Abstract:
A motherboard and a method for displaying a host system parameter are provided. The motherboard includes a bridge circuit receiving the host system parameter, a microcontroller connected to the bridge circuit, and a transmitter connected to the microcontroller. The microcontroller is capable of directly capturing the host system parameter from the bridge circuit and then transmitting the system parameter to the transmitter when the motherboard is powered on.

Description:
[0001]    This application claims the benefit of Taiwan application Serial No. 99142679, filed Dec. 7, 2010, the subject matter of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0003]    The invention relates to a motherboard and a parameter display method thereof. 
         [0004]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0005]    Computer system is very important in modern information society. The computer system integrates multiple circuits (such as a chip or various peripheral devices) with different functions together at a motherboard to achieve an overall function. Operation states and parameters of the circuits are reflected in the host system parameters of the computer system. 
         [0006]    For example, when the computer system boots up, a basic input/output system (BIOS) of the computer system executes a power on self-test (POST) to test each of the circuits of the computer system in sequence, and the testing process and results are reflected at the host system parameters. 
         [0007]    Since the host system parameters reflect the operation state of the computer system, the host system parameters should be displayed to a user to show the operation state of the computer system. For example, when the computer system cannot boot up normally, the user can get that which circuit of the computer system has a problem via the host system parameters. 
         [0008]    However, when the computer system boots up, if a circuit cannot operate normally and results in an interruption in booting before a display circuit operates, the computer system cannot display any information on a display. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0009]    A motherboard includes a bridge circuit receiving a host system parameter, a microcontroller connected to the bridge circuit, and a transmitter connected to the microcontroller. When the motherboard is powered on, the microcontroller directly captures the host system parameter from the bridge circuit and transmits the host system parameter to the transmitter. 
         [0010]    A computer system includes a display and a motherboard connected to the display. The motherboard further includes a bridge circuit receiving host system parameters, a microcontroller connected to the bridge circuit, and a transmitter connecting the microcontroller and the display. When the motherboard is powered on, the microcontroller directly captures the system parameter from the bridge circuit and transmits the host system parameter to the transmitter, and the host system parameter from transmitter to the display is displayed on the display. 
         [0011]    A method for displaying a host system parameter applied to a computer system is also disclosed. The computer system includes a motherboard and a display. The motherboard includes a bridge circuit and a microcontroller. The method includes following steps: booting up the computer system to generate the host system parameter to the bridge circuit; capturing the host system parameter from the bridge circuit directly via the microcontroller; and displaying the host system parameter on the display. 
         [0012]    These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with regard to the following description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0013]      FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram showing a conventional computer system; and 
           [0014]      FIG. 2  is a schematic diagram showing a motherboard applied to a computer system in an embodiment. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
       [0015]      FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram showing a conventional motherboard  12  applied to a computer system  10 . The motherboard  12  includes a central processing unit (CPU)  14 , a kernel module  16  and a BIOS  29 . The kernel module  16  includes a bridge circuit  18  and a display circuit  20 . The CPU  14  calculates, processes information and controls the operation of the computer system  10 . 
         [0016]    The bridge circuit  18  includes a plurality of interface ports  24   a  to  24   d  as shown in  FIG. 1 . The bridge circuit  18  is connected to the CPU  14  via a front bus for bridging the CPU  14  and the interface ports  24   a  to  24   d . Each of the interface ports  24   a  to  24   d  may be an I/O interface of different specifications and is coupled to different circuits or peripheral devices of the computer system  10 . For example, the interface port  24   a  is coupled to the display circuit  20 , and the interface port  24   d  is coupled to the BIOS  29 . Other interface ports (such as the interface ports  24   b  and  24   c ) may be I/O interfaces of peripheral component interconnect (PCI), PCI-express (PCI-E), advanced technology attachment (ATA), serial ATA (SATA) or universal serial bus (USB) specification for coupling to a memory, a network card, an audio card, a hard disk, an optical disk drive (ODD), a printer, a keyboard, a mouse or other peripheral devices. 
         [0017]    The display circuit  20  is responsible for calculating and processing for image display of the computer system  10 . The display circuit  20  includes an interface port  26  and a display port  28 . The interface port  26  is coupled to the corresponding interface port  24   a  of the bridge circuit  18 , and the display port  28  is used as a video interface and coupled to a display  22 . 
         [0018]    The BIOS  29  is coupled to the interface port  24   d  of the bridge circuit  18 . When the computer system  10  boots up, the BIOS  29  executes a POST to test each of the circuits (such as the circuits or peripheral devices coupled to the interface ports  24   a  to  24   d ) of the computer system in sequence and reflects the testing process and results at the host system parameters. The host system parameters may be recorded in the bridge circuit  18  and can be accessed via the interface port. 
         [0019]    Since the POST does not test the display circuit  20  at the beginning, if other circuits cannot operate normally and result in an interruption in booting before the display circuit  20  operates, the computer system  10  cannot display any information at the display  22 , and the user cannot get the reason of the abnormal booting. 
         [0020]      FIG. 2  is a schematic diagram showing a motherboard  32  applied to a computer system  30  in an embodiment. The computer system  30  further includes a display  42  and an input peripheral device  64 . The motherboard  32  includes a CPU  34 , a kernel module  36  and a BIOS  50 . The motherboard  32  further includes a microcontroller  52  and a transmitter  54 . 
         [0021]    The kernel module  36  includes a bridge circuit  38  and a display circuit  40 . The CPU  34  does calculations and data processing, executes an operation system and various software programs, and controls the operation of the computer system  30 . 
         [0022]    The bridge circuit  38  can achieve a south bridge function, and it also be integrated with a north bridge function. The bridge circuit  38  includes a plurality of interface ports. The interface ports  44   a  to  44   e  are taken as an example in  FIG. 2 . The bridge circuit  38  is coupled to the CPU  34  via a front bus for bridging the CPU  34  and the interface ports  44   a  to  44   e . The interface ports  44   a  to  44   e  may be I/O interfaces of different specifications and coupled to other circuits or peripheral devices of the computer system  30 . For example, the interface port  44   a ,  44   b  and  44   c  are coupled to the display circuit  40 , the microcontroller  52  and the BIOS  50 , respectively. Other interface ports (such as the interface ports  44   d  and  44   e ) may be I/O interfaces of PCI, PCI-E, ATA, SATA or USB specification for coupling to a memory, a network card, an audio card, a hard disk, an ODD, a printer, a keyboard, a mouse or other peripheral devices. 
         [0023]    The display circuit  40  is responsible for calculating and processing for image display of the computer system  30 . The display circuit  40  includes an interface port  46  and a display port  48 . The interface port  46  is coupled to the corresponding interface port  44   a  of the bridge circuit  38  for receiving data to be displayed. The display port  48  is used as a video interface, such as a video graphics array (VGA), a digital visual interface (DVI) or a high definition multimedia interface (HDMI). 
         [0024]    The BIOS  50  is coupled to the interface port  44   c  of the bridge circuit  38 . When the computer system  30  boots up, the BIOS  50  executes a POST to test each of the circuits (such as the circuits or peripheral devices coupled to the interface ports  44   a  to  44   e ) of the computer system in sequence and reflects the testing process and results at the host system parameters SP. 
         [0025]    The microcontroller  52  includes a control interface  56   a  and a transmission interface  58 . The control interface  56   a  is coupled to the interface port  44   b  to receive the host system parameters SP from the bridge circuit  38  and sends corresponding system information SI via the transmission interface  58  according to the host system parameters SP. 
         [0026]    The transmitter  54  includes two input ports  60   a  and  60   b  (a first input port and a second input port) and an output port  62 . The input port  60   a  is coupled to the display port  48  of the display circuit  40 , and the input port  60   b  is coupled to the transmission interface  58  of the microcontroller  52  for receiving the system information SI. The transmission interface  58  may be coupled to the input port  60   b  via an I/O interface such as an inter-integrated circuit ( 12 C), a universal asynchronous receive/transmitter (UART) or a serial peripheral interface (SR). 
         [0027]    The output port  62  of the transmitter  54  is used as a video interface and is coupled to a display  42  to display the system information SI and signals from the display port  48  on the display  42  via the OSD. For example, the video interface of the display port  48  may be an interface of VGA, a DVI or a HDMI. 
         [0028]    As stated above, the microcontroller  52  gets the host system parameters SP and transmits them to the transmitter  54  to display the host system parameters SP on the display  42 . Due to the cooperation of the microcontroller  52  and the transmitter  54 , when the BIOS  50  executes the POST, no matter whether the display circuit  40  operates normally or not, the host system parameters SP can be displayed at the display  42  via the transmitter  54 . For example, the process and the results of the POST are both displayed on the display  42 . 
         [0029]    When the computer system  30  finishes booting and loading the operation system and starts to operate, the image that the CPU  34  executes the operation system interface is carried at the signal of the display port  48  via the display circuit  40 , and the signal is transmitted to the transmitter  54 . The transmitter  54  transmits the signal to display at the display  42 . The host system parameters SP may be overlapped at the operation system interface via the OSD, and thus both of the host system parameters SP and the image of the operation system interface can be displayed to the user at the same time. For example, the host system parameters SP may include pulse frequency, operation temperature and operation voltage of the computer system  30 , and all of the parameters can be displayed at the display  42  truly without software support of the operation system. Since the display function of the display  42  is powerful, the transmitter  54  may present the host system parameters SP via pictures, colors, letter symbols, flash and so on. 
         [0030]    In  FIG. 2 , the microcontroller  52  further includes an input interface  56   b  for receiving an input operation UI of the user to allow the microcontroller  52  to set or change the host system parameters SP of the computer system  30  actively according to the input operation UI. For example, the control interface  56   a  is used to set the pulse frequency or the operation voltage of a relating circuit. The input interface  56   b  may be an I/O interface of USB, PS/2, Bluetooth, infrared ray (IR) or Wi-Fi specification and coupled to an input peripheral device  64  for receiving the input operation UI from the input peripheral device  64 . For example, the input peripheral device  64  may be a keyboard, a mouse or a touchpad. 
         [0031]    In the embodiment, the computer system  30  not only displays the host system parameters SP, and it also allows the user to adjust the host system parameters SP dynamically and real-timely to meet real-time requirements of the user. Moreover, the user may control the operation that the transmitter  54  displays the host system parameters SP via the input peripheral device  64  of the microcontroller  52 . For example, whether to display the host system parameters SP or which host system parameters SP to be displayed can be controlled. When the user does not need to check the host system parameters SP, the transmitter  54  stops displaying the host system parameters SP. 
         [0032]    In sum, compared to the conventional technology, the OSD is used to display the host system parameters of the computer system on the display to allow the user to know the operation state of the computer system more conveniently and clearly and further to adjust, set, change or update the host system parameters of the computer dynamically. 
         [0033]    In  FIG. 2 , the display circuit  40  may be a display card or be integrated to one chip with the bridge circuit  38 . The transmitter  54  and the microcontroller  52  may be two independent chips disposed at the motherboard  32  or be integrated to one chip. The microcontroller  52  may be integrated with the bridge circuit  38 . The transmitter  54  may be integrated with the display circuit  40 . 
         [0034]    Although the present invention has been described in considerable detail with reference to certain preferred embodiments thereof, the disclosure is not for limiting the scope. Persons having ordinary skill in the art may make various modifications and changes without departing from the scope. Therefore, the scope of the appended claims should not be limited to the description of the preferred embodiments described above.