Desktop Board Features
17
Hi-Speed USB 2.0 Support
NOTE
Computer systems that have an unshielded cable attached to a USB port might not meet FCC
Class B requirements, even if no device or a low-speed USB device is attached to the cable.
Use a shielded cable that meets the requirements for a full-speed USB device.
The desktop board supports up to eight USB 2.0 ports via ICH7; four ports routed to the back panel
and four routed to one internal USB 2.0 header. USB 2.0 ports are backward compatible with
USB 1.1 devices. USB 1.1 devices will function normally at USB 1.1 speeds.
USB 2.0 support requires both an operating system and drivers that fully support USB 2.0 transfer
rates. Disabling Hi-Speed USB in the BIOS reverts all USB 2.0 ports to USB 1.1 operation. This
may be required to accommodate operating systems that do not support USB 2.0.
Enhanced IDE Interface
The ICH7’s IDE interface handles the exchange of information between the processor and
peripheral devices such as hard disk drives and CD-ROM drives. The interface supports:
• Up to two IDE devices (such as hard drives)
• ATAPI-style devices (such as CD-ROM drives)
• Older PIO Mode devices
• Ultra DMA-33 and ATA-66/100 protocols
Serial ATA
The desktop board supports four Serial ATA channels (3.0 Gb/s) via ICH7, connecting one device
per channel.
Expandability
For system expansion, the desktop board provides the following:
• One PCI Express x1 connector
• Two PCI connectors
BIOS
The BIOS provides the Power-On Self-Test (POST), the BIOS Setup program, the PCI/PCI
Express and IDE auto-configuration utilities, and the video BIOS. The BIOS is stored in the Serial
Peripheral Interface (SPI) Flash or the Firmware Hub.
The BIOS can be updated by following the instructions on page 55 in Chapter 3.