🛠 PICO-PTH4 Getting Started: Assembly and First Boot

Objectives

This tutorial guides you through the physical assembly and first boot of the AAEON PICO-PTH4 card. This Pico-ITX board (100x72 mm) is unique as it integrates a soldered Intel Panther Lake SoC. The goal is to validate the power chain, install NVMe storage, and confirm video output via HDMI before installing the operating system.

Required Materials

• AAEON PICO-PTH4 Card (Core Ultra 5, 7, or X7 358H).
• Compatible 12V DC Power Supply (barrel connector or terminal depending on case).
• M.2 2280 M-Key Storage Module (PCIe Gen5 x4 recommended to leverage bandwidth).
• Monitor with HDMI 2.1 input.
• USB Keyboard and Mouse (Type-A 3.2 Gen2 ports).
• Phillips screwdriver (if mounting in a case).

Steps

1. Storage Preparation: Insert the M.2 2280 SSD into the M-Key slot on the card. Ensure the connector is properly aligned before screwing the module flat. Never force it.
2. Peripheral Connection: Connect the monitor to the HDMI 2.1 port on the card. Connect the keyboard and mouse to the rear USB Type-A 3.2 Gen2 ports.
3. Power Supply: Connect the 12V DC power supply. Check polarity if using screw terminals. The PICO-PTH4 card does not support standard ATX; the input is strictly 12V DC.
4. First Boot: Press the power button (or short the Power Switch pins on the GPIO header if the button is inaccessible). Observe the power LEDs.
5. BIOS Access: As soon as the AAEON boot screen appears, press Del or F2 to enter UEFI. Verify that the SSD is detected in storage settings.
6. Core Verification: In the BIOS, confirm correct detection of the processor (e.g., 16 cores for the X7 358H) and soldered LPDDR5x memory (up to 32GB).

Verification

The system should display the boot logo followed by the BIOS screen without errors. The M.2 SSD must appear in the storage device list. USB ports must react immediately (keyboard LED). If no display appears, check the HDMI cable and ensure the monitor is on the correct source. Note that since memory is soldered, any RAM error cannot be fixed by reseating.

Going Further

Once the BIOS is validated, you can install Windows 11 or Linux. To leverage the 180 TOPS AI performance of the Core Ultra X7 358H, install Intel Arc B390 drivers and the OpenVINO toolkit. You can also configure the internal RS-232/422/485 serial ports for industrial applications.