VOGONS


First post, by chubabs

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Hi, everyone. I'm looking for any information on the datasheet or a BIOS patch for the Tyan S1837UN motherboard. As mentioned earlier, Steve Foster was able to create a 1/4 divider patch for this motherboard, but unfortunately, the datasheet for the Cypress (IC-Works) W177H PLL is currently unavailable online. However, it definitely supports a 1/4 divider; the manufacturer did not include this feature in the BIOS, so all modes currently run with a 1/3 divider.

Motherboard:
https://theretroweb.com/motherboards/s/tyan-s … 7un-thunderbolt
Article:
https://www.overclockers.com/steve-fosters-wa … ual-cpu-system/

I've managed to add support for Tualatin processors on this motherboard. The CPU Cool feature also has a preset for this PLL, but it doesn't work correctly: when set to 133/33 or higher, it simply freezes, and when set to lower modes, I don't see any effect on the system when using CPU-Z or other programs.

Reply 1 of 2, by chubabs

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In addition, to create this patch, I think it will be enough to find a board with the same PLL that implements 133/33. I also checked the official IC Works website on the Web Archive, and there isn't a single mention of the W177 there, but it does exist.

Reply 2 of 2, by chubabs

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Hi, everyone.
I figured out a few things: I checked the continuity of all pins to ground and compared them against the IC Works datasheets, finding two matches—W48S101-04H and W225. After that, I began checking other pins—for example, X1 (pin 4) and X2 (pin 5) are connected to the quartz stone, VDDQ2 (pins 37, 41, 46) are connected to each other—as well as the resistance of the pins, etc. and after testing, all the pins I checked matched. I also used an oscilloscope to measure the frequency on the PCI pins (pins 7, 8, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16) and pin 23, which output 33 MHz on the PCI bus and 24 MHz on pin 23 (FS1). I am completely certain that this chip has a W225 pinout, because I was really surprised when, at 133 MHz, I saw 33 MHz on the PCI pins and 48 MHz on pin 23 (FS1)—meaning the board is already operating with a 1/4 divider, and this chip has a different frequency table, but everything matches up because CPUcool doesn’t even have a 133/44 preset for the W177. Steve Foster was wrong—the board is already running in the required mode, but it starts interacting with the memory at this frequency in a way that causes the system to run unstable.

I managed to find one RAM stick out of a large pile that uses TOSHIBA chips and runs super stable, but strangely enough, the last timing isn't recognized. Also, when I try to add even one RAM stick, either the OS won't load at all, or I get errors, or BSOD screens with various error messages.

The main suspect in the system's instability is now the IC Works W40S01-04 (SDRAM Data Buffer). Also, this chip does not support frequencies higher than 133, so the 143 and 153 frequencies supported by the W177 (according to CPUcool and Steve Foster's article) are not available at all. I think it’s not functioning properly at 133, but I’ll keep investigating.