number: 1467
Expiration of Certification: June 12 1995
Last Updated: <<Date July 21 1995>>

Product Vendor: 
NEC Technologies, Inc.
1414 Massachusett Ave,
Boxborough MA 01719
USA

+1 (800) 632 4636 USA toll-free phone - sales and information
+1 (800) 366 0476 USA toll-free faxback system
+1 (800) 388 8888 USA toll-free phone - support
+1 (508) 264 8000 international phone
WWW: http://www.nec.com/

Keywords: EISA, PCI, Pentium, NEC, Tower

Explanation of Certification 
To ensure a high level of compatibility and support for PC-compatible system configurations, NeXT has developed a process for comprehensively testing specific configurations for compatibility with NEXTSTEP for Intel Processors. 

In this process, the NeXT Quality Assurance group subjects each specific system configuration to a suite of compatibility tests. If a system configuration passes the test suite, it is considered certified. Only the manufacturing revisions of a system unit and its add-on cards listed in the NeXTAnswer are considered certified. Once a configuration is certified, NeXT creates a detailed NeXTanswers document (like this one) that lists the specific configuration tested, plus any setup information required to configure the system for NEXTSTEP.

Because of the detailed information that's available on certified configurations, NeXT delivers the best technical support on them. Keep in mind that a system platform might be loosely referred to as "certified" if it has one or more certified configurations, but all the benefits of certification are available only to users of the specific certified configurations.

Note: NeXT certification does not necessarily mean a configuration is error-free.  Certified systems may contain detected or undetected compatibility problems.

Overview:
The NEC Express II/P60ST is a high-performance, Pentiumd based PC with EISA and PCI expansion busses.

Certified Components:
NeXT has certified the following components(*):

System CPU Board(s)
	NEC Express/II P60ST
CPU Type(s) & Speed(s)
	60 MHz Intel Pentiumtm
System RAM
	32MB
IDE Controller(s)
	none
SCSI Controller(s)
	Onboard DPT 2022/ax
SCSI CD-ROM Drive(s)
	NEC 3Xi CD-ROM drive
Hard Drive(s)
	545MB Conner CP30540
Floppy Drive(s)
	Integrated 1.44MB 3.5"
Graphics Adapter(s)
	Diamond Viper PCI with 2MB VRAM
Serial Port(s)
	Integrated, COM1,COM2
Parallel Port(s)
	Integrated, LPT1
Keyboard(s)
	NEC, PS/2 interface
Mice and Other Pointing Devices
	NEC, PS/2 interface
LAN Adapter(s)
	Intel EtherExpress 16
Sound Card(s)
	ProAudio Spectrum 16
Monitor(s)
	NEC 5fg

(*) Note that only the firmware and hardware revision numbers specified in the "Technical Specification" section below are certified. Occasionally vendors may modify firmware or hardware characteristics without changing model numbers. Only systems with the specified firmware and hardware revision(s) have been certified.

Setup and Installation:
Switch Settings:
	Switch block SW3:
	1: ON	Built-in video controller disabled
	2: OFF	Built-in diskette controller enabled
	3: OFF	Password security enabled
	4: OFF	BIOS reprogram allowed
	5: OFF	BIOS reprogram over network allowed
	6: OFF	CMOS settings not cleared

EISA settings:
Use the EISA Configuration Utility to configure the computer to the following settings:

System - NEC Express/II P60ST System Board
Drive Configurations
  Drive A: Type					1.44MB
  Drive B: Type					None
Primary Controller Drive Types
  Hard Drive 1 Type				None
  Hard Drive 2 Type				None
Secondary Controller Drive Types
  Hard Drive 3 Type				None
  Hard Drive 4 Type				None
Custom Defined Hard Drive 1
  Auto Detect Drive Parameters	YES
  Number of Cylinders			0
  Number of Heads				0
  Number of Sectors per Track	0
  Write Precomp					0
  Landing Zone					0
Custom Defined Hard Drive 2
  Auto Detect Drive Parameters	NO
  Number of Cylinders			0
  Number of Heads				0
  Number of Sectors per Track	0
  Write Precomp					0
  Landing Zone					0
Custom Defined Hard Drive 3
  Auto Detect Drive Parameters	NO
  Number of Cylinders			0
  Number of Heads				0
  Number of Sectors per Track	0
  Write Precomp					0
  Landing Zone					0
Custom Defined Hard Drive 4
  Auto Detect Drive Parameters	NO
  Number of Cylinders			0
  Number of Heads				0
  Number of Sectors per Track	0
  Write Precomp					0
  Landing Zone					0

IDE Disk Drive Features
  Built-in IDE Controller			Disabled
  IDE DMA Channel Select		DO NOT assign any DMA
  Primary IDE Transfer Mode HD1	Standard PIO
  Primary IDE Transfer Mode HD2	Standard PIO
  Primary IDE Transfer Mode HD3	Standard PIO
  Primary IDE Transfer Mode HD4	Standard PIO

SCSI Disk Drive Features
  Built-in SCSI Smart ROM		Enable ROM addr C8000
  Built-in SCSI Termination		Internal
  
Floppy Diskette Drive Features
  Floppy Boot					Enable
  Floppy Write					Enable

Port Configurations
  Built-in Parallel Setup		I/O 378 (LPT1), IRQ7
  Built-in Parallel Mode		Bi-directonal (PS/2 type)
  Built-in Serial 1 Setup		I/O 3F8 (COM1), IRQ4
  Built-in Serial 2 Setup		I/O 2F8 (COM2), IRQ3

Misc Configurations
  Built-in Mouse Port			Enable
  Built-in Modem				I/O 3E8 (COM3), IRQ4
  
  Typematic Rate				Maximum
  Boot Up Error Messages		Display
  Numlock State at boot			On at boot
  Auto Setup Software			Disable
  Global Cashing				Enable
  ISA Video Shadow			Enable
  Memory Gap at 15Meg		Disable
  Extended Memory (KB)		15360
  Monitor Scan Rate			Type1: 640x480@60,800x600@50,1024x768@82 {I}
  Built-in Video				VGA or EGA
  
SCSI - DPT SCSI Host Bus Adapter (PM2x22a/9x)
CONTROLLER PARAMETERS
Hardware Mapping
  ISA I/O Ports					Secondary
  Interrupt Number				15 Edge
  HBA SCSI ID					7

WD1003 Emulation, Drive 0
  SCSI ID						Disable
  SCSI LUN						0
WD1003 Emulation, Drive 1
  SCSI ID						Disable
  SCSI LUN						0
  
SCSI PARAMETERS
  Maximum Transfer Rate		5MB/s*
  Command Queuing			Enabled*
  Command Timeout			Enabled
		
CACHE PARAMETERS
  Cache						Enabled (Write-Through)
  Maximum Percent Dirty		50%
  Maximum Percent Read-Ahead	30%
  Read-Ahead					Enabled (8 blocks)
  Caching Threshold			16 blocks
  Caching Parameters			EISA Config override
		
!DPTA410.CFG Version		005d5
  
* transfer rates greater than 5 MB/s require good cables and termination.  Some SCSI devices do not support command queing.
note: these settings are different from those suggested for the DPT 2022 card.

Technical Specification of Certified System
The following information technically defines the specific configuration NeXT certifies.

Tested under NEXTSTEP for Intel Processors Release 3.2
Hardware Configuration Information

NEC Express/II P60ST
	Type(s):	Tower
	Model Number(s):	ST-3100-2733-CV

System CPU Board(s)
	NEC Express/II P60ST
		BIOS Version:	PhoenixBIOS 1.01
		BIOS Revision Number:	1.00.17

CPU Type(s) & Speed(s)
	60 MHz Intel Pentium

System RAM
	32MB

IDE Controller(s)
	none*

*the NEC Express II/P60ST includes an IDE controller, but this system was certified without an IDE drive.

SCSI Controller(s)
	DPT 2122/A9x
		Interface:	EISA (integrated)
		BIOS Revision Number:	v002.C
		Firmware Revision Number(s):	v05c.6

SCSI CD-ROM Drive(s)
	NEC 3Xi CD-ROM (internal)
		Model Number:	CDR-500
		Firmware Rev. 2.5

Hard Drive(s)
	545MB - Conner CP30540 (SCSI)

Floppy Drive(s)
	Integrated 1.44MB 3.5"

Graphics Adapter(s)
	Diamond Viper PCI
		Interface: PCI
		BIOS Revision Number: 3.10
 		Chipset: Weitek Power9000
		RAMDAC: Brooktree Bt485KPJ135
		VRAM: 2MB

Serial Port(s)
	Integrated, COM1,COM2

Parallel Port(s)
	Integrated, LPT1

Keyboard(s)
	NEC, PS/2 interface
		Model Number: 

Mice and Other Pointing Devices
	NEC, PS/2 interface
		Model Number: 

LAN Adapter(s)
	Intel EtherExpress 16 (*)
		Interface: ISA adapter
		Connectors: BNC, AUI 

Sound Card(s)
	ProAudio Spectrum 16	(*)

Monitor(s)
	NEC 17" color
		Model Number:	5fg (*)

(*) NeXT added this item to the configuration to complete certification.

Known Problems:
Release 3.2:
7	This system uses the Diamond Viper PCI video board.   SoftPC is not supported in full screen mode with the Diamond Viper.  See NextAnswers document #1573_Diamond_Viper.rtf for details.
7	NeXTstep requires firmware revision 2.5 for the NEC 3Xi CD-ROM drive.
7	This system will sometimes fail to format a floppy for NeXT or Macintosh filesystems.

Release 3.3:
7	Upgrading to 3.3 incorrectly upgrades the DPT SCSI driver to the EISA version.  The on-board SCSI is not a true EISA device, so the machine will fail to reboot.  You must use the ISA version of the driver.

See Also:
1573_Diamond_Viper.rtf
1206_Intel_Ether_Express_Ethernet_Adapter.rtfd
1457_DPT_2022_EISA_SCSI_Adapter.rtfd
1158_Pro_Audio_Spectrum_16_Sound_Adapter.rtfd