Ampro Corporation COM 830 Native vs. Compatible IDE mode, Intel Processor Features

Chapter 2 Specifications

COM 830 Reference Manual 19

Native vs. Compatible IDE mode

When operating in compatible mode, the SATA and PATA (Parallel ATA) controller together need two

legacy IRQs (14 and 15) and are unable to share these IRQs with other devices. This is a result of the fact

that the SATA and PATA controller emulate legacy IDE controllers.

Native mode allows the SATA and PATA controllers to operate as true PCI devices and therefore do not need

dedicated legacy resources, which means it can be configured anywhere within the system. When either the

SATA or PATA controller runs in native mode it only requires one PCI interrupt for both channels and also

has the ability to share this interrupt with other devices in the system. Setting Enhanced mode in the BIOS

setup program will automatically enable Native mode as Native mode is a subset of Enhanced mode.

Running in native mode frees up interrupt resources (IRQs 14 and 15) and decreases the chance that there

may be a shortage of interrupts when installing devices.

Intel® Processor Features

Intel® Core™ 2 Duo, Core™ Duo and Celeron M processors have a thermal monitor feature that helps to

control the processor temperature. The integrated TCC (Thermal Control Circuit) activates if the processor

silicon reaches its maximum operating temperature. The activation temperature, that the Intel Thermal

Monitor uses to activate the TCC, cannot be configured by the user nor is it software visible.

The Thermal Monitor can control the processor temperature through the use of two different methods

defined as TM1 and TM2. TM1 method consists of the modulation (starting and stopping) of the processor

clocks at a 50% duty cycle. The TM2 method initiates an Enhanced Intel Speedstep transition to the lowest

performance state once the processor silicon reaches the maximum operating temperature.

Two modes are supported by the Thermal Monitor to activate the TCC. They are called Automatic and On-

Demand. No additional hardware, software, or handling routines are necessary when using Automatic

Mode.

THERMTRIP# signal is used by Intel's Intel Core 2 Duo, Core Duo and Celeron M processors for

catastrophic thermal protection. If the processor's silicon reaches a temperature of approximately 125°C then

the processor signal THERMTRIP# will go active and the system will automatically shut down to prevent

NOTE If your operating system supports native mode then Ampro recommends you

enable it.

NOTE The maximum operating temperature for Intel Core™ 2 Duo, Core™ Duo and

Celeron M processors is 100°C. TM2 mode is used for Intel Core 2 Duo and

Core Duo processors, it is not supported by Intel Celeron M processors.

NOTE To ensure that the TCC is active for only short periods of time thus reducing the

impact on processor performance to a minimum, it is necessary to have a

properly designed thermal solution. The Intel Core 2 Duo, Core™ Duo and

Celeron M processor's respective datasheet can provide you with more

information about this subject.