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PC Chips M423

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First post, by BastlerMike

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I have a PC-Chips M423 mainboard: http://motherboards.mbarron.net/models/486isa/m423.html
There is no bios chip with it, so I''d like to know if I could use another board's bios.
It has "PCChips 16328" chipset. Does anyone know if this is some remarked chipset? Did PCChips ever produce own chipsets?
Is someone out there, who owns this particular mainboard model?

Reply 1 of 2, by PCBONEZ

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I think they did produce (some of) their own chipsets at least into the mid 486 era. I can't prove it though.
.
Some years ago I sent an email to PcChips tech support asking if some chipset could be made to support some mode of UDMA.
(I am saying some because I don't recall all the specifics.)
My meaning was could it be done with a BIOS update.
Apparently with the language barrier the tech took me to mean i wanted a custom chipset manufactured.
A few days later I got an email from the (CEO? President?) of Hsing Tech (PcChip's parent company).
He said SURE! he could do that, so long as I ordered 20,000 motherboards with the new chipset on them.
.

Last edited by PCBONEZ on 2015-12-06, 22:22. Edited 1 time in total.

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Reply 2 of 2, by PCBONEZ

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The BIOS strings I've come across for that board show Hsing Tech as the manufacturer (001437) and have PC-CHIP(S) in the chipset position.
AMIBIOS ID String 40-0300-001437-00101111-121291-PC-CHIPS-8
AMIBIOS ID String 40-0030-001437-00101111-121291-PC-CHIP-F
.
It's not like PcChips has never fudged BIOS strings though.....

GRUMPY OLD FART - On Hiatus, sort'a
Mann-Made Global Warming. - We should be more concerned about the Intellectual Climate.
You can teach a man to fish and feed him for life, but if he can't handle sushi you must also teach him to cook.