🛠 Initial connection and booting of the PICO-PTH4

Objectives

This tutorial guides the advanced user through the physical assembly and first boot of the AAEON PICO-PTH4 card. Due to the extreme density of the Pico-ITX format (100x72 mm) and soldered memory, rigor is imperative. The goal is to ensure a stable NVMe storage installation, correct 12V DC power supply, and BIOS access to validate Intel Panther Lake SoC recognition.

Required Materials

• AAEON PICO-PTH4 Card (Core Ultra 5, 7, or X7)
• M.2 2280 NVMe PCIe Gen5 x4 SSD
• External 12V DC Power Supply (AC adapter or ATX source)
• HDMI 2.1 Monitor
• USB Keyboard (Type-A 3.2 or 2.0)
• M.2 screw kit and precision screwdriver
• Boot cable (if necessary for the header)

Steps

1. Inspection and Preparation: Check for damage on tracks and connectors. Since LPDDR5x memory is soldered, no action is required here. Place the card on an anti-static surface.
2. Storage Installation: Insert the M.2 2280 SSD into the M-Key slot. Ensure it is aligned with the PCIe Gen5 notch. Secure it with the provided screw. Improper insertion can damage the port.
3. Peripheral Connection: Connect the screen to the HDMI 2.1 port. Connect the keyboard to a USB Type-A 3.2 Gen2 port. Avoid internal 2.0 ports for the first test.
4. Power Supply: Connect the 12V DC power supply to the dedicated connector. Verify polarity. Incorrect voltage can burn out the SoC or regulators.
5. First Boot: Press the power button (or short-circuit the header pins if necessary). Observe the status LEDs.
6. BIOS Access: As soon as the display appears, press Del or F2 to enter the UEFI setup. Verify that the CPU (e.g., Core Ultra X7 358H) and SSD are detected.

Verification

In the BIOS, confirm the CPU frequency (up to 4.8 GHz for the X7) and detection of 32GB memory (depending on the variant). Verify that the two 2.5GbE Ethernet ports (Intel I226) appear. If the screen remains black, check the power supply and monitor HDMI compatibility.

Going Further

Configure the BIOS to enable AI features (180 TOPS) and the Arc B390 GPU. Install a Linux or Windows operating system to test stability under load. Explore the GPIO and RS-232 connectors for industrial applications.