This site made with this PB Updated September 3, 1998			Packard Bell 600 System Type

The motherboard is the center of any system, because it will determine what components your system will support. Everything from the CPU to your sound card is connected to the motherboard. The identification of which board is in your system is the key to answering questions relating to your system.

This page is dedicated to the PB600 system types.

Which motherboard do you have?
To find out your motherboard type, visit my motherboard page.


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PB 600 Motherboard Diagram -

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Chipset

This motherbord has the VLSI Super Core 82C590 chipset (591/592/593).

 

Components of this chip set

VLSI 82C591 System Controller   82C592 Data Buffer (2 pcs.)   82C593 (PCI-ISA Bridge)

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BIOS

The BIOS (Basic Input Output System) is essential to operate your computer; it provides the basic instructions that allow your computer to boot up.  To learn more on BIOS try this page called Bios Information. BIOS installation can be risky, so please research this issue before you try anything. Here is a link on how to install bios:
General Instructions on Bios Upgrades - Intel 

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BIOS for the 600 motherboard
The BIOS in the PB 600 is Phoenix BIOS "Agoura Release 1.xx".  This BIOS supports the AMD K6 233 MHz, we are not sure about the 266 or 300 MHz.  So for those of you that want to upgrade using a Powerleap adapter you will not need a BIOS upgrade for the AMD K6 233.
 

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Synchronize your system's clock
 
Visit my PB Tools Page for this service.

The CPU is probably the central part of the computer; it does most of the work. There are several types of processors on the market today. Intel is the leader with their successful Pentium Processors. Intel has just introduced a new Processor called MMX. Click here to see the insides of the Pentium chip (Large Graphic File).

Has any one used any other processors (AMD, Cyrix) on this motherboard?

I have had one response since I made this page and here is what they said:

"Read your review of the Evergreen PR180 with MMX and decided to get one. Was able to pick one up for $249 CDN about $100 less then the Intel Overdrive which would only go to 150MHz. My BIOS was fine since I had upgraded that a couple of weeks ago to fix the Year 2000 bug. Only had to change 1 jumper.  I ran Wintunes 97 and it says that it is running at 153MHz, but the Evergreen test that came with the processor says it is operating at 180MHz.  A tech guy from Evergreen says it is running at 180 and that Wintunes has trouble with some of these chips.   Anyways it sure beats 75MHz." - Gary

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WHAT CPU CAN I PUT IN MY PB PENTIUM?

The following chart shows the CPU's that you can have in the PB 600 motherboard.  The chart is accurate to the best of my knowledge; please notify me with any inaccuracies.
 

CPU Upgrade Table

Processor	J30	J31	J32
P75	out	out	out
P90	IN	out	out
P100	IN	IN	out
P120	IN	out	IN
P133	IN	IN	IN

Additional CPU's may be place in this mother board using a product like the Powerleap adapter, see my Upgrade section for more information.
The benefits of the Phoenix BIOS on this system is it's support of the AMD K6 Processor, no BIOS upgrade is needed for the K6.  I have also seen reports of the K6-2 running with no problems on this system with no BIOS upgrade, however a few have had problems.  One problem people have when upgrading this system to higher then 133 MHz is that the system will still boot at 133 MHz, even if you are running the system at 300 MHz.  This is not a big deal, the BIOS simply does not recognize the higher speed.  As long as the system runs all right the BIOS ID sting is not important, you can verify the performance of your system with some type of benchmark software.

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OVERCLOCKING
I have heard that the PB 600 can be sucsesfuly overclocked, please read my over clocking page for more information.

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Video Memory

The 600 motherboard comes with either 1MB of video memory.   System with 1MB of video memory can be upgraded to 2 MB.  Simply install two 256Kx16-70ns SOJ DRAM chips into sockets U27 and U28.

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How to install Video memory -  To install video memory, find U27 and U28 sockets. Install one SOJ chip into each socket. Be sure that pin one is in line. This can be done by aligning the indented dot on the SOJ chip with the cut corner of the socket. The chip then needs to be uniformly pressed into place.

 
 

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Cache Memory Upgrade

The 600 series motherboards either come with 256k L2 cache or without.  There is no upgrade available.  Those systems with the 256k L2 cache can not be upgraded to 512 L2 cache.  You have only as much L2 cache as when you bought the system, no more and no less.

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Adding RAM

Different banks can vary between types of RAM, however  I have read that one of the Banks Has a Problem with EDO RAM in some PB 600 motherbords.  So if you have a problem adding EDO, try it in the other bank. Remember that the RAM, you must be identical in each bank. Larger simms should be in bank one.  For example, Do not put 32MB in bank two unless you have 32MB or more in bank 1.

Bank 0 is the onbord RAM, some systems will not have this onbord RAM, simply subtract 8 for the maximum of each row below if 8MB of RAM are not onbord.

Upgrade Table

Bank 0  SMT	Bank 1	Bank 2	Total Size
	SIMM Bank 3	SIMM Bank 3	Total
8M	Empty	Empty	8M
8M	(2) 1Mx32	Empty	16M
8M	(2) 1Mx32	(2) 1Mx32	24M
8M	(2) 1Mx32	(2) 2Mx32	32M
8M	(2) 1Mx32	(2) 4Mx32	48M
8M	(2) 1Mx32	(2) 8Mx32	80M
8M	(2) 2Mx32	Empty	24M
8M	(2) 2Mx32	(2) 4Mx32	56M
8M	(2) 2Mx32	(2) 8Mx32	88M
8M	(2) 4Mx32	Empty	40M
8M	(2) 4Mx32	(2) 8Mx32	104M
8M	(2) 8Mx32	Empty	72M
8M	(2) 8Mx32	(2) 8Mx32	136M

 

This sytem has the Cirrus Logic 5430 or 5434 video chipset on the motherbord.

The Hard Drives on Packard Bell Systems are not uniform, each PB 600 motherboard can have a different size and manufacturer of the hard drives.

If you want more information I suggest you contact the individual manufacturer of your Hard drive.

Visit my Packard Bell Manual Download Page.