Selection of host PC for FAST Comtec PCI-boards:
P788X Series Multiscaler/TOF, MPA-3 Multiparameter System and MCA-3X/P7882 Series MCA.

1.         HOST PC SELECTION: Most but not all personal computers are compatible with the FAST ComTec GmbH P788X Series Multiscalers, MPA-3 Multiparameter Systems and MCA-3/P7882 Series MCA boards which are designed to be compatible to the PCI-Bus, version 2.1 (or later) specification. The host PC, including the system BIOS, must be fully compliant with the PCI Bus 2.1 specification in all respects.

We recommend, if possible, installing the FAST ComTec PCI card in the PC you intend to use prior to purchasing the PC or making a final PC selection to ensure that the card operates correctly in that PC since this is the ultimate test of compatibility. The P788X, MPA-3 and MCA-3 operating software run diagnostic tests upon startup which verifies port communication with the necessary registers on the card and address ports in the PC and that proper operation of DMA block transfers has occurred.

The FAST ComTec P788X boards (except the 64 bit P7889 model, see below) require two 32-bit IO port address ranges to be assigned to the board which is a relatively unusual requirement The most common problem with incompatible computers is that they fail to properly assign the second port address range for use by the P788X, MPA-3 or MCA-3 board. Sometimes this can be overcome by moving the card to a different slot, removing other cards before installation of the P788X or swapping slot positions with other cards in other slots but when this fails a different host PC must be used.

Because of the large variety of PCs available today and because the life cycles of typical PC motherboards are on the order of six months or less, it is difficult to provide an up-to-date list of exactly which currently-available PCs exhibit compatibility problems. In our experience, the PCs that tend to exhibit frequent problems are the national name-brand PCs like Dell, Compaq, Micron, and some older HP computers and we recommend use of these types be avoided with the P788X and MCA-3X and MPA-3. Based on our experience to date, Dell PC’s appear to be incompatible in all cases and should be avoided in all cases for this use. It appears that they may deviate from strict adherence to the PCI plug-and-play V 2.1 standard in either the BIOS, PCI bus structure or both and do not therefore interface correctly to the AMCC PCI-Interface chip used in the FAST ComTec products.

The PCs that have worked in nearly100% of trials are locally-manufactured “clones” with motherboards from Intel, ASUS (models such as the P5WDG2-WS Pro, CUV-4XE), ABIT, Supermicro and some from Gigabyte Systems, and which use conventional BIOS system from Phoenix or Award. PC’s assembled by Vision Computers (www.visioncomputers.com) have also been used successfully. These types of PC’s have rarely if ever evidenced compatibility problems.

A specific exception are motherboards containing the Intel 946GZ series chipset, which have proven to be incompatible. These should be avoided.

A less-frequent compatibility problem involves the P788X Multiscalers and DMA transfers. If this problem occurs, the DMA function in the P788X software is disabled and the software must run in normal priority which will result a significantly (at least 50%) slower transfer rate of STOP events into the host PC. It is recommended to use a different computer if this problem is experienced.

Host PC Configuration: The host PC should be equipped with a large, fast hard disk (data files are frequently large in many applications), a minimum of 512 MB RAM memory, a graphics board operating at least in a 1024 x 768 pixel mode, a fast (1.0 GHz or above) Pentium IV or later type processor, and a 300 watt power supply. Several of the P788X cards draw power from the bus but also require a separate power cable (supplied) be connected to an available drive power supply cable in the host PC. Although the P788X cards will operate with the minimum amount of RAM required for Win98, NT, 2000, XP or Vista (32-bit operating systems), performance improves with more memory and FAST ComTec recommends a minimum of 512 MB. Performance also improves with faster processors, disk drives, and graphics cards.

Special Note regarding the Model P7889 100 psec Multiscaler/TOF: Introduced in May 2006, this model has different host PC requirements than other boards in the P788X family. It requires a single 64-bit, 66 MHz PCI compatible slot known as a PCI-X slot (this is NOT the same as PCI-Express, do not confuse them). There are several host PC’s offering this capability (but not a large number) and we suggest contacting Quantar Technology regarding the most recent information on this subject. The P7889 is also NOT compatible with Dell or older Compaq host PC’s.

2.         PHYSICAL SIZE OF CARD: P788X Multiscalers are full-length PCI cards (approx 13.4 inches, 340.7 mm in length) which the computer must accommodate. MCA-3X/P7882 cards are also full-length cards. The MPA-3 IO card is a shorter length card. For the P788X and MCA-3X/P7882 be sure that at least one of the PCI slots is available in the host PC without any obstacles (case, drives, processors, fans, etc) preventing the installation of a full-length card. The case should also provide adequate airflow to keep the P788X card properly cooled. The P7889 also has an on-board air cooling fan to cool the on-board processor. All the P788X boards require connection to an available disk drive power connector in the host PC.

3.         OPERATING SYSTEMS. Although drivers are supplied for Win98, NT, and 2000/XP/Vista, we recommend using Windows 2000, XP or Vista because they appear to handle IRQ sharing better than others and offers PnP capability. Only the 32 bit version of XP and Vista is compatible; there is currently no driver available for the special 64-bit versions. XP is currently probably the preferred OS due to its relative maturity.

Windows 98 OS has a disadvantage that a time-out feature for DMA transfers can not be implemented, which at very low count rates can cause the computer to appear to stop responding when an accumulation is stopped prior to the filling of the output FIFO because it will wait indefinitely for the FIFO buffer to fill before transferring data, so we do not recommend using Windows 98.

27 September 2007 Rev 6