FIC KA6100 With VIA Apollo Pro

FIC manufactured an AT board using the Apollo Pro Chipset, as pictured above – the FIC KA6100. This classic motherboard is loaded with connectors, chips, jumpers and other parts which make the board’s size as small as possible. Notice that the keyboard connector accepts the older AT style plug. A PS/2 adapter is needed to use a new type keyboard. There are included 2 USB 1.0 ports that may accommodate a keyboard.

Also, the sound chip (a Yamaha chip) is on the motherboard:

The board has three DIMM sockets, along with three PCI slots. Due to the layout of the PCI slots and the IDE connectors, some long PCI cards may not fit and could potentially overlap the IDE connectors. Although, it may be possible to adjust the IDE cables to accommodate the longer PCI cards, but this would depend on the size and height of the cards.

One thing to note about the IRQs for this board: the assignments are limited. Each PCI slot has its fixed IRQ. PCI slot one uses the same IRQ as the AGP slot, and PCI slot three shares the IDE controller. Sharing IRQs for PCI slots is not uncommon, but be aware that trying to run two video cards in SLI mode could be a challenge.

Only memory modules that are compatible with the board should be used. There can be issues using certain modules, such as the Toshiba PC-100 memory modules, or their 256mb module. Although, the Toshiba 32 chip module with LGS chips (PC-66, 10ns) ran fine. And, the Samsung PC-66 memory modules work well.

For those thinking of building a legacy system for hobby or fun, this is a decent motherboard to use. It comes with an Intel Celeron CPU SL2WM 300/66: – a classic Slot A CPU.

Another Similar Motherboard is the PC-CHIPS.