DFI NF4 SLI INFINITY, User Manual

Page 1: ...87100522 System Board User s Manual ...

Page 2: ...r use of this manual and specifically disclaims any express or implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for any particular purpose The user will assume the entire risk of the use or the results of the use of this document Further the manufacturer reserves the right to revise this publication and make changes to its contents at any time without obligation to notify any person or entity of s...

Page 3: ...rticular installation If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or television reception which can be determined by turning the equipment off and on the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of the following measures Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna Increase the separation between the equipment and the receiver Connect the equipment into an ...

Page 4: ...em Board Layout System Memory CPU Jumper Settings Rear Panel I O Ports I O Connectors SLI Technology Chapter 3 BIOS Setup Award BIOS Setup Utility NVRAID BIOS Updating the BIOS Chapter 4 Supported Softwares Drivers Utilities and Software Applications Installation Notes Appendix A System Error Messages POST Beep Error Messages Appendix B Troubleshooting Troubleshooting Checklist 5 5 6 6 7 7 8 8 11 ...

Page 5: ...amages or failures that arised from misuse of the product inability to use the product unauthorized replacement or alteration of components and product specifications 2 The warranty is void if the product has been subjected to physical abuse improper installation modification accidents or unauthorized repair of the product 3 Unless otherwise instructed in this user s manual the user may not under ...

Page 6: ...tant Electrostatic discharge ESD can damage your processor disk drive and other components Perform the upgrade instruction procedures described at an ESD workstation only If such a station is not available you can provide some ESD protection by wearing an antistatic wrist strap and attaching it to a metal part of the system chassis If a wrist strap is unavailable establish and maintain contact wit...

Page 7: ...ar to the information listed above This may differ in accordance to the sales region or models in which it was sold For more information about the standard package in your region please contact your dealer or sales representative Before Using the System Board Before using the system board prepare basic system components If you are installing the system board in a new system you will need at least ...

Page 8: ...ts PC2100 DDR266 PC2700 DDR333 and PC3200 DDR400 DDR SDRAM DIMM Supports x8 x16 ECC non ECC unbuffered DIMMs up to 512Mb DDR devices Expansion Slots 2 PCI Express x16 slots operates at x8 bandwidth 2 PCI Express x1 slots 3 PCI slots SLI Scalable Link Interface Mode Use 2 SLI ready PCI Express x16 graphics cards use identical cards on the PCI Express x16 slots In SLI mode the bandwidth of each x16 ...

Page 9: ...the speed of the cooling fans CPU Overheat Protection function monitors CPU temperature during system boot up Onboard Audio Features 6 channel audio CODEC True stereo line level outputs S PDIF in out interface Onboard LAN Features Marvell 88E1111 Gigabit Phy Fully compliant to IEEE 802 3 10BASE T 802 3u 100BASE TX and 802 3ab 1000BASE T standards Integrated power management functions Supports wire...

Page 10: ...rallel port 1 serial port 1 IEEE 1394 port 1 RJ45 LAN port 4 USB 2 0 1 1 ports Line in line out and mic in jacks I O Connectors 3 connectors for 6 additional external USB 2 0 1 1 ports 1 connector for 1 external IEEE 1394 port 1 front audio connector for external line out and mic in jacks 1 CD in internal audio connector 1 S PDIF connector for optical cable connection 1 IrDA connector 4 Serial ATA...

Page 11: ...Setting submenu DRAM Configuration section of the BIOS AMD Cool n QuietTM Technology The AMD Cool n QuietTM technology allows the system to detect the CPU s tasks and utilization status When the CPU s task slows down the system effectively lowers power consumption by lowering its CPU speed and voltage subsequently decreasing its noise level NVIDIA SLITM Scalable Link Interface Technology The NVIDI...

Page 12: ...lity of monitoring the CPU s temperature during system boot up Once the CPU s temperature exceeded the temperature limit pre defined by the CPU the system will automatically shutdown This preventive measure has been added to protect the CPU from damage and insure a safe computing environment DDR Double Data Rate SDRAM DDR SDRAM is a type of SDRAM that doubles the data rate through reading and writ...

Page 13: ...ard parallel ATA whose data transfer rate is 100MB s The system board supports NVIDIA RAID that allows RAID arrays spanning across 4 Serial ATA and Parallel ATA drives It supports RAID 0 RAID 1 RAID 0 1 and JBOD IEEE 1394 Interface IEEE 1394 is fully compliant with the 1394 OHCI Open Host Controller Interface 1 1 specification It supports up to 63 devices that can run simultaneously on a system 13...

Page 14: ...that is in the Suspend mode or Soft Power Off mode to wake up power on to respond to calls coming from an external modem or respond to calls from a modem PCI card that uses the PCI PME Power Management Event signal to remotely wake up the PC Important If you are using a modem add in card the 5VSB power source of your power supply must support a minimum of 720mA Wake On LAN This feature allows the ...

Page 15: ...d is designed to meet the ACPI Advanced Configuration and Power Interface specification ACPI has energy saving features that enables PCs to implement Power Management and Plug and Play with operating systems that support OS Direct Power Management Currently only Windows 2000 XP supports the ACPI function ACPI when enabled in the Power Management Setup will allow you to use the Suspend to RAM funct...

Page 16: ...ower supply must support 1A AC Power Failure Recovery When power returns after an AC power failure you may choose to either power on the system manually let the system power on automatically or return to the state where you left off before power failure occurs ...

Page 17: ...17 2 Hardware Installation System Board Layout Chapter 2 Hardware Installation ...

Page 18: ...tem chassis throughout any procedures requiring ESD protection The system board supports DDR SDRAM DIMM Double Data Rate SDRAM DDR SDRAM is a type of SDRAM that doubles the data rate through reading and writing at both the rising and falling edge of each clock This effectively doubles the speed of operation therefore doubling the speed of data transfer Refer to chapter 1 System Memory section for ...

Page 19: ...wever we highly recommend using identical DIMMs Not all slots need to be populated DIMMs of the same memory configura tion are on different channels Single Channel Dual Channel The table below shows the DIMM sockets that must be populated with DIMMs for single or dual channel interface We strongly recommend that you strictly follow the memory configurations below Installing DDR DIMMs other than th...

Page 20: ...emory size detected is from 2 DIMMs only not 3 Therefore we do not suggest using 3 DIMMs Memory Speed DDR400 DDR400 DDR400 DDR400 DDR400 DDR333 DDR400 DDR400 DDR400 DDR333 DIMM 1 S D S D S D S D DIMM 2 S D S D DIMM 3 S D S D S D DIMM 4 S D S Single side DIMM D Double side DIMM 2 The table below lists different memory configurations and their corresponding memory speed Take note that some memory co...

Page 21: ...ust correspond with Pin 1 of the socket 1 Pull the tabs which are at the ends of the socket to the side 2 Position the DIMM above the socket with the notch in the module aligned with the key on the socket 3 Seat the module vertically into the socket Make sure it is completely seated The tabs will hold the DIMM in place Pin 1 Notch Key Tab Tab ...

Page 22: ...unt 939 pin CPU socket This socket is exclusively designed for installing an AMD CPU Installing the CPU 1 Make sure the PC and all other peripheral devices connected to it has been powered down 2 Disconnect all power cords and cables 3 Locate the 939 pin CPU socket on the system board X ...

Page 23: ...socket refer to the enlarged view shown below Important Handle the CPU by its edges and avoid touching the pins 4 Unlock the socket by pushing the lever sideways away from the socket then lifting it up to a 90o angle Make sure the lever is lifted to at least this angle otherwise the CPU will not fit in properly Lever Gold mark ...

Page 24: ... easily be inserted without exerting any force Important Do not force the CPU into the socket Forcing the CPU into the socket may bend the pins and damage the CPU 7 Once the CPU is in place push down the lever to lock the socket The lever should click on the side tab to indicate that the CPU is completely secured in the socket Side tab ...

Page 25: ...e differs from the one in this section please follow the installation guide in the package 1 Before you install the fan heat sink you must apply a thermal paste onto the top of the CPU The thermal paste is usually supplied when you purchase the CPU or fan heat sink assembly Do not spread the paste all over the surface When you later place the heat sink on top of the CPU the compound will disperse ...

Page 26: ... Now hook one side of the retention clip onto the retention module base by fitting the holes on the retention clip into the retaining tabs of the retention module base Retention clip Retention module base Retaining tabs Retaining tabs Side View Top View Retaining tab ...

Page 27: ...le to secure the fan and heat sink assembly in place if it did not fit properly onto the retention module base Retention lever 6 Connect the CPU fan s cable connector to the CPU fan connec tor on the system board 5 Move the retention lever to its opposite side then push it down to lock the fan and heat sink assembly to the retention module base Note Make sure there is sufficient air circulation ac...

Page 28: ...red in the ROM BIOS To load the default values stored in the ROM BIOS please follow the steps below 1 Power off the system and unplug the power cord 2 Set JP2 pins 2 and 3 to On Wait for a few seconds and set JP2 back to its default setting pins 1 and 2 On 3 Now plug the power cord then power on the system If your reason for clearing the CMOS data is due to incorrect setting of the processor s rat...

Page 29: ...to its default setting or an appro priate bus clock or ratio Refer to the Genie BIOS Setting section in chapter 3 for more information 7 Press Esc to return to the main menu of the BIOS setup utility Select Save Exit Setup and press Enter 8 Type Y and press Enter Using Hot Keys to Clear the CMOS Data Instead of using the Clear CMOS jumper press the Power button and Insert keys simultaneously ...

Page 30: ... use the PS 2 keyboard or PS 2 mouse to wake up the system BIOS Setting Configure the PS 2 keyboard mouse wake up function in the Integrated Peripherals submenu Onboard Device section of the BIOS Refer to chapter 3 for more information Important The 5VSB power source of your power supply must support 720mA 3 1 2 3 1 2 2 3 On 5VSB 1 2 On 5V default ...

Page 31: ...d to select the power of the USB ports Selecting 5VSB will allow you to use the USB keyboard or USB mouse to wake up the system Important If you are using the Wake On USB Keyboard Mouse function for 2 USB ports the 5VSB power source of your power supply must support 1 5A For 3 or more USB ports the 5VSB power source of your power supply must support 2A 3 1 2 3 1 2 ...

Page 32: ... consist of the following PS 2 mouse port PS 2 keyboard port Parallel port S PDIF out jack S PDIF in jack COM port 1394_1 port LAN port USB ports Line in Line out Mic in PS 2 Mouse PS 2 K B COM S PDIF out S PDIF in USB 1 2 USB 3 4 1394_1 LAN Parallel Line out Line in Mic in ...

Page 33: ...er prior to connecting or disconnecting a mouse or keyboard Failure to do so may damage the system board Wake On PS 2 Keyboard Mouse The Wake On PS 2 Keyboard Mouse function allows you to use the PS 2 keyboard or PS 2 mouse to power on the system To use this function Jumper Setting JP7 must be set to 2 3 On 5VSB Refer to PS 2 Power Select in this chapter for more information BIOS Setting Configure...

Page 34: ...e in the Integrated Peripherals submenu Onboard Device section of the BIOS Refer to chapter 3 for more information Setting SPP Standard Parallel Port ECP Extended Capabilities Port EPP Enhanced Parallel Port Function Allows normal speed operation but in one direction only Allows parallel port to operate in bidirectional mode and at a speed faster than the SPP s data transfer rate Allows bidirectio...

Page 35: ...ctor at location J3 is used to connect to optical S PDIF ports The S PDIF ports may be mounted on a card edge bracket Install the card edge bracket to the system chassis then connect the audio cable connector to J3 Make sure pin 1 of the audio cable connector is aligned with pin 1 of J3 DO NOT use RCA S PDIF and optical S PDIF at the same time W J3 1 5 5V Key SPDIF out SPDIF in GND S PDIF out S PD...

Page 36: ...rial port is an RS 232C asynchronous communication port with 16C550A compatible UARTs that can be used with a modem serial printer remote dis play terminal or other serial devices BIOS Setting Select the serial port s I O address in the Integrated Peripherals submenu Onboard Device section of the BIOS Refer to chapter 3 for more information W ...

Page 37: ...J8 1394_2 for connecting an additional 1394 device The 1394 port may come mounted on a card edge bracket Install the card edge bracket to the system chassis then insert the connector that is attached to the 1394 port cable to J8 Make sure pin 1 of the cable connector is aligned with pin 1 of the J8 IEEE 1394 1394_1 W W 1394_2 12V fused 1 TPA Ground TPB 12V fused Key TPA Ground TPB Ground 2 10 9 ...

Page 38: ...he system board J18 USB 5 6 J34 USB 7 8 and J33 USB 9 10 allow you to connect 6 additional USB 2 0 1 1 ports The USB ports may come mounted on a card edge bracket Install the card edge bracket to the system chassis then insert the connector that is attached to the USB port cables to J18 J34 or J33 BIOS Setting Configure the onboard USB in the Integrated Peripherals submenu of the BIOS Refer to cha...

Page 39: ...oard Mouse The Wake On USB Keyboard Mouse function allows you to use a USB keyboard to wake up a system from the S3 STR Suspend To RAM state To use this function Jumper Setting JP5 and or JP6 must be set to 2 3 On 5VSB Refer to USB Power Select in this chapter for more information Important If you are using the Wake On USB Keyboard Mouse function for 2 USB ports the 5VSB power source of your power...

Page 40: ...N allows the system board to connect to a local area network by means of a network hub BIOS Setting Configure the onboard LAN in the Integrated Peripherals submenu of the BIOS Refer to chapter 3 for more information Driver Installation Install NVIDIA Windows nForce Drivers Refer to chapter 4 for more information W LAN ...

Page 41: ...ns as rear right left speaker out Line out Lime In a 2 channel mode this jack is used to connect a headphone or external speakers In a 4 channel or 6 channel mode this jack functions as front right left speaker out Mic in Pink In a 2 channel or 4 channel mode this jack is used to connect an external microphone In a 6 channel mode this jack functions as Center Subwoofer Mic in Line out Line in W Re...

Page 42: ...tor J4 allows you to connect to the line out and mic in jacks that are at the front panel of your system Using this connector will disable the rear audio s line out and mic in func tions Remove the jumper caps from pins 5 6 and pins 9 10 of J4 prior to connecting the front audio cable connector Make sure pin 1 of the cable connector is aligned with pin 1 of J4 If you are not using this connector m...

Page 43: ...are Installation I O Connectors CD in Internal Audio Connector The CD in J1 connector is used to receive audio from a CD ROM drive TV tuner or MPEG card W 1 4 Right audio channel Left audio channel Ground Ground ...

Page 44: ... header Connecting the Floppy Disk Drive Cable Install one end of the floppy disk drive cable into the shrouded floppy disk header J23 on the system board and the other end most connector to the drive you want to designate as Drive A If you are connecting another drive Drive B install the middle connector of the cable to the drive The colored edge of the daisy chained ribbon cable should be aligne...

Page 45: ...ATA connector and the other end to your Serial ATA device Configuring RAID The following describes the basic steps on configuring RAID 1 Set the IDE RAID field to Enabled Integrated Peripherals submenu RAID Config section of the Award BIOS 2 Enable the IDE and or Serial ATA drives you want to configure as RAID in the Integrated Peripherals submenu RAID Config section of the Award BIOS 3 Reboot the...

Page 46: ...Windows 2000 on RAID configured Serial ATA drives you will need the provided nVRAID driver floppy diskette If you are installing the driver on existing Windows XP or Windows 2000 install the driver that is in the provided CD For steps 1 to 4 refer to chapter 3 for more information For step 5 refer to chapter 4 for more information Important Before creating RAID make sure you have installed the Ser...

Page 47: ...y to function better as a single drive 1 Set the IDE RAID field to Enabled Integrated Peripherals submenu RAID Config section of the Award BIOS 2 Enable the IDE and or Serial ATA drives you want to configure as RAID in the Integrated Peripherals submenu RAID Config section of the Award BIOS 3 Reboot the PC 4 When the system powers up the NVRAID BIOS status message screen will appear Press the F10 ...

Page 48: ... IDE cable installation each shrouded PCI IDE header has a keying mechanism The 40 pin connector on the IDE cable can be placed into the header only if pin 1 of the connector is aligned with pin 1 of the header Each IDE connector supports 2 devices a Master and a Slave Use an IDE ribbon cable to connect the drives to the system board An IDE ribbon cable have 3 connectors on them one that plugs int...

Page 49: ...s from the same manufacturer In a few cases drives from two different manufacturers will not function properly when used together The problem lies in the hard drives not the system board Important If you encountered problems while using an ATAPI CD ROM drive that is set in Master mode please set the CD ROM drive to Slave mode Some ATAPI CD ROMs may not be recognized and cannot be used if incorrect...

Page 50: ...board Make sure to connect the cable connector to the IrDA connector according to their pin functions BIOS Setting Configure the onboard IrDA in the Integrated Peripherals submenu Onboard Device section of the BIOS Driver Installation You may need to install the proper drivers in your operating system to use the IrDA function Refer to your operating system s manual or documentation for more inform...

Page 51: ...itional cooling fans The cooling fans will provide adequate airflow throughout the chassis to prevent overheating the CPU and system board components BIOS Setting The PC Health Status submenu of the BIOS will display the current speed of the cooling fans Refer to chapter 3 for more information X X X CPU fan 1 3 Ground Power Sense System fan Chipset fan 3 1 Ground Power Sense 3 1 Ground Power Sense...

Page 52: ... 2 Hardware Installation LEDs DRAM Power LED This LED will light when the system s power is on Standby Power LED This LED will light when the system is in the standby mode Standby Power LED DRAM Power LED ...

Page 53: ...ocessor s Voltage Regulator Module VRM The 5V 12V power connector is an additional power connector If you are using two graphics cards we recommend that you plug a power cable from your power supply unit into the 5V 12V power connector This will provide more stability to the entire system The system board will still work even if the additional power connector is not connected X X 4 3 1 2 12V Groun...

Page 54: ...ds peripherals etc may exceed the minimum power requirement To ensure that adequate power is provided we strongly recommend that you use a minimum of 400 Watt or greater power supply Important References of Power Supply Requirements Athlon 64 FX 55 6800 Ultra x2 25A 500W Athlon 64 3800 6800GT x2 20A 400W Athlon 64 3400 6600GT x2 17A 350W CPU PCIe x16 12V Wattage ...

Page 55: ...hus prolonging the life of the power supply or system SPEAKER Speaker Connector This connects to the speaker installed in the system chassis ATX SW ATX Power Switch Depending on the setting in the BIOS setup this switch is a dual function power button that will allow your system to enter the Soft Off or Suspend mode Refer to Soft Off By PBTN in the Power Management Setup Chapter 3 X J19 1 2 19 20 ...

Page 56: ...n it may indicate that the CPU or memory module was not installed properly Please make sure they are properly inserted into their corresponding socket Pin 3 5 14 16 8 10 18 20 7 9 13 15 17 19 2 4 6 HD LED Primary Secondary IDE LED Reserved ATX SW ATX power switch Reserved RESET Reset switch SPEAKER Speaker connector PWR LED Power Standby LED Pin Assignment HDD LED Power HDD N C N C PWRBT PWRBT N C...

Page 57: ... use identical cards on the PCI Express x16 slots Refer to the next section for more information about NVIDIA SLI technology To install a graphics card into the x16 slot align the graphics card above the slot then press it down firmly until it is completely seated in the slot The retaining clip will automatically hold the graphics card in place PCI Express x1 Install PCI Express x1 cards such as n...

Page 58: ...visual effects and the most graphics demanding multimedia utilities Dual GPUs provide increased 3D graphics and doubles graphics performance System Requirements 1 Two identical NVIDIA SLI ready PCI Express x16 graphics cards 2 Install graphics driver that supports the NVIDIA SLI technology 3 Use a minimum of 400 Watt power supply or higher when using devices that are more power consuming 4 Connect...

Page 59: ...are Installation Bandwidth x1 x8 x1 x8 The PCI Express Slots The illustration below shows the bandwidth of the PCI Express slots x1 PCI Express slot X x16 PCI Express slot x1 PCI Express slot x16 PCI Express slot ...

Page 60: ...press it down firmly until it is completely seated in the slot 3 Secure the graphics card with the screw you removed in step 1 4 To install the second graphics card remove the screw of the bracket that is opposite the PCIE3 slot then remove the bracket 5 Align the graphics card above the PCIE3 slot then press it down firmly until it is completely seated in the slot 6 Secure the graphics card with ...

Page 61: ...f an SLI ready graphics card is the presence of the SLI connector goldfingers on the card 8 Align the SLI bridge included in the system board package above the SLI connector of the graphics cards then insert the bridge until it is properly seated in place ...

Page 62: ...62 2 Hardware Installation 9 Connect a 4 pin power cable from the power supply unit to the 5V 12V connector that is on the system board 5V 12V connector Power cable ...

Page 63: ...er explains the Setup Utility for the Award BIOS After you power up the system the BIOS message appears on the screen and the memory count begins After the memory test the following message will appear on the screen Press DEL to enter setup If the message disappears before you respond restart the system or press the Reset button You may also restart the system by pressing the Ctrl Alt and Del keys...

Page 64: ...ate displays the date from 1 to 31 Year displays the year from 1994 to 2079 Time The time format is hour minute second The time is based on the 24 hour military time clock For example 1 p m is 13 00 00 Hour displays hours from 00 to 23 Minute displays minutes from 00 to 59 Second displays seconds from 00 to 59 Standard CMOS Features Use the arrow keys to highlight Standard CMOS Features and press ...

Page 65: ...OST stage and show the IDE for the HDD CD ROM drive If a hard disk has not been installed select None Access Mode For hard drives larger than 528MB you would typically select the LBA type Certain operating systems require that you select CHS or Large Please check your operating system s manual or Help desk on which one to select The settings on the screen are for reference only Your version may no...

Page 66: ...ming Landing Zone This field displays the number of cylinders specified as the landing zone for the read write heads Sector This field displays the number sectors per track Drive A and Drive B These fields identify the types of floppy disk drives installed None No floppy drive is installed 360K 5 25 in 5 1 4 in standard drive 360KB capacity 1 2M 5 25 in 5 1 4 in AT type high density drive 1 2MB ca...

Page 67: ...ed during power up The default setting is All Errors No Errors The system boot will not stop for any errors detected All Errors The system boot will stop whenever the BIOS detects a non fatal error All But Keyboard The system boot will not stop for a keyboard error it will stop for all other errors All But Diskette The system boot will not stop for a disk error it will stop for all other errors Al...

Page 68: ...68 3 BIOS Setup Extended Memory Displays the amount of extended memory detected during boot up Total Memory Displays the total memory available in the system ...

Page 69: ...led will improve the performance of your system or let you set some features according to your preference The screen above list all the fields available in the Advanced BIOS Features submenu for ease of reference in this manual In the actual CMOS setup you have to use the scroll bar to view the fields The settings on the screen are for reference only Your version may not be identical to this one ...

Page 70: ...t sequence of the removable devices Move the cursor to this field then press Enter Use the Up or Down arrow keys to select a device then press to move it up or to move it down the list The settings on the screen are for reference only Your version may not be identical to this one ...

Page 71: ...re any damage is done Many disk diagnostic programs which attempt to access the boot sector table will cause the warning message to appear If you are running such a program we recommend that you first disable this field CPU Internal Cache and External Cache These fields speed up the memory access The default is Enabled which provides better performance by enabling cache Hard Disk Boot Priority Thi...

Page 72: ...py drive the system will boot from drive B instead of drive A When this field is disabled and the system is booting from the floppy drive the system will boot from drive A You must have two floppy drives to use this function Boot Up Floppy Seek When enabled the BIOS will check whether the floppy disk drive installed is 40 or 80 tracks Note that the BIOS cannot distinguish between 720K 1 2M 1 44M a...

Page 73: ...olding down a key on your keyboard will cause the BIOS to report that the key is down Enabled The BIOS will not only report that the key is down but will first wait for a moment and if the key is still down it will begin to report that the key has been depressed repeatedly For example you would use such a feature to accelerate cursor movements with the arrow keys You can then select the typematic ...

Page 74: ...ault setting MPS Version Control for OS This field is used to select the MPS version that the system board is using OS Select for DRAM 64MB Select the OS2 option only if the system that is running an OS 2 operating system has greater than 64MB RAM HDD S M A R T Capability The system board supports SMART Self Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology hard drives SMART is a reliability prediction...

Page 75: ... logo to appear during system boot up Enabled The logo will appear in full screen during system boot up Disabled The logo will not appear during system boot up Small Logo EPA Show Enabled The EPA logo will appear during system boot up Disabled The EPA logo will not appear during system boot up ...

Page 76: ...ystem The only time you might consider making any changes would be if you discovered some incompatibility or that data was being lost while using your system Errata 94 Enhancement The options are Auto and Disabled CPU Spread Spectrum This field is used to enable or disable the CPU spread spectrum SATA Spread Spectrum This field is used to enable or disable the SATA spread spectrum PCIE Spread Spec...

Page 77: ...EE Test The options are Enabled and Disabled System BIOS Cacheable When this field is enabled accesses to the system BIOS ROM addressed at F0000H FFFFFH are cached provided that the cache controller is enabled The larger the range of the Cache RAM the higher the efficiency of the system ...

Page 78: ...ntical to this one The settings on the screen are for reference only Your version may not be identical to this one OnChip IDE Channel0 and OnChip IDE Channel1 These fields allow you to enable or disable the primary and second ary IDE controller The default is Enabled Select Disabled if you want to add a different hard drive controller ...

Page 79: ...drive s timing Mode 0 4 You can select a mode that matches your hard disk drive s timing Caution Do not use the wrong setting or you will have drive errors Primary Master Slave UDMA and Secondary Master Slave UDMA These fields allow you to set the Ultra DMA in use When Auto is selected the BIOS will select the best available option after checking your hard drive or CD ROM Auto The BIOS will automa...

Page 80: ...AID and IDE Channel 1 Slave RAID These fields are used to enable or disable the RAID function of the secondary IDE s master and slave channels SATA Primary Master RAID and SATA Secondary Master RAID These fields are used to enable or disable the RAID function of Serial ATA s first channel SATA 1 and SATA 2 IDE Prefetch Mode This allows data and addresses to be stored in the internal buffer of the ...

Page 81: ...wer on the system Button only Default setting Uses the power button to power on the system Password When this option is selected set the password you would like to use to power on the system in the KB Power On Password field Hot Key When this option is selected select the function key you would like to use to power on the system in the Hot Key Power On field Mouse Left When this option is selected...

Page 82: ...e the correct password to power on the system If you forgot the password power off the system and remove the battery Wait for a few seconds and install it back before powering on the system Hot Key Power On This field is used to select a function key that you would like to use to power on the system Onboard FDC Controller Enabled Enables the onboard floppy disk controller Disabled Disables the onb...

Page 83: ...rallel Port Mode The options are SPP EPP ECP and ECP EPP These apply to stand ard specifications and will depend on the type and speed of your device Refer to your peripheral s manual for the best option SPP Allows normal speed operation but in one direction only ECP Extended Capabilities Port Allows parallel port to operate in bidirectional mode and at a speed faster than the normal mode s data t...

Page 84: ...eads The options are non ISO Queue and ISO Queue USB Periodic Data Reads The options are non ISO Queue and ISO Queue USB Async Data Reads The options are non ISO Queue and ISO Queue AC97 Audio Auto Select this option when using the onboard audio Disabled Select this option when using a PCI sound card MAC LAN This field is used to enable or disable the onboard LAN controller MAC Media Interface The...

Page 85: ...d only in operating systems that support ACPI Currently only Windows 98SE 2000 ME XP sup ports this function When this field is enabled the system will ignore the settings in the HDD Power Down field If you want to use the Suspend to RAM function make sure this field is enabled then select S3 STR in the field below ACPI Suspend Type This field is used to select the type of Suspend mode S1 POS Enab...

Page 86: ...determines the manner in which the monitor is blanked V H SYNC Blank This selection will cause the system to turn off the vertical and horizontal synchronization ports and write blanks to the video buffer Blank Screen This option only writes blanks to the video buffer DPMS Initializes display power management signaling Use this option if your video board supports it HDD Power Down This is selectab...

Page 87: ...r off the system Instant Off Pressing and then releasing the power button at once will immediately power off your system WOL PME From Soft Off Set this field to Enabled to wake up the system via the onboard LAN or via a LAN card that uses the PCI PME Power Management Event signal to remotely wake up the system Access to the LAN card will cause the system to wake up Refer to the card s documentatio...

Page 88: ... field the system will give priority to the incoming calls or network Disabled Disables the automatic power on function default Day of Month Alarm 0 The system will power on everyday according to the time set in the Time hh mm ss Alarm field 1 31 Select a date you would like the system to power on The system will power on on the set date and time set in the Time hh mm ss Alarm field Time hh mm ss ...

Page 89: ...Display First This field is used to select whether to initialize the onboard VGA AGP or PCI first when the system boots Onboard AGP When the system boots it will first initialize the onboard VGA or AGP PCI Slot When the system boots it will first initialize PCI Resources Controlled By The Award Plug and Play BIOS has the capability to automatically configure all of the boot and Plug and Play compa...

Page 90: ...ines whether the MPEG ISA VESA VGA cards can work with PCI VGA or not Enabled MPEG ISA VESA VGA cards work with PCI VGA Disabled MPEG ISA VESA VGA cards does not work with PCI VGA Maximum Payload Size This field is used to select the maximum TLP payload size of the PCI Express devices The unit is byte The settings on the screen are for reference only Your version may not be identical to this one ...

Page 91: ...rature You can prevent the system from overheating by selecting a temperature in this field If the system detected that its temperature exceeded the one set in this field it will automatically shutdown VCC3 Voltage to CPU Fan Speed fields These fields will show the output voltage temperature and fan speed of the monitored devices or components ...

Page 92: ... the detected frequency of the CPU Hammer Fid Control This field is used to select the CPU FSB s operating frequency HT Frequency This field is used to select the maximum operating frequency HT Width This field is used to select the Hyper Transport width between the CPU and chip PCIE Clock Default Default setting 100MHz This option will set the PCI Express frequency to 100MHz ...

Page 93: ...ck Mode This field is used to select an artificial memory clock It will prevent the system from running faster than the set frequency Memclock Index Value This field is used to select the memory clock s index value The screen above list all the fields available in the DRAM Configuration submenu for ease of reference in this manual In the actual CMOS setup you have to use the scroll bar to view the...

Page 94: ...d writing to the same bank The lesser the clock cycle the faster the DRAM s performance Row Precharge Time Trp This field is used to select the number of cycles that is allowed for Row Address Strobe RAS to precharge If insufficient time is allowed for the RAS to accumulate its charge before DRAM refreshes refreshing may be incomplete and DRAM may fail to retain data Row to Row Delay Trrd This fie...

Page 95: ...ated to the routing latencies on the clock forwarded bus This is measured from the first address bus slot which is not associated with part of the read burst Refresh Rate Tref This field is used to select the refresh rate of the DIMM that requires the most frequent refresh Write CAS Latency Twcl This field is used to select the write CAS latency time DDR Output Driving The default setting is Auto ...

Page 96: ...lect this mode if you encounter system instability Read Preamble Value When the DQS receiver is turned on you can select the time prior to the max read DQS return This will notify the controller on when to enable its DQS receiver when awaiting the DRAM DQS driver to turn on for a read The controller will disable its DQS receiver until the read preamble time and then enable its DQS receiver while t...

Page 97: ...MTRR mapping mode DRAM ECC Feature Control This field is used to enable the DRAM s ECC feature ECC Memory Interlock Leave this in its default setting ECC MCE Enable Leave this in its default setting Chip Kill Mode Enable Leave this in its default setting ECC Redirection Leave this in its default setting DRAM Background Scrubber Leave this in its default setting L2 Cache Background Scrubber Leave t...

Page 98: ...DRAM s default voltage leave this field in its default setting Important Although this function is supported we do not recommend that you use a higher voltage because unstable current may be supplied to the system board causing damage Chip Voltage Control This field allows you to manually select higher voltage supplied to the chipset If you want to use the default voltage leave this field in its d...

Page 99: ...s function is supported we do not recommend that you use a higher voltage because unstable current may be supplied to the system board causing damage Excess CPU Voltage This field provides more options to further adjust the voltage of the CPU Fixed CPU Voltage This field is used to select a fixed CPU voltage Current CPU Voltage This field will show the CPU s current voltage Current Chip Voltage Th...

Page 100: ...lues permanently stored in the ROM chips These settings are not optimal and turn off all high performance features You should use these values only if you have hardware problems Highlight this option in the main menu and press Enter If you want to proceed type Y and press Enter The default settings will be loaded ...

Page 101: ...e Load Optimized Defaults option loads optimized settings from the BIOS ROM Use the default values as standard values for your system Highlight this option in the main menu and press Enter Type Y and press Enter to load the Setup default values ...

Page 102: ...rompted for a password when you cold boot the system Use the arrow keys to highlight Set Supervisor Password and press Enter Type in the password You are limited to eight characters When done the message below will appear Confirm Password You are asked to verify the password Type in exactly the same password If you type in a wrong password you will be prompted to enter the correct password again T...

Page 103: ...s only Set User Password that appears in the main menu screen Access to all other options is denied Use the arrow keys to highlight Set User Password and press Enter Type in the password You are limited to eight characters When done the message below will appear Confirm Password You are asked to verify the password Type in exactly the same password If you type in a wrong password you will be promp...

Page 104: ...nter Type Y and press Enter The modifications you have made will be written into the CMOS memory and the system will reboot You will once again see the initial diagnostics on the screen If you wish to make additional changes to the setup press Ctrl Alt Esc simultaneously or Del after memory testing is done ...

Page 105: ...have made highlight Exit Without Saving and press Enter Type Y and press Enter The system will reboot and you will once again see the initial diagnostics on the screen If you wish to make any changes to the setup press Ctrl Alt Esc simulta neously or Del after memory testing is done ...

Page 106: ...ss the F10 key to enter the utility The utility allows you to build a RAID system on Serial ATA drives and Parallel ATA drives Important Before creating RAID make sure you have connected Serial ATA drives and Parallel ATA drives Set the IDE RAID field to Enabled Integrated Peripherals submenu RAID Config section of the Award BIOS Enable the IDE and or Serial ATA drives you want to configure as RAI...

Page 107: ...he system and enter the Award BIOS Setup Utility to set the first boot drive to Floppy 3 Save the setting and reboot the system 4 After the system booted from the floppy disk execute the flash utility by typing AWDFLASH EXE The following screen will appear 5 Type the new BIOS file name onto the gray area that is next to File Name to Program then press Enter Award BIOS Flash Utility V 8 15B C Phoen...

Page 108: ...IOS in your system We recommend that you save the current BIOS and its flash utility just in case you need to reinstall the BIOS To save the current BIOS press Y then enter the file name of the current BIOS Otherwise press N 7 The following will then appear Press Y to Program or N to Exit 8 Press Y to flash the new BIOS ...

Page 109: ... CD ROM drive The autorun screen Mainboard Utility CD will appear If after inserting the CD Autorun did not automatically start which is the Mainboard Utility CD screen did not appear please go directly to the root directory of the CD and double click Setup nVidia nF4 SLI Chipset Drivers nVidia Drivers Important You must first install Microsoft DirectX 9 prior to installing the NVIDIA Windows nFor...

Page 110: ... the left side of the autorun screen click the TOOLS icon 2 Click Microsoft DirectX 9 on the main menu The following screen will appear 3 Click I accept the agreement then click Next 4 Follow the prompts on the screen to complete installation 5 Reboot the system for the driver to take effect ...

Page 111: ... the following NVIDIA SMBus Driver NVIDIA Ethernet Driver NVIDIA IDE Driver To install NVIDIA Windows nForce Drivers please follow the steps below 1 On the left side of the autorun screen click the CHIPSET icon 2 Click nVidia nF4 Drivers on the main menu The following screen will appear Click Next ...

Page 112: ...he drivers will be installed automatically Make sure you have selected NVIDIA IDE Driver because this driver will replace Windows ATA drivers enabling the processor and other system level hardware to be more productive and efficient Click Next to continue 4 The following screen will appear Click Next ...

Page 113: ...ForceWare Network Access Manager To install please follow the steps below 1 On the left side of the autorun screen click the TOOLS icon 2 Click NVIDIA Firewall and ForceWare Network Access Manager on the main menu The following screen will appear ...

Page 114: ...114 4 Supported Software 4 Click Yes to activate Firewall 3 Select the type of setup you prefer then click Next ...

Page 115: ...omatically created on your desktop Double click this icon to launch the NVIDIA ForceWare Network Access Manager utility The utility allows you to configure the Ethernet interface features and personal Firewall for optimized security This prevents unauthorized access to your system s software or data 5 Click Finish to exit setup ...

Page 116: ...ws you to build a RAID system on Serial ATA drives and Parallel ATA drives Press the Ctrl and X keys to exit the RAID BIOS 6 Install the NVRAID driver If you are in the process of installing Windows XP or Windows 2000 on RAID configured Serial ATA drives you will need the provided nVRAID driver floppy diskette If you are installing the driver on existing Windows XP or Windows 2000 install the NVID...

Page 117: ...AID Class Controller Press Enter to install the driver Make sure both files have been installed or the setup will fail 8 If you need to install other devices please do so at this time otherwise please proceed to the next step 9 Follow the prompts on the screen to complete installation 10 After installing the operating system if in any case necessary create the hard drives partition Warning Treat t...

Page 118: ...gaming performance setting the system to quiet operation when playing DVD and monitoring the system functions nTune is the safest way to change the bus speeds memory timings adjust voltages and update the BIOS Click Benchmark and automatically tune my system to view Benchmarks and auto tuning results ...

Page 119: ...119 4 Supported Software Click NView to configure desktop management Click Update My BIOS to update the current BIOS ...

Page 120: ...follow the steps below 1 On the left side of the autorun screen click the AUDIO icon 2 Click Audio Driver on the main menu The following screen will appear 3 Follow the prompts on the screen to complete installation 4 Reboot the system for the driver to take effect ...

Page 121: ...lude Service Pack 4 it is available for download at Microsoft s Windows Update website Installation Notes 1 Autorun ONLY supports the Windows 98 Windows 98 SE Windows ME Windows 2000 and Windows XP operating systems If after inserting the CD Autorun did not automatically start which is the Main Board Utility CD screen did not appear please go directly to the root directory of the CD and double cli...

Page 122: ...de consists of a single long beep A 2 Error Messages One or more of the following messages may be displayed if the BIOS detects an error during the POST This list indicates the error messages for all Awards BIOSes CMOS BATTERY HAS FAILED The CMOS battery is no longer functional It should be replaced Caution Danger of explosion if battery incorrectly replaced Replace only with the same or equivalen...

Page 123: ...te fixed disk Hard Disk s fail 08 Sector Verify failed Keyboard is locked out Unlock the key The BIOS detects that the keyboard is locked Keyboard controller is pulled low Keyboard error or no keyboard present Cannot initialize the keyboard Make sure the keyboard is attached correctly and no keys are being pressed during the boot Manufacturing POST loop System will repeat POST procedure infinitely...

Page 124: ...est the outlet by plugging in a lamp or other electrical device 4 The monitor is turned on 5 The display s brightness and contrast controls are adjusted prop erly 6 All add in boards in the expansion slots are seated securely 7 Any add in board you have installed is designed for your system and is set up correctly Monitor Display If the display screen remains dark after the system is turned on 1 M...

Page 125: ...hing happens 1 Check that one end of the AC power cord is plugged into a live outlet and the other end properly plugged into the back of the system 2 Make sure that the voltage selection switch on the back panel is set for the correct type of voltage you are using 3 The power cord may have a short or open Inspect the cord and install a new one if necessary Floppy Drive The computer cannot access t...

Page 126: ...inter doesn t respond when you try to print 1 Make sure that your printer is turned on and that the printer is on line 2 Make sure your software is configured for the right type of printer attached 3 Verify that the onboard LPT port s I O address and IRQ settings are configured correctly 4 Verify that the attached device works by attaching it to a parallel port that is working and configured corre...

Page 127: ... there are no objects resting on the keyboard and that no keys are pressed during the booting process System Board 1 Make sure the add in card is seated securely in the expansion slot If the add in card is loose power off the system re install the card and power up the system 2 Check the jumper settings to ensure that the jumpers are prop erly set 3 Verify that all memory modules are seated secure...