The MAX1587A evaluation kit (EV kit) is a fully assembled and tested surface-mount circuit board that evaluates the MAX1587A power-management IC (PMIC). The IC is optimized for microprocessor-based applications. The MAX1587A integrates three high-performance synchronous step-down DC-DC power supplies, two low-dropout (LDO) regulators, a battery backup supply, and various power-management functions. The Maxim SMBus interface board (MAXSMBUS) allows an IBM-compatible PC to use its parallel port to emulate an SMBus/I2CTM-compatible 2-wire interface. Windows 98/2000/XP-compatible software provides a professional interface to exercise the features of the MAX1587A. The program is menu driven and offers a graphical user interface (GUI) with control buttons and a status display.