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Date:      Mon, 13 May 1996 10:08:00 EST
From:      "David Alderman" <dave@persprog.com>
To:        Eric Varsanyi <ewv@boom.bsdi.com>, freebsd-hardware@FreeBSD.ORG, hsu@clinet.fi
Subject:   Re: Motherboards 
Message-ID:  <270B9E0758A@novell.persprog.com>

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> >
> >   ASUS doesn't seem to understand what a PCI-PCI bridge is and why
> >   someone might want to use one. Their BIOS only detects and initializes
> >
> >I have at least 6 ASUS based routers which use SMC EtherPower 2 and ZNYX
> >4-port ethernet boards.  One router has got 10 ports, all occupied.  The
> >motherboard is the SIS chipset one, P90.  I have got Triton II boards also,
> >but I'm not absolutely sure that I have tested those with multiple ports in
> >use yet (but they are correctly probed and both ports on EP2s are usable
> >alone).
> 
> It must only be certain models then... the ones we've had trouble with
> were the P54NP4's (Neptune EISA/PCI). It isn't a BSD/OS problem,
> these wouldn't even run the DOS diagnostics that come with the
> EP2's. The I_LINE register in the second device is left programmed
> with apparently random values after POST (I've seen 0xfe, 0x20,
> and 0xff).
> 
> They've probably corrected the problems in their newer boards (the
> Neptune is at least a couple of years old).
> 
> - -Eric
> 
Eric, there was a generic problem with Neptune chipsets not 
supporting bridging.  This may have been fixed in a later revision of 
the Neptune chip.  We have one machine in house using an ASUS board 
which will not support two PCI bus-mastering devices.

Note that this does not in any way invalidate waht you have stated 
about the PIN-A etc support on the Asus Neptune boards.  Even if the 
problem with the chipset was corrected, it is possible that Asus has 
not changed the design of the board to accomodate the newer chips. I 
am nearly certain that what you described is a problem with the old 
Neptune board I have in house.

Maybe Mr. Grimes would care to comment on the bridging support issue 
(hint, hint!).
======================================
When philosophy conflicts with reality, choose reality.
Dave Alderman  -- dave@persprog.com
======================================



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