Help identify hamfest motherboard

[phred14]

Went to NEAR (Formerly Hosstraders) last weekend, and almost got out without buying anything. Feeling guilty, and found a motherboard for cheap, so got it.

Upon closer inspection, I can't find any identifying marks or insignia, though there are plenty of labels, and there is a serial number. I've searched on what mark-like text there is, to no avail. Nor have I seen a motherboard quite like it.

Distinguishing features:
Micro-ATX, Socket 370
i810 chipset - FW81810 and FW81801AB, no other Intel chips I can see.
2 DIMM sockets, 3 PCI slots, AMR on far side of PCI slots from CPU. (THIS is different from ANY Micro-ATX photo I've seen, so far. Usually the AMR is between PCI and CPU.)
Normal stuff, 2 IDE, floppy, normal back-panel
Extra headers for front USB, COM2
Despite being mostly jumperless, there are 3 2x3 pin headers with 2 jumpers on each, and one 2 pin header with a jumper.

Chip: 100+ pin TSOP
[code:1:a2ba16240e] VS930ADES
NSC 98 B2
AM95
MEGATRENDS
PC87366IBW/VLA[/code:1:a2ba16240e]
Chip: 32 pin in socket
[code:1:a2ba16240e] AWARD
1998
PCI/PNP 686
18087437
(Obviously BIOS, but what's the MEGATRENDS, then?)[/code:1:a2ba16240e]
Several lesser chips, but nothing major, obviously using i810 audio/video

Vacant chipsites:
[code:1:a2ba16240e]KM416S1020C (2 of them)
SOLOI
MILHOUS[/code:1:a2ba16240e]

Actually, I can probably figure most of the stuff out, none of it appears to be rocket science. But some of the headers aren't well labeled.
There is a "CHASSIS" 2-pin header - chassis interlock? short them?
HDDLED - 2 pins, obvious except no polarity markings
SPEAKER - 2 pins, 4 positions, obvious
RST_SW - 2 pins, obvious
SP_SW - 2 pins, "System Power SWitch?
MSG_LED - 2 pins, What Message?
RPW_SW - 2 pins, What?
PW_LED - 3 pins, What?

There are a few others, like WOL (Wake On Lan) 3-pin, WOR (Wake On Ring??) 2-pin, second CD-Audio connector marked "MONO", etc.

I'm about ready to just connect the minimal/obvious, plug in keyboard, display, some memory and a spare drive, and see what happens. Maybe leave "CHASSIS" open for the first try, short it if it doesn't power up.

Any suggestions, insights, warnings?

 

[dortmund371]

sounds very sketchy to me dont try it return it and get a refund. it might cause harm to your components. why would thy not have a brand on it. or at least go back to the retaler and try to pry out some more information

 

[Hawkeye22]

The megatrends chip is the super i/o. I couldn't specifically find the NSC 98 B2, but I did find a reference to a NSC98A2.

 

[blunc]

the KM416S1020C vacant socket sites are probably places you can add video memory.

the board sounds like something out of an HP, Compaq, DELL, Gateway...etc. it would probably tell you who makes it if you can get it to a bios screen.

 

[phred14]

Sorry for the delays in response, but things have been busy, and my spare monitor was pressed into service, for a while. The other day it got freed up, so I attached other spare parts to the flea market motherboard, and it came right up, no trouble at all. So that's answered, but it leads to a few other questions...

How do I really know that it's standard micro-ATX, since the consensus seemed that it might well be for a brand-name system. That is, shy of trying to install it into a micro-ATX case, which I don't happen to have, at the moment?

Turns out that the CPU is a 400MHz Celeron-A, a bit slower than I would have liked. I've been trying to find out more about CPU compatibility for the i810 without much luck. Can someone point me to the right documentation?

Thanks to all.

 

[f61]

that bios is pre 2000, and actually not 'millenium ready' if the 1998 date code is correct. First gen celeron? Try a PC100 memory, but count the pins. I don't think anything DDR will fit. Darned thing is 7 years old maybe. It'd be a hoot to post it up. Somewhere theres an Athlon700 with a few chips of that stuff... or was it the MMX200? have ta look around.

f61

UPDATE==> the Intel i810... successor to the famous i740. Released mid-1999. PRE MILLENIUM ANTIQUE! Check it out here and see the wonderful legacy here

Might be 8 years old.

 

[phred14]

(Again, sorry for the delays. Time flies when a kid is at the HS/college boundary)

Believe it or not, I'm still planning on bringing this board into use as a home server. I was into BIOS and noticed that the temp was 60C+, (just sitting there at the BIOS page.) so I popped the heatsink, and it simply fell off with no adhesion whatsoever. A little arctic silver and the temp is down under 40C.

This machine will be Linux-only, but I'm building the image on another machine. I've added DMIDECODE to the image, located an Award BIOS upgrade page, and hopefully can cross the 2 to find the correct upgrade BIOS. I'd like the power control/saving capability of a modern (non-blacklisted) ACPI BIOS.

I've still got to scare up a case for it. I'd screw it to a board, but that's RF-impolite.